Trim a Video or Cut Out Parts Without Losing Quality

Most video editing is simply cutting: removing the shaky start, the long pause in the middle, or saving only the best ten seconds of a long recording. You don't need a full video editor for that. Two small tools cover almost every case, and one setting decides whether the cut is instant or frame-perfect.

Trim: keep one part

Trim Video keeps one continuous section, from a start time to an end time:

1. Add your video.
2. Set the start and end, by dragging the handles or typing times.
3. Choose fast or exact mode (explained below).
4. Save the trimmed video.

Use it to remove the beginning and end of a recording, or to keep a single highlight.

Cut: several parts at once

Video Cutter works with several sections on a timeline with markers:

1. Add your video and mark the parts you're interested in.
2. Then choose what to do with them:
   • Keep them: the marked parts are joined in the order of the list, making a highlight reel.
   • Cut them out: the marked parts are removed and the rest is joined, which is ideal for removing a boring middle section or a mistake.
   • Save each part as its own clip.

Fast or exact?

Video is stored as occasional complete pictures called key frames, with only the changes saved in between. That's what makes video files small, and it affects cutting:

• Fast copies the video without re-encoding. It's very quick and has no quality loss at all, but a cut can only start at a key frame, so your clip may start slightly earlier than the time you chose (often by up to a second or two).
• Exact re-encodes the start of the clip, so it starts at the precise frame you picked. It takes longer and the re-encoded part is compressed again.

Use fast for most everyday cuts. Use exact when timing matters, such as a cut on a specific word or beat.

Joining clips from different videos

To combine parts from different video files, cut each one, then join them with Merge Videos. Clips from the same camera are joined in seconds without re-encoding. Clips with different sizes or settings are converted to one size so the result plays properly.

Practical examples

• Meeting recordings: cut out the waiting at the start and the chatter at the end.
• Lectures: save each topic as its own clip with "save each part".
• Sports and gaming: mark the highlights and keep them joined.
• Interviews: cut out coughs, interruptions and off-the-record moments.
• Social media: trim to the platform's length limit before cropping to vertical.

Tips for clean cuts

• Leave a fraction of a second before speech starts, so the first word isn't clipped.
• Watch each cut point after saving.
• Keep the original until you're happy with the result.

Common questions

Can I cut a video on my phone? Yes. Both tools work in mobile browsers. Long, high-resolution videos need more memory, so a computer is faster for big files.

Does cutting change the file format? The result keeps the original format where possible, for example MP4 stays MP4.

Is there a watermark? No.

Can I cut audio files the same way? Yes, with the Audio Trimmer and Audio Cutter, which work the same way for MP3, M4A, WAV and other audio files.

Private by design

Your videos are processed in your browser and never uploaded. Even large files don't need to go anywhere.