The best video compressor apps for iPhone
Updated 23 October 2026 · By Dimitar Zurnov. We make Emptie, one of the apps below, so read this knowing that. Facts about other apps come from their US App Store listings; we didn’t test them.
To get storage back from many videos and keep their dates and albums, use an app that replaces the originals for you, such as Emptie (free, Data Not Collected). To shrink one clip to send, iMovie or the Shortcuts app are free. Storage cleaner apps also compress video, but most sell weekly or yearly plans and declare data used to track you.
Our picks by job
- Best for getting storage back from a whole library Emptie Ours About Emptie
- Best for shrinking a few clips to share Compress Videos & Resize Video Emptie vs Compress Videos & Resize Video
- Best for hitting a target file size Video Compress Emptie vs Video Compress
- Best all-in-one storage cleaner Cleanup Emptie vs Cleanup
- Best for similar photos and screenshots Clever Cleaner Emptie vs Clever Cleaner
- Best if you already use MacPaw apps CleanMy Phone Emptie vs CleanMy Phone
- Best free option for one video iMovie and Shortcuts How to use them
Side by side
| App | Type | Price (US listing) | Privacy label | US ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emptie | Video compressor that replaces originals | Free; optional $2.99 to support the founder | Data Not Collected | Not released yet |
| Cleanup: Phone Storage Cleaner | Storage cleaner | Cleanup Pro is listed at $5.95–$11.99 a week or $29.99 a year. | Declares data used to track you | 4.65 (743,828) |
| CleanMy®Phone: Cleanup Storage | Storage cleaner | CleanMyPhone access is listed at $7.99 a month or $36.99 a year (the listing also sells Gemini Photos plans). | Declares data used to track you | 4.59 (22,827) |
| Clever Cleaner: AI CleanUp App | Storage cleaner | Free with daily limits. Listed at $6.99 a week (with trial) or $39.99 lifetime. | Declares data used to track you | 4.78 (84,031) |
| Compress Videos & Resize Video | Video compressor | Pro is listed at $4.99 a month, $5.99 a year or $14.99 lifetime. | Declares data used to track you | 4.68 (17,757) |
| Video Compress - Shrink Videos | Video compressor | The only listed in-app purchase is “Remove Ads” at $1.99. | Declares data used to track you | 4.47 (11,539) |
| iMovie / Shortcuts | Built into iOS (iMovie is a free Apple app) | Free | Apple | — |
What to look for in a video compressor
Most apps can make a video smaller. What separates them is what happens around the compression:
- Does it replace the original? If an app only saves a new copy, your storage goes up until you find and delete the original yourself.
- Does the copy keep its details? Date and time, location, Favorite, Hidden and albums. Without them, a compressed video can land under today’s date, away from the trip it belongs to.
- Can you check before deleting? A side-by-side review and the iOS Recently Deleted album (30 days) are your safety net.
- Does it keep HDR and the frame rate? iPhones record HDR (Dolby Vision) by default. Converting it to SDR or 60 fps to 30 fps changes how the video looks. At the same bitrate, dropping 60 to 30 fps saves almost nothing (325 MB against 323 MB for the same clip).
- What does it cost after a year? A weekly plan at $5.95–$11.99, as listed by one popular cleaner, adds up to $309–$623 a year if you keep it.
- What does the privacy label say? Compression doesn’t need the internet. A label of “Data Not Collected” is the strongest promise an app can make on the App Store.
Video compressors vs storage cleaner apps
In our review of 888 storage and video-compression apps on the US App Store (listings as of 23 October 2026), storage cleaner apps that also compress video held about 96% of all ratings. They’re built to find duplicates, similar photos and screenshots, and compression is one tool among many. 71% of them list weekly-labelled in-app purchases, against 26% of pure video compressors, and 75% declare “Data Used to Track You”, against 31% of pure compressors. What we found about cleaner apps.
If your storage is mostly video, which it often is, a compressor built around video will usually free more space for less money.
How much space you can expect to free
It depends on how the video was recorded. 4K at 60 fps takes roughly 400 MB a minute, so a library of everyday 4K clips has a lot of room to shrink. With Emptie, a 5-minute 4K Dolby Vision video goes from 2.18 GB to 323 MB (−85%) and looked the same on the phone. Videos already recorded at low bitrates shrink much less; Emptie leaves a video alone if it would save under about 20%. How much space each recording format takes.
The free way: iMovie and Shortcuts
For a single video, you don’t need an app. iMovie can export at a lower resolution, and the Shortcuts app has an Encode Media action. Both save a new copy, so delete the original afterwards and expect the copy to lose its album membership. Step-by-step: how to compress a video on iPhone.
How we put this together
We pulled every iPhone app matching storage and video-compression searches from Apple’s App Store APIs on 23 October 2026, read their listings, in-app purchase lists and privacy labels, and kept 888 that compress video. The apps above are the most-rated in their groups. Features marked “not stated” weren’t in the listing text; we didn’t install or test other apps. Prices and labels change, so check the App Store before you buy. Corrections: [email protected].