Rescreen / Free tools / Split video
Split video
Cut a long video into several files, in your browser and without losing quality.
Split a video
This browser can only make fast cuts. Exact cuts re-encode the video with WebCodecs, which is in current Chrome, Edge and Safari on a computer. Fast cuts copy the video as it is and work here.
Drop a video here
or choose one from your device
MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV, up to 8.0 GB.
- File
- Contains
- Length
This browser cannot play this file, so there is no picture. You can still cut it on the timeline by time, and every file is checked after it is made.
Click the timeline to move the playhead, then press Cut. Click a part to select it, then Delete. Drag a cut or either end to move it. Keys: the arrow keys move one frame, with Shift one second; C cuts, Delete deletes or restores the part, Space plays, and Control or Command Z undoes.
Starting…
Who this is for
Long recordings are hard to share whole: a two-hour lecture, an all-day workshop, a meeting that ran over or a screen recording of a full session. This page cuts one video into several files. It opens with the video already cut in two (or into ten-minute parts, for a long recording). Click the timeline where a new part should start and press Cut, drag a cut to move it, or choose Split evenly for parts of a set length or a number of equal parts. Delete a part you don’t need and it is left out. Press Split into parts, then download each part, or all of them as one ZIP. In Chrome and Edge on a computer, a big split asks for a folder first and writes each part straight into it.
The numbers behind it
- YouTube accounts that are not verified can upload videos up to 15 minutes long. The largest upload is 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less. Source
- A personal Gmail account can attach up to 25 MB to an email; anything bigger is sent as a Google Drive link instead. Source
- FFmpeg’s segment muxer notes that splitting may not be accurate unless the video has key frames at the split times, which is why a copy-only split lands on key frames. Source
- QuickTime Player on a Mac splits a movie into clips with View > Show Clips and Edit > Split Clip, then saves the edited movie as one file. Source
How to split a video into parts
Choose or drop the video. The page reads its length, codecs and size, shows a preview, and opens on Separate parts with a first split already on the timeline. To split where the subject changes, hover over the timeline: the preview shows the frame under the pointer, so you can find the first slide of a new topic. Click there and press Cut. Drag a cut to move it, and Undo takes back the last change.
For regular parts, choose from Split evenly: every 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, or into 2 to 10 equal parts. 15 minutes suits a channel that only takes fifteen minutes at a time. If the last part would be under a second, it is added to the one before rather than saved as a scrap. Each part is numbered on the timeline, and the summary under it gives the number of parts and their rough size. When the parts are made, each one is opened again and checked against the plan before you can download it.
To find where a topic starts in a long recording, move the pointer slowly along the timeline: the preview follows it and the time shows above it. Click to put the playhead there, then step one frame at a time with the arrow keys before you press Cut. Shift and an arrow moves one second, Delete removes the part under the playhead, and Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) undoes.
Why a fast split moves a little
A fast split copies the compressed video as it is, so it takes seconds even for an hour-long recording and the picture is exactly the original. The catch is that each part has to begin on a key frame, a complete picture that a player can start from. Screen recordings and phone videos usually have one every one to ten seconds. A fast split moves each split point back to the key frame at or before it, so the parts meet with no gap and no frame repeated; the page says how far any point moved.
Tick Exact frames to cut on the frame you chose. Parts that already start on a key frame are still copied; the others are decoded and encoded again as H.264 and AAC MP4s, which takes longer and can soften fine detail. Use it when a part must start on one particular frame, such as the first slide of a talk.
Saving the parts
Each part gets a numbered name made from the original, such as lecture-part-01.mp4, so the files sort in order in any folder. Download all as ZIP puts every part in one stored ZIP: video is compressed already, so zipping it again would only cost time. The ZIP is offered when the parts together are under 2 GB.
In Chrome and Edge on a computer, a big split (parts of more than about 1 GB in all, or a file over 2 GB) asks for a folder before it starts, and each part is written straight into it, so the parts never have to fit in memory. A file already in that folder is never overwritten; the new part gets a number added to its name. Cancelling removes the parts written so far. In Safari, Firefox and on phones the parts are held in memory until you save them, which limits a split to about 2 GB in all.
Other ways to split a video
On a Mac, open the video in QuickTime Player, choose View > Show Clips, move the playhead and choose Edit > Split Clip. QuickTime saves the edited movie as one file, so to get separate files you trim a copy for each part with Edit > Trim and save each one.
On Windows, Clipchamp splits a clip on its timeline with the scissors button; export each part on its own by deleting the others first. For many parts or regular lengths, FFmpeg splits without re-encoding: ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -c copy -f segment -segment_time 600 -reset_timestamps 1 part-%02d.mp4 makes ten-minute parts, also cut on key frames.
Limits
One video at a time, up to 50 parts, each at least one second long. Only the first video and sound tracks are kept; subtitles and chapters are not. A fast split writes the same kind of file it was given (MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV); an exact split writes MP4. Keep the tab open until the last part is checked. To take out a part in the middle and keep one file instead, choose One video here or use the video trimmer; to put parts back together, use merge videos. Planning a course in short lessons from the start? Our guide to making a tutorial video covers recording in takes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I split a video into equal parts?
Choose Split evenly, pick the number of parts and press Split into parts. With a fast split each point moves to the key frame before it, so the parts are equal to within a few seconds; tick Exact frames for parts of exactly the same length.
Can I split a video into 10-minute parts?
Yes. Choose Split evenly, then Every 10 minutes. A 45-minute recording becomes four ten-minute parts and a last part of five minutes.
Does splitting a video reduce its quality?
A fast split does not: each part holds the original compressed frames and sound, copied byte for byte. An exact split re-encodes the parts that do not start on a key frame.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The video is read, cut and checked inside this page and never sent anywhere. We count anonymous page views and whether a cut started, finished or failed, the job and the kind of cut, the number of parts and a reason from a fixed list; a failure also carries the step, your browser’s error and the kind of video (codecs, resolution, frame rate, size and length in broad bands). Never the video, its name or the times you chose. If a cut fails you can choose to send us the file, which is deleted within 30 days. See the privacy policy.
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