Let’s be honest, no matter whether it is a short video on TikTok or memes, video has already become an integral part of people’s daily lives. The acceleration of the mobile network is more convenient for the spread of video so video has occupied a large proportion of people’s daily entertainment. Not just for fun, but also for work as well. Video can be a more intuitive way to express ideas and help users understand the content. So more and more companies prefer to use video tutorials instead of PowerPoint to present their ideas.
Then the most common video format is MP4. It is a digital container that stores data like video and audio. Also, you can use it to store content like images, and text as well. But most importantly, it is famous for its compatibility. You basically can use it on all the platforms on different devices. However, even though MP4 format is a format that is already compressed. For some of them, the file size can be still large. By compressing them, you can get them more manageable. But, do you know how to do it? Here in this article, you will get what you want: How to compress MP4 in free ways.

In this article you will find out:
How to Compress MP4 on Windows for Free:
- WorkinTool File Compressor
- VLC Media Player
- Create a Zip File
- Conclusion
How to Compress MP4 on Windows 10 for Free:
Now, enough chatting, let’s get straight to the detailed methods of how to compress MP4 videos. Frankly speaking, there are tons of ways that can help you with that if you google it. But what we are here offering you are the most effective and free offline tools that you will need a little bit of time and effort to find on yourself. WorkinTool File Compressor is the most useful method of them all. Let’s break it down to the details.
1. WorkinTool File Compressor

As you can see from the name of the software, WorkinTool File Compressor is a professional Windows app that help users compress all their computer files. You can use it to compress images, videos, and all work documents like PDF, Word, and PPT. Although it is a third-party file compressing tool, with the user-friendly interface and convenient features, users can have the best file compressing experience they have. Most importantly, you can use it for free. That is one of the reasons why I put it on the top.
Feature in Use
When you have downloaded and opened this amazing tool, you will see WorkinTool
Have offered five options for users. For the video compression feature, here it supports four video format compression: MP4, WMV, AVI, and FLV.

Wait until you upload MP4 video files, you will see how many choices it have given you.
There are mainly three sections on the processing window. Then first big window tells you the video information before and after compression. And the other two parts are settings that you can adjust according to your needs.

General Settings:
A simple setting that you can adjust to focus on the video resolution or the compression intensity. Also, it let you convert video formats. (Only useful when you want to convert another video format back to MP4)
Additional Settings:
Here you can find more options that you can customize yourself on videos. For example, you can control if you want to zoom in or out the video, and configure settings like bit rate, frame rate, and resolution.
FYI, this file compressor support batch compression, which means you don’t have to upload and compress one by one. A one-time operation can do it all.
2. VLC Media Player
Well, the second way that I want to introduce to you to solve the problem of how to compress MP4 is to use VLC media Player. Some of you may be familiar with it. Yes, it is not technically a video compressor, more like multimedia player software. Just like the MP4 video format, this software is also famous for its compatibility. It also has a video compression function and you can use it for free. But you will need some tricks to find it. Because it is not the main function and it is buried deep in the settings. So, follow my lead and we will get you there.
Feature in Use
- Open VLC > Media > Convert/ Save…
- File > + Add… > Convert / Save
- Settings > Profile > Video – H. 284 + MP3 (MP4)
- Video codec > Resolution > Scale > Save. Then it will start to compress the MP4 video.
However, you should also know that this VLC media player only support users to compress MP4 videos by the detailed parameters like resolution. If you have zero experience knowing how to compress MP4, and you really want to use it. You can take a look at the meaning of these parameters first.
3. Create a Zip File
OK, the last method is not a smart method but it works just fine for people who want to transfer MP4 files by email. By making your MP4 videos become zip files, the entire size will be reduced. However, it won’t affect the original quality of your videos.
Feature in Use
- Right-click on the MP4 video file.
- Find Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder.
- Then your file will be compressed. Here you can decide if you want to set a password or not.
- And if you have multiple MP4 files, you can put them into a folder and right-click the folder to continue these steps.
In this way, you literally just put them into a digital bag. When you get them out, they will go back as they were before compression. Also, it can be a little bit silly that you have to unzip these files every time you need to use MP4 videos inside. So, basically, it is available for the occasions that you need to transfer videos and share them with others. Otherwise, it is best for you to consider the other two methods that we mentioned to compress MP4 video files.
Conclusion
To sum up, after pulling all the time and effort into finding free methods of how to compress MP4 video files, we genially hope that you can find one out of these three approaches to help you deal with your problem. We promise that all these tools and methods are available through our testing, and no hidden costs or export limitations. You just need to pick one and experience it yourself. You can trust my word.