HEVC Compressor

How to Compress HEVC Files Online

1. Upload Your HEVC File: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select HEVC (H.265) videos — iPhone clips, 4K drone footage, Sony / Canon mirrorless exports, macOS screen recordings. Batch is supported — drop in a folder of phone clips and they process together.
2. Pick a Compression Mode: Default is "Target file size (%)" with Auto Scale enabled. Switch between Target file size (%) (slide 1-100% of original), Specific file size (MB / KB target), Constant Bitrate or Variable Bitrate (cap data rate in kbps / Mbps), Constant Quality (CRF 0-51 for x265 — 18 visually lossless, 23 default, 28 small but acceptable), or Constraint Quality (CRF with min/max bitrate bounds).
3. Resolution and Trim (Optional): Downscale via the resolution preset (2160p / 1440p / 1080p / 720p / 480p), enter custom width × height, or scale by percentage. Leave Auto Scale on to let the encoder pick a sensible target. Use the Time Range trim to drop intros, dead air, or post-credit footage — the cheapest way to shrink a file.
4. Compress and Download: Click Compress. Files process in your browser session and download individually or as a ZIP — no sign-up, no watermark, no quality cap on free use.

Why Compress HEVC Files?

HEVC (H.265) — standardized by ITU-T in April 2013 — is already one of the most efficient mainstream video codecs, roughly half the bitrate of H.264 / AVC at equivalent visual quality. But HEVC source files from modern cameras are still huge: a single minute of 4K 60fps iPhone footage is 400-600 MB, a ten-minute drone clip can top 4 GB. Common reasons to re-compress an existing HEVC file:

• iPhone and iPad clips for cloud or social — iPhone 7 and later record HEVC by default when "High Efficiency" is set in Settings → Camera → Formats (introduced in iOS 11, Sept 2017, on A10 Fusion or later). A 30-second 4K HDR clip is often 150-250 MB — too big for Discord's 10 MB free upload cap or a Gmail 25 MB attachment. Drop to 1080p / CRF 26 and you typically land under 20 MB.
• 4K drone and mirrorless footage — DJI Mavic / Air drones, Sony A7 / FX-series, Canon R-series, and Panasonic GH / S-line bodies all record 4K HEVC at 60-200 Mbps. A B-roll archive shrinks dramatically with x265 CRF 22 at the same resolution — usable in editing, far smaller on disk.
• macOS / iOS screen recordings — QuickTime and iOS screen recorder default to HEVC. A 20-minute tutorial recording can be 1.5-3 GB; compressing to a target file size of ~200 MB keeps it readable for tutorial sharing.
• Reducing a Plex / Jellyfin library footprint — Even an HEVC-encoded media library has slack. Re-encoding a 100 GB collection at CRF 24 typically yields 50-70 GB with no visible loss on living-room TVs.
• Storage on phone / iCloud / Google Photos — iCloud free is 5 GB total; Google Photos charges past 15 GB. Re-compressing old 4K clips to 1080p HEVC reclaims gigabytes without changing the codec your photo app expects.
• Windows playback friction — Windows 10 / 11 require the Microsoft HEVC Video Extensions app ($0.99) for native playback, or a free OEM-bundled extension if your PC vendor ships one. Shrinking aggressive 4K HEVC down to a lower-bitrate 1080p HEVC reduces decode load on older Intel CPUs without forcing a codec switch.

Compression Mode Quick Guide (x265 / HEVC)

CRF Reference for x265 / HEVC

CRF on the x265 encoder uses a slightly different scale than x264 — at the same CRF value, x265 produces a smaller file at comparable perceived quality. The defaults differ accordingly:

HEVC vs H.264 vs AV1 — Codec Efficiency

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose quality compressing HEVC again?

Yes, a little — every lossy re-encode introduces some loss. In practice, going from CRF 22 source HEVC to CRF 24-26 output is imperceptible on phones, tablets, and most TVs. The visible drop starts around CRF 28 on smooth gradients (sky, skin) and fast motion. Pick CRF based on viewing setup: 22-24 for living-room TV, 24-26 for laptop / tablet, 26-28 for messaging where the recipient watches on a phone.

My iPhone HEVC video won't play on Windows. Compressing fixes that?

Partially. The Windows playback problem has two parts: (1) Windows 10 / 11 don't include HEVC by default — install the HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store ($0.99), or check whether your PC vendor (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA driver bundles) ships a free OEM extension. (2) iPhone clips use the hvc1 codec tag; some older players prefer hev1. If you can't install the extension, convert to MP4 / H.264 via HEVC to MP4 instead of just compressing.

Should I just convert HEVC to H.264 for compatibility?

Only if the target device truly can't play HEVC. Converting to H.264 typically doubles file size at the same visual quality (HEVC is roughly 50% more efficient than H.264 per the H.265 standard's design goals). If the device supports HEVC, stay in HEVC and compress within the codec. Use HEVC to H.264 only when you need to send a clip to a 2015-era TV, older Android phone, or a Windows PC without the extension installed.

What CRF should I use? It looks different than x264.

x265 (the standard HEVC encoder) uses a CRF scale where the "same number" produces a smaller file than x264 at comparable perceived quality — the x265 documentation positions CRF 28 in x265 as roughly equivalent to CRF 23 in x264. Defaults: 22 for archival, 24-26 for sharing, 28 for aggressive shrink. Each +6 CRF roughly halves the bitrate.

Can I compress 4K HEVC and keep 4K resolution?

Yes. Leave the resolution preset on Original (or 2160p) and choose a higher CRF (24-26) or lower target percentage (40-50%) instead. A typical 4K iPhone clip of 250 MB drops to 80-120 MB at CRF 24 / 2160p — still 4K, much smaller.

Will my HEVC file play in Chrome / Firefox after compressing?

It depends on browser and OS. Chrome 107+ supports HEVC on platforms with hardware decode (most macOS, recent Windows with HEVC extension installed, Android with HEVC silicon). Firefox 137+ added partial support; older Firefox builds don't decode HEVC. Safari 13+ on macOS and iOS plays HEVC natively. If you need a file that plays everywhere in-browser, the codec choice is H.264 — see HEVC to MP4 for that conversion.

Does compressing strip my HDR or Dolby Vision metadata?

HDR10 static metadata generally survives standard HEVC re-encoding. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic metadata depend on encoder support — most free / open-source encoders (including x265 in default builds) don't preserve Dolby Vision layers. If you have a Dolby Vision iPhone clip and need that metadata intact, keep the file untouched or use Apple's own export tools rather than re-encoding.

Can I batch compress a folder of iPhone HEVC clips?

Yes — drop a full Camera Roll export folder in and each file processes with the same settings (CRF, resolution preset, trim). Files download individually or as a ZIP. For typical iPhone 4K clips, expect 60-90% size reduction at CRF 26 / 1080p, which is the most popular setting for social-sharing batches.

What about audio — does it get compressed too?

The audio track is preserved at its source bitrate by default; an iPhone HEVC clip's AAC audio (typically ~128 kbps) is tiny compared to the video track and isn't a meaningful size contributor. If you have a standalone AAC file you also want to shrink, see Compress AAC.