How to compress AVI files
Upload your AVI file
Drag and drop a file or click to select one. Keep this page open while the file uploads and converts.
Compress the file
NexMedia re-encodes your AVI file on its own servers at the quality you choose. Processing time depends on the file size and how busy the queue is.
Download the compressed file
When the compression finishes, the download appears on this page. Your compressed file is kept for 2 hours, then deleted.
About AVI
the veteran Windows container from the 1990s, still produced by cameras and capture cards
AVI is Microsoft's 1992 container, older than every modern video codec. Capture cards, dashcams and older cameras still emit it, usually holding MPEG-4 or barely compressed video that no modern encoder ever optimised.
AVI is large because of its age: the container predates efficient codecs, so files from capture hardware often store video with far more bits than the picture needs, and some AVI video is hardly compressed at all.
What compressing AVI does
Compressing an AVI finally applies a modern codec: the video moves out of its 1990s packaging into WebM's VP9, which encodes the same frames in a fraction of the bytes.
An hour of standard-definition capture in AVI can exceed 2 GB; re-encoded to a modern codec it fits well under 500 MB at comparable quality.
Settings you can change
Before you compress AVI, you can adjust: Video codec, Rate control, Quality (CRF), Video bitrate, Resolution, Width, Height, Scale fit, Frame rate, Encoder preset, Audio codec, Audio bitrate, Trim start, Trim duration, and Remove metadata.
Limits
Guests can compress files up to 100 megabytes and run 5 conversions per day; a free account raises this to 500 megabytes and 25 per day; paid plans go up to 100 gigabytes.
Your compressed AVI file is kept for 2 hours, then deleted.
Compressing AVI: questions and answers
Will compressing AVI reduce quality?
Old AVI footage often gains from a re-encode rather than losing: the modern codec spends bits more intelligently than the original encoder did, at the same or better visible quality.
Can AVI files be compressed without any loss?
Only rarely. Some AVI files hold uncompressed frames, which a container-level change would keep bit-exact, but re-encoding compressed video is lossy.
Which settings can I change when compressing AVI?
You can adjust: Video codec, Rate control, Quality (CRF), Video bitrate, Resolution, Width, Height, Scale fit, Frame rate, Encoder preset, Audio codec, Audio bitrate, Trim start, Trim duration, and Remove metadata. the quality slider matters more than usual here, because the generous bitrates of AVI sources let the new encoder work with plenty of detail
How much smaller will my AVI file get?
AVI is the format with the most to gain: reductions of 70–90% are common because the starting point was never efficiently encoded.
How large a AVI file can I compress for free?
Guests can compress files up to 100 megabytes and run 5 conversions per day; a free account raises this to 500 megabytes and 25 per day; paid plans go up to 100 gigabytes. Your compressed file is kept for 2 hours, then deleted.