Does cropping affect the whole video, or just one frame?

The crop region you select applies consistently across the entire video's duration — every frame is cropped to the same selected area.

Can I crop to a specific aspect ratio for a particular platform?

Yes, you can crop to standard aspect ratios (like a square or vertical 9:16 frame) or a fully custom region, depending on where the video needs to be used.

Does cropping reduce video quality?

The kept region retains the source footage's original pixel data — cropping removes the parts outside your selection rather than degrading what remains inside it.

Why would I crop a video instead of resizing it?

Resizing scales the whole frame to new dimensions while keeping everything visible. Cropping removes part of the frame entirely, which is what you want when you need to cut out unwanted content at the edges or change the video's aspect ratio without letterboxing.

How long does cropping a video take?

Processing time depends on your video's length and resolution and your device's processing power, since it's re-encoded entirely on your own hardware.

Is my video uploaded to a server?

No. Every operation runs locally in your browser using a real FFmpeg engine compiled to WebAssembly. Your video is never transmitted anywhere.

Is this video cropping tool free with no limit on how many videos I crop?

Yes. This free online video cropper has no daily limit, no per-file cost, and no watermark added to the cropped output.

What aspect ratio should I crop to for Instagram Stories or TikTok?

Vertical, mobile-first platforms generally expect a taller-than-wide frame — check the specific platform's current recommended aspect ratio and crop toward that ratio here for the best fit within the app's viewing area.

Can I crop out a watermark or logo from footage I have the rights to modify?

Yes, provided the unwanted element sits near the edge of the frame where a rectangular crop can remove it without also cutting out content you want to keep — a watermark placed in the center of the frame can't be cropped out without losing the surrounding footage as well.

Does cropping change the resolution of my video?

Yes, since cropping removes pixels outside your selected region, the resulting video has smaller pixel dimensions than the original — Resize Video can then scale the cropped result to a specific target resolution afterward if needed.

Can I preview how the crop looks at different points in the video before finalizing?

Yes, the preview lets you check how the selected crop region looks across different moments in the timeline, which is useful for confirming the framing works throughout the video, not just at the first frame.

Can the crop region move throughout the video, following a moving subject?

This tool applies one fixed crop region across the entire clip; a crop that needs to follow motion over time is a more advanced editing technique typically done in dedicated video editing software rather than a straightforward crop tool.

Does cropping affect video quality?

The cropped region keeps its original pixel resolution and detail; the main visible change is simply that the frame now shows less of the original scene, not a quality reduction within the retained area.

What aspect ratios are common to crop toward for social media?

9:16 vertical suits most short-form mobile video platforms, 1:1 square works well for feed posts, and 16:9 widescreen remains standard for platforms designed around traditional landscape viewing.

Crop Video

Crop the video frame to a selected region.

Processed entirely in your browser. Your file is never uploaded anywhere.

Why crop video with Tools Root

Removing unwanted content at the edge of a frame, reformatting a video for a platform that expects a specific aspect ratio (like vertical video for mobile stories), or focusing attention on a specific part of the frame are all common reasons to crop rather than just resize. This free video cropping tool handles all of it in the browser.

Consistent cropping across the full timeline

Once you select a crop region on the preview frame, it applies uniformly across every frame of the video's duration, giving a clean, consistent result rather than a crop that only affects a single moment.

A free online video cropper for reformatting and framing

Reformatting landscape footage into a vertical or square frame for mobile platforms, or cutting unwanted content out of the edge of a recording, traditionally meant dedicated video editing software. This tool applies a consistent crop across the entire clip in one pass, at no cost and with a live preview before you commit.

Common use cases

Reformatting a landscape video into a vertical 9:16 frame for mobile platforms, removing unwanted content visible at the edge of a screen recording, cropping out a watermark or logo from footage you have rights to modify, focusing a wide shot down to a specific subject, or preparing footage in a square format for a specific social media placement.

Cropping alongside other video edits

Once framing is right, Resize Video can scale the cropped result to an exact final resolution, and Rotate Video fixes orientation before or after cropping if needed.

Cropping video for a different aspect ratio

Footage shot in one aspect ratio, widescreen 16:9 from a camera, often needs reframing for a different destination, like a vertical 9:16 format for mobile viewing. Cropping accomplishes this by selecting the specific region of the original frame to keep, effectively changing the video's shape rather than shrinking the whole frame down to fit.

What gets lost when cropping a wider frame down to a narrower one

Any part of the original frame outside the chosen crop region is permanently removed from the output, so cropping a wide shot down to a narrow vertical frame necessarily cuts off content on the sides. Reviewing the crop preview against the full original frame before processing helps confirm the important subject stays within the new boundary throughout the clip, not just at one moment.

How to crop a video

1Upload your video file.
2Drag the crop boundary on the video preview frame.
3Preview how the cropped frame looks across the timeline.
4Download your cropped video.

Frequently asked questions

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