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Video Cropper

Crop video frames in your browser, free and 100% private

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100% private. Your file is processed locally in your browser with WebAssembly — it is never uploaded to a server, stored, or seen by anyone.

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ClipTools Video Cropper lets you crop a video online for free in one click. In "Remove black bars" mode it detects the picture edges itself and cuts off letterboxing or pillarboxing automatically. In "Aspect ratio" mode you pick a target format - 1:1 square, 4:5 portrait, 9:16 vertical or 16:9 wide - and the video is cropped to it from the center. In both modes the audio track is copied untouched.

Cropping runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly (ffmpeg.wasm) with the crop=w:h:x:y filter, so your video file is never uploaded to a server. There is no signup, no watermark, and no file leaves your device. It is built for creators repurposing footage for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, plus anyone who needs a quick, private way to reframe a clip without installing software.

Why use this tool

Reframe for any platform

Crop landscape footage into square (1:1) or vertical (9:16) framing for Instagram, TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts without separate editing software.

Completely private

Your video is cropped entirely in your browser with ffmpeg.wasm and never leaves your device, making it safe for confidential or unreleased footage.

Remove black bars and edges

Cut off letterboxing and pillarboxing automatically: the detector finds the picture edges, so you never have to guess the crop size by hand.

No installs, no signup, no watermark

Works instantly in any modern browser with no account, no software download, and no watermark stamped onto your output.

How to use the Video Cropper

Load your video
Drag and drop your video file or click to select it; it opens directly in your browser and is never uploaded.
Choose what to crop
"Remove black bars" finds the picture edges automatically. "Aspect ratio" lets you pick 1:1, 4:5, 9:16 or 16:9 and crops from the center.
Run the crop
Click Crop Video: ffmpeg.wasm analyses the clip (in auto mode) and applies the crop filter locally on your device.
Download the cropped video
Preview the result and download the cropped MP4, with no watermark and nothing left on any server.

Popular use cases

Turning a horizontal interview or gameplay recording into a 9:16 vertical clip for TikTok or YouTube Shorts.
Removing black letterbox bars from a downloaded or exported video so the frame fills the screen.
Cropping out a webcam overlay, timestamp, or watermark sitting in a corner of a screen recording.
Zooming in on a product, whiteboard, or subject by cropping tight to that area before sharing.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Video Cropper free to use?

Yes, the ClipTools Video Cropper is completely free with no signup, subscription, or account required. There are no watermarks added to your cropped video and no limit on how many clips you can crop. The tool is free because processing happens on your own device rather than on paid server infrastructure.

Are my video files uploaded to a server when I crop them?

No, your files are never uploaded. All cropping happens locally in your browser using WebAssembly (ffmpeg.wasm), so the video stays on your device from start to finish. This privacy-by-design approach means your footage is never transmitted, stored, or seen by anyone but you.

What video formats does the Video Cropper support?

The cropper works with common formats including MP4, WebM, MOV, MKV, and AVI, since it is powered by ffmpeg.wasm. MP4 (H.264) is the most reliable choice for both input and output and plays everywhere. Output is typically delivered as MP4.

Is there a file size limit for cropping video?

There is no fixed server-imposed limit because processing is local, but practical limits come from your device's available RAM and the browser's memory. Files up to a few hundred megabytes generally crop smoothly on a modern computer, while very large or long videos may be slow or strain memory. For multi-gigabyte files, a desktop browser with ample RAM works best.

Does cropping reduce my video's quality?

Cropping only removes pixels outside the selected rectangle and re-encodes the remaining region, so the kept area stays visually close to the original. Because the video is re-encoded, there is a small generational quality change typical of any lossy codec, but it is minimal at standard quality settings. The resolution of the output equals the dimensions of the crop area you selected.

How long does it take to crop a video?

Cropping speed depends on your video's length, resolution, and your device's CPU, since the work runs locally in your browser. Short clips of a few seconds usually finish in seconds, while longer or 4K videos take proportionally more time. The first run may take a moment longer while the ffmpeg.wasm engine loads.

Can I crop a horizontal video into a square or vertical (9:16) format?

Yes: switch to "Aspect ratio" mode and pick 1:1 (square for Instagram feed), 4:5 (portrait), 9:16 (vertical for TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts) or 16:9. The frame is cropped from the center at the largest size that fits the chosen proportions.

How does the crop=w:h:x:y filter define the crop area?

The crop is defined by four values: width and height set the size of the kept rectangle in pixels, while x and y set the offset of its top-left corner from the frame edge. In auto mode these come from the cropdetect analysis; in aspect-ratio mode they are computed so the rectangle sits in the center of the frame.

How do I remove black bars from a video?

Load the clip, keep "Remove black bars" selected and click Crop Video. The tool runs the video through a border detector (cropdetect), finds the picture area without the black bars at the top/bottom or sides and crops to it. If the video has no bars, you get a message saying so and the file is left unchanged.

Video Trimmer & Cutter

Cut a video to any start and end time with zero quality loss

Change Video Resolution

Resize video to 1080p, 720p, 480p or a custom size in your browser

Video Rotator

Rotate sideways or upside-down video 90, 180, or 270 degrees