WhatsApp's help centre (read 20 October 2026, article "How to send media, contacts, or location") gives these limits:
- Video sent as media: up to 100 MB at 720p on faster connections, and 64 MB at 480p on slower ones. WhatsApp re-compresses media itself.
- Document: up to 2 GB, sent as it is (no re-compression).
- Status: videos up to 90 seconds long.
Older articles still quote 16 MB; that was the limit years ago.
Way 1: Compress the Video, Then Send It as a Video
Open Compress video for WhatsApp in Chrome or Safari, choose the video and tap Compress to 64 MB. That fits both of WhatsApp's limits. The video is made smaller by your own phone, so it isn't uploaded anywhere and you don't spend mobile data sending it to a website first. When it's done, tap Share and pick WhatsApp.
Many well-known online compressors upload the whole video before they compress it. In our test on 20 October 2026 Clideo, ezgif, FreeConvert and VEED all sent the test video to their servers (how we test). On a 300 MB phone video, that upload alone can take longer than the compression.
Way 2: Send It as a Document (Keeps Full Quality)
In the chat, tap the attachment icon, choose Document instead of Gallery, and pick the video. Documents can be up to 2 GB and WhatsApp doesn't re-compress them, so your contact gets the original quality. The catch: they have to download and open it, it doesn't play inline like a normal video, and a 2 GB file uses a lot of data on both sides.
Way 3: Status Videos
Status has a length limit (90 seconds), not a size limit. Trim the video in your gallery app first; compressing doesn't make it shorter.
Which Quality to Choose
The compressor offers High, Medium and Low, and shows the size each makes before you start. For WhatsApp, Medium is usually plenty: WhatsApp shrinks videos to 720p or 480p itself anyway. Use High if you send it as a document and want it to stay sharp.