How to send a large video on Discord

You try to upload a gameplay clip and Discord refuses it: the file is too big. The fix is almost always to make the file smaller, not to give up on sharing it. This guide shows how to do that in a few minutes.

Why Discord rejects the file

Discord limits how large an uploaded file can be. The number depends on your account and on the server you are posting in, and it has changed over time, so check the current limit in Discord’s help center before you start.

The compressor’s Discord presets (10 MB, 20 MB and 50 MB) are starting points only. If your limit is different, choose Custom and type it in.

Step by step

  • Open the Discord video compressor and drop your clip on it. The file stays on your computer.
  • Pick the size that matches your limit. If you are not sure, choose the smaller preset to be safe.
  • Trim the start and end. Cutting dead time is the cheapest way to improve quality, because the same amount of data covers fewer seconds.
  • Press Compress, wait for it to finish, and download the MP4.
  • Drag the new file into Discord.

What the tool changes to hit the size

File size is simply bitrate multiplied by duration. A clip that is 60 seconds long and has to fit in 10 MB can only use about 1.3 Mbps in total, video and audio together.

To keep the picture clean at that bitrate, the compressor lowers the resolution (for example 1080p to 720p) and, if needed, the frame rate (60 to 30 fps). It never enlarges a video, and it measures the real file afterwards and tries again if the result is over your limit.

Tips for better looking clips

  • Shorter clips look better. Ten seconds in 10 MB is much sharper than two minutes in 10 MB.
  • Fast motion and lots of particles need more data than a calm scene. Expect a bigger drop in quality for busy footage.
  • Compress from your original recording. Compressing an already compressed copy again loses more detail.
  • MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio, the format this tool produces, plays inline in Discord on desktop and phones.

If it is still too big

Trim more, choose a larger target if your account allows it, or share the clip as a link from a cloud storage service. For long recordings, splitting the video into parts and compressing each part keeps the quality higher than squeezing everything into one file.