Compress Video for Reddit (1 GB Limit)

Reddit caps uploads at Video in comments 1 GB. VidSmaller compresses any video down to 300 MB so it fits on the first attempt — H.264 MP4 out, no watermark, nothing to install, no account needed to try it. Cloud encoding keeps running if the tab closes. The no-account trial accepts videos up to 3 minutes and 200 MB; paid plans accept files up to 1.5 GB.

Reddit documents video-comment files under 1 GB and recommends staying under 300 MB. The smaller recommendation is the useful target for quicker uploads and downloads.

Reddit file size limits, and what they really mean

Treat 1 GB as the refusal boundary and 300 MB as the operating target. Short clips rarely need hundreds of megabytes; spend bitrate where motion and text need it.

Plan / upload methodMaximum file size
Video in comments1 GB

Reddit documents a file under 1 GB and recommends staying under 300 MB for video comments. The smaller recommendation is the useful target for reliable uploads and downloads.

Limits verified 2026-10-30. Sources: Reddit Help — Add video in comments

What 300 MB actually buys you

Every other page tells you the limit and stops there. The limit is the easy half. Here is the half that decides whether your video is watchable: at a 300 MB target, this is exactly how much bitrate is left for each duration, and the largest resolution that bitrate can carry without falling apart.

Video lengthBitrate left for videoResolution it carriesVerdict
30s82,080 kbps4KLooks fine
1 min40,976 kbps4KLooks fine
2 min20,424 kbps4KLooks fine
5 min8,093 kbps1080pLooks fine
15 min2,612 kbps720pLooks fine

Method: the bitrate column is arithmetic — 300 MB spread across the duration, minus 128 kbps for stereo audio and 2% for container overhead. It is a hard ceiling, not an estimate. The resolution and verdict columns are a recommendation, derived from published H.264 bitrate ladders and pulled down about a third, because re-encoding footage that has already been compressed once survives lower bitrates than encoding a clean master does. Deliberately conservative — we would rather under-promise than tell you a video will look fine when it will not.

300 MB across lengths and resolutions

The left column is what you have to spend at each length; the cells are what each resolution needs. Green means you clear it comfortably, amber means it is watchable but soft, and grey means pick a smaller frame. Reading down a column shows how long a clip can get before that resolution stops being worthwhile on Reddit.

you haveneeded for comfortable quality1080p720p480p360p30s82,0804,0002,2001,0006001 min40,9764,0002,2001,0006002 min20,4244,0002,2001,0006005 min8,0934,0002,2001,00060015 min2,6124,0002,2001,000600

Source: Computed, not measured — no encoder was run to produce this figure · Method: 300 MB spread over the duration, minus 128 kbps audio and 2% container overhead. Thresholds come from published H.264 bitrate ladders, reduced by about a third for re-encoded source.

How to compress a video for Reddit

  1. Drop your video in

    MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM and 33 formats in all. Nothing to install — your browser uploads over a one-time link and the file never touches a third party.

  2. The target is already 300 MB

    We pre-set it below the hard ceiling on purpose. A target-size encode usually lands within a couple of percent of the number you gave it, but we have measured footage that overshoots by up to a tenth — and landing over a hard limit means the upload fails. Change it if you want a different number.

  3. Download and upload

    Encoding runs on our servers, so you can close the tab. The result comes back with no watermark on any plan, in an MP4 that Reddit will accept.

Reddit compression FAQs

What is the Reddit video comment size limit?

Reddit says the file must be under 1 GB and recommends a video below 300 MB for comments.

Why compress if my Reddit video is already under 1 GB?

A smaller file uploads faster and is easier for viewers to load. The 1 GB number is a hard boundary, not a quality recommendation.

Which format should I use for Reddit?

H.264 video in an MP4 container is the safest general-purpose output and is widely playable.

OTHER LIMITS
Same tool, a different upload ceiling