Why is cutting from the start slower?

Video codecs store most frames as differences from earlier frames. A file that starts in the middle of that chain cannot be played, so the tool has to decode from the previous keyframe and encode a fresh sequence. That is a full re-encode of everything you keep. It is exact to the tenth of a second you set, and the quality loss is small, but it takes as long as the compressor does.

Is my video uploaded?

No. The trim runs in your browser: the file is read from disk, cut in memory and offered back as a download. There is no server, no queue, no account and no watermark, and footage you have not published stays on your machine.

Can I cut a clip out of the middle?

Set the start and end handles around the part you want to keep; that is a middle cut. Removing a section from the middle and joining the two sides is a different job (a splice) and this tool does not do it. Trim the two halves separately and join them in an editor.

What formats does it accept and produce?

It reads MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM and MKV with H.264, HEVC, VP9 or AV1 video, as long as your browser can decode the codec (Chrome cannot decode HEVC on some systems). The output is always an MP4 with the audio copied untouched, which every platform and editor accepts.

Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera and Safari 17 or newer on a desktop, and Chrome on Android. Firefox has not finished shipping WebCodecs video encoding, so it shows a notice instead of a broken file.

Free Tool

Video Trimmer

Cut the start or end of a clip in your browser. End cuts are instant and lossless. No upload, no watermark, no sign-up.

Lossless end cutsNo uploadNo watermarkUp to 500 MB

Drop a video to trim

MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV up to 500 MB. It never leaves your device.

Why the end is free and the start costs

A video file is not a stack of pictures. Most frames are stored as differences from the frames before them, with a full picture (a keyframe) only every few seconds. That makes cutting the end trivial: stop writing packets at the time you chose, fix up the index, done. No frame is touched, so there is no quality loss and a two minute clip finishes before the progress bar has anything to show.

Cutting the start is a different job. The first frame you keep is probably a difference frame, and a difference from nothing is not a picture. The tool has to decode from the previous keyframe up to your cut, then encode a new sequence that begins there. That is a full re-encode of everything you keep, which is why it takes as long as compressing the clip would. It is exact to the tenth of a second, and the quality cost is small, but it is not free, and the tool says so before you press the button rather than after.

Either way, the file stays on your machine. The browser reads it, cuts it in memory with WebCodecs, and hands back an MP4 with the audio copied untouched. No upload, no queue, no watermark, and nothing you have not published crosses the network.

Frequently asked questions

Lossless cuts, re-encoding and formats

Cut only the end. When the start handle stays at zero, the tool copies the video packets as they are into a shorter file, so there is no decode, no re-encode, and no quality loss; a two minute clip finishes in a second or two. Moving the start handle forces a re-encode, because video frames depend on the frames before them and the new first frame has to be rebuilt.

More free tools

Video compressorHit a Discord, WhatsApp or email size limit after you cut. Nothing uploaded.

Video resizerReframe to 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts.

Script timerKnow how long the video should be before you record it.

Hook generatorIf the first three seconds are what you keep cutting, rewrite them.

The full product

A Tidy Cut is just the start. Automate your whole faceless channel

Faceless produces the clip at the right length from the start: the script is timed, the voice is paced, the dead air never gets recorded. Then it publishes to your channels on a schedule.