Video File Compression Savings Calculator

Why video files are so big

A minute of raw 1080p video can weigh hundreds of megabytes. Codecs like H.264 squeeze that data down by throwing away details your eyes barely notice, but the settings you choose still decide whether a two-hour film fits on a USB stick or eats half your hard drive.

H.264 vs H.265 vs AV1: the short version

H.264 (AVC) is the old reliable — everything plays it. H.265 (HEVC) is roughly 40% more efficient, meaning the same quality at about 60% of the file size. AV1 pushes that to roughly 50% savings over H.264, but fewer devices play it natively, and encoding takes longer. Choosing a codec is always a trade-off between size, quality, compatibility, and encoding time.

How this calculator estimates savings

Pick your resolution and total video length, then choose the codec you want to compare against H.264. The calculator starts from typical H.264 bitrates (5 Mbps for 720p, 8 Mbps for 1080p, 16 Mbps for 1440p, 35 Mbps for 4K at standard quality), converts bitrate and duration into a file size, then applies each codec's efficiency factor. The result is an estimate, not a guarantee — real savings depend on motion, detail, and your exact encoder settings.

Worked example

Say you have a 60-minute 1080p video in H.264. At 8 Mbps, that's about 3.6 GB (8 × 3,600 seconds ÷ 8 bits per byte ÷ 1,000). Switch to H.265 at the same visual quality and the file drops to about 2.16 GB — a saving of 1.44 GB, or 40%. Go to AV1 and you're looking at roughly 1.8 GB total, saving 1.8 GB (50%).

Tips for smaller files without ugly quality

Export at the bitrate your platform actually needs — YouTube recompresses uploads anyway, so a 50 Mbps file gains you nothing over 12–16 Mbps for 1080p. Keep your H.264 masters for editing, archive the finals in H.265, and test AV1 on one file first to check your devices play it. Also, dropping frame rate from 60 to 30 fps nearly halves file size when the footage doesn't need the extra smoothness.