PowerDirector

11 Free and Easy Ways to Resize Videos for Instagram & YouTube

Last Updated on Mar. 8, 2024 – by David Morgan
Add to My Favorites
Free and Easy Ways to Resize Videos for Instagram & YouTube

In a perfect world, you could film and upload videos online without editing or resizing your content. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in the world we currently inhabit. Every platform has different size requirements, whether you’re trying to create an Instagram story, upload a video to Facebook, or publish a video on YouTube.

Luckily, there’s a solution: You can resize video with free software and quickly edit the size of your video clips to fit any need.

Keep reading to explore the best free video resizers, including key features, pros and cons, a comparison chart, and publisher ratings. Then, we’ll teach you how to resize a video and answer frequently asked questions. Now, let’s dig right into our top eleven choices for free video resizers for Instagram and YouTube.


Top 3 Video Resizers Snapshot

PowerDirector Logo

1. PowerDirector - Best Overall

Our number one choice to resize video is PowerDirector. The advanced software uses innovative AI technology and features easy-to-use tools for resizing, cropping, and trimming videos, including manual adjustments for scale, height, and width. With all those tools and more, it’s easy to edit content with precision. Detailed Review >

Download our pick for the best video resizer today.

OpenShot Logo

2. OpenShot - Best Open-Source Video Resizer

An open-source, cross-platform, and entirely free option to quickly resize video. OpenShot is light on computer resources and comes with many other video editing tools. Detailed Review >

iMyFone Filme Logo

3. iMyFone Filme - Best for Beginners

A simple and beginner-friendly way to resize video with an automatic movie creator and stock library. Detailed Review >

What is Video Resizing?

To resize a video is to change the file size to make it larger or smaller. Editors can resize videos in many ways, including changing the scale, width and height, aspect ratio, or video file resolution. Resizing a video clip is a practical editing skill that provides many benefits:

  • Changes videos to the optimal size for your needs
  • Reduces the amount of data in the file size
  • Frees up more space on your device
  • Videos upload faster
  • Viewing quality improves

Most people resize videos to make the size smaller, removing any unnecessary pixels and information. While it’s possible to enlarge a video, you would have to add in new pixel information, which often lowers the overall quality of the video.

11 Free and Easy Ways to Resize Videos for Instagram & YouTube

1. PowerDirector - Best Overall

PowerDirector Interface

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

TechRadar Rating: 4.5/5

Price: Free
*Premium version available for $4.08/month

Key Features:

  1. Sky replacement
  2. Motion tracking
  3. Mask designer
  4. LUT color presets

Are you having trouble editing your videos to the file size you need? Two words: Download PowerDirector. This professional video editing suite has several tools to resize video. For example, you can grab a corner of the video frame for old-fashioned drag-and-drop resizing or adjust size manually by changing the width, height, or aspect ratio. Or you can scale videos into custom sizes or preset sizes. Every tool allows for precise control over the final result.

In addition to the video resizer, PowerDirector contains thousands of editing tools, features, effects, transitions, and templates. The interface makes it simple to upload a video, stream, create, and share to any platform, including Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, etc. If you’re lacking inspiration, browse the stock library, which contains millions of photos, videos, and music for free.

PowerDirector is our top choice of free video resizer and video editor due to its versatile features and limitless editing possibilities. We also love the software’s AI-powered editing tools, which create professional-level edits with just a few clicks. It also offers the latest format support, including FLV, MOV, MPEG, WTV, MOD, and dozens more.

Pros
  • Multiple methods for resizing videos
  • Beginner-Friendly
  • Advanced AI-powered tools for professional edits
Cons
  • Stock library unavailable in free version

Download PowerDirector for free today and amaze your followers with unique and cinematic videos.


2. OpenShot - Best Open-Source Video Resizer

OpenShot Interface

Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, Web Browser

G2 Rating: 4.4/5

Price: Free

Key Features:

  1. 400+ effects
  2. Keyframe animations
  3. Color adjustment tools
  4. Background remover

OpenShot is our choice for the best open-source video resizer, beating out the other open-source option on our list, Kdenlive. While Kdenlive is heavy on computer resources, OpenShot is extremely lightweight. It is a completely free, beginner-friendly, and easy way to resize video, without slowing down your computer.

Simply go to Video Details under File Properties and enter a new aspect ratio or a new height and width. It’s easy as long as you know the correct size or aspect ratio you need since OpenShot doesn’t have social-media presets.

OpenShot has unlimited editing tracks and a good amount of editing tools, especially for free software. However, we found it to be buggy at times, and it took forever to render our video files. For a free video resizer with some of the fastest rendering times in the business, try PowerDirector.

Pros
  • Free with no watermarks or limits
  • Lightweight
Cons
  • Causes sudden crashes or freezing
  • Slow importing and rendering

3. iMyFone Filme – Best for Beginners

iMyFone Filme Interface

Image from iMyFone Filme - Tutorials.

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

Softpedia Rating: 4/5

Price: 30-day free trial, then $35.95/month, $69.95/year or $79.95 for a lifetime license

Key Features:

  1. Freeze frame
  2. Mirror effect
  3. Royalty-Free stock library
  4. Filters and effects

If you’re new to video editing, start practicing your video resizing skills with iMyFone Filme. The creators have given it a simple interface, making it easy for beginner editors to use. This video resizer also has an Auto Create tool that will automatically make an edited movie from your video clips.

This video resizer offers a few different ways to resize your video: You can change the aspect ratio via a drop-down menu, open a new project with a different aspect ratio, change the resolution manually, or scale your video file using the slider tool. Additional editing tools include a video cutter, trimmer, and cropper, and features for flipping, muting, merging, or rotating video clips.

While it’s easy to use the free version of iMyFone Filme as a simple video resizer, it’s only available for a one-month trial. After that, you’ll have to pay full price to use the software. In addition, the free version has a limited number of templates. While a few options exist for resizing, we found them to be relatively basic, so if you want to create detailed edits, iMyFone Filme might not be your best bet.

Pros
  • Editing interface is user-friendly and ideal for beginners
  • Resize tools are fast and easy
Cons
  • The number of templates is limited
  • Free download is only a one-month trial

4. EZGIF.com - Fastest Video Resizer

EZGIF.com Interface

Compatibility: Web Browser

TrustPilot Rating: 4/5

Price: Free

Key Features:

  1. Video to JPG and PNG tool
  2. Change video speed
  3. Photo editor
  4. Mute video

EZGIF.com is a free online GIF maker. We found it is also a quick way to resize video. While all the options on our list offer quick and easy video resizing, EZGIF was the fastest. Simply go to the site, click Video to GIF, then Resize. Upload your video and resize it. No downloading or signing in required. The site only has a few tools, so finding the one you need takes seconds.

With this video resizer, you can also rotate, reverse, cut, crop, and merge videos. It supports various video formats, such as mp4, webm, flv, mov, and more.

EZGIF.com is a good tool for anyone who doesn’t own video editing software and needs to quickly resize video or make a GIF. It only has a few editing tools, so if you need a fully-featured video editor, try one of the top 3 video resizers on our list.

Pros
  • Nothing to download and no registration required
  • Simple and fast way to resize video
Cons
  • Max file size is 100MB
  • Very few tools

5. VEED - Best for Subtitles

VEED Interface

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

Capterra Rating: 3.8/5

Price: Free
*Premium versions available for $25/month for Basic and $38/month for Pro

Key Features:

  1. Screen and Web Cam recorder
  2. Text animations
  3. Templates
  4. Stock library

If you need to resize video and add subtitles, try VEED. It has a wealth of subtitle and transcription tools that allow you to manually add subtitles, automatically add subtitles, turn audio to text, transcribe and translate video, or turn video to text.

Easily resize video to your preferred aspect ratio with VEED. Just drag and drop your files into the editor, click Settings and choose your size. VEED has aspect ratios for YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more. Then select your resolution (including 4K, 1080p, and 720p) without a loss of video quality.

VEED is a beginner-friendly video editor with lots of features, including several ways to resize video. The problem with VEED is the price. It does offer a free version that includes the resize video tool, but it is only for projects under 10 minutes, under 250MB, and up to 720p resolution. Plus, all projects have a watermark and no customer support. The premium versions are very expensive - more than many professional-level video editors we’ve seen. If you need all the tools VEED offers at a much lower price, we recommend PowerDirector or OpenShot.

Pros
  • Beginner-Friendly
  • Several options for resizing video
Cons
  • Free version restricting
  • Expensive premium version

6. Easy Video Maker – Best for Batch Resizing

Easy Video Maker Interface

Image from easymakevideo.com.

Compatibility: Windows

Softonic Rating: 3.7/5

Price: Free
*Premium versions available for $49.99 for Gold and $99.99 for Platinum

Key Features:

  1. Motion effect
  2. Chroma key
  3. Mix/Edit audio
  4. Color correction

Easy Video Maker is the best video resizer on our list for editors who need to resize multiple videos at once. It has tools to help you quickly make a batch of videos by resizing, cropping, or adding the same background, music, text, and logos to the whole bunch. It also has a simple tool for resizing a single video. Just upload a video then manually input a new width and height to zoom in or out. Finally, choose an output format, and click Render to create the new video file.

In addition to the resizer tool, Easy Video Maker offers several tools for basic video edits. For example, you can convert to another video format, and use the fundamental split, cut, crop, and merge tools. The freeware also allows for fast switching between story mode and the editing timeline, allowing you to view your changes easily and see how they affect your overall creation.

Easy Video Maker is a good choice if you need to resize multiple videos because of its batch editing capabilities. However, the free version limits movie length and only offers one resizing tool with manual inputs for width and height. Therefore, PowerDirector is the better choice for resizing videos, and it’s much easier to use.

Pros
  • Features a range of primary and advanced editing tools
  • Supports a wide range of video and audio formats (MP4, AVI, WAV, WMA, and more)
Cons
  • Free version limits the length of movies
  • Only one method to resize video

7. Adobe Express Free - Best for Templates

Adobe Express Free Interface

Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Web Browser

PCMag Rating: 3.5/5

Price: Free
*Premium version available for $9.99/month

Key Features:

  1. Video speed adjustment
  2. Crop/Trim video
  3. Merge video
  4. Reverse video

Adobe Express Free is the free version of Adobe’s affordable and easy-to-use graphic design tool. It comes with thousands of free templates to kick-start your photo and video projects. There are templates for every kind of social media post or ad, so you can skip the video resizing altogether and choose a template in the size you need.

There are other ways to resize video using Adobe Express Free. Upload a video (videos can be up to an hour long with the free version, unlike Easy Video Maker and VEED which have more restrictive video length requirements). Choose a social media destination for automatic resizing to the correct aspect ratio or fill in a custom size. Once you’ve resized your video, use the video scale lever to zoom in or out and drag your video if needed so your subject stays in the frame.

Adobe Express Free offers a variety of ways to resize video and has the correct aspect ratios labeled for individual sites, in case you aren’t sure what size you need. This is mostly a graphic design tool and has more options for photo editing than video. If you plan to edit videos before resizing them, try PowerDirector. It offers the same variety of resizing tools plus hundreds of other video editing tools and effects.

Pros
  • Robust free version
  • Variety of resizing options
Cons
  • Light on video editing tools
  • Not accessible from Adobe Creative Cloud

8. Kapwing - Best for Teams

Kapwing Interface

Compatibility: Web Browser

Product Hunt Rating: 3.4/5

Price: Free
*Pro and Teams versions available for $16/month

Key Features:

  1. Meme generator
  2. Subtitler
  3. Blur tool
  4. Collage maker

Kapwing is an online video editor and video resizer that is ideal for team collaboration. Everyone’s work is stored in the Team Workspace, where it can be accessed and seen by other team members. Review and leave feedback with time-stamped comments and edit together in real-time.

There are a variety of ways to resize video with Kapwing. Input exact pixel dimensions with Custom Size or select a social media platform for the correct aspect ratio. If you need to resize a vertical video into a landscape format, Kapwing has tools to add a background or frame to cover the black bars.

Many of Kapwing’s tools (including the video resizer) are included in the free version, but the export options are very restricting. This creates a problem for many users who spend hours creating free content, only to discover they can’t export without paying. For a completely free video resizer, try one of our open-source options.

Pros
  • Variety of ways to resize video
  • Lots of free tools available
Cons
  • Restrictive export options in free version
  • Reports of frequent glitches and crashing

9. Kdenlive – Best for Linux Users

Kdenlive Interface

Image from Kdenlive - User Interface.

Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, Ubuntu

AlternativeTo Rating: 3.4/5

Price: Free

Key Features:

  1. Text animations
  2. Effects and transitions
  3. Audio meter
  4. Automatic backup

Kdenlive, or KDE non-linear video editor, is an open-source video resizer you can download and use on Linux and Ubuntu systems. It’s also compatible with Mac and Windows, but users report that it’s somewhat crash-prone on those systems, so it’s our top choice for Linux users. Resizing videos is simple: Move the cursor on the timeline to the left or right. Alternatively, you can use the snap-to icons to resize clips quickly.

Kdenlive also offers users a range of basic and intermediate editing tools. For example, it has a video cropping tool and the basic editing options to trim, cut, rotate, merge, and split videos. Plus, the software allows users to edit multiple video and audio tracks simultaneously and has the option to create custom keyboard shortcuts for fast edits.

While Kdenlive is ideal for Linux users who need to resize a video quickly, it has some significant drawbacks. First, it’s very crash-prone, especially for Windows and Mac users. It also takes up a large portion of CPU usage, and its output format range is quite limited. It does have additional options for editing videos, but it uses a lot of memory and lacks GPU acceleration.

Pros
  • Compatibility with GNU/Linux users
  • Simple editing tools to resize videos
Cons
  • Performance can be slow and crash-prone (no GPU acceleration)
  • Video outputs are limited; doesn’t support MKV, AVI, MOV

10. VSDC Free Video Editor – Best for YouTubers

VSDC Free Video Editor Interface

Compatibility: Windows

PCMag Rating: 3/5

Price: Free
*Pro version available for $19.99

Key Features:

  1. Video effects
  2. Color correction
  3. Video and audio converter
  4. Motion tracking

VSDC, from Video Soft Dev, is great for YouTubers and streamers and has a simple video resizer tool for editors of all skill levels. The top toolbar on the free version has several icons you can use to edit videos for various social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram. In addition, you can quickly resize videos by changing the resolution, orientation, or aspect ratio.

You can use VSDC for more than just resizing videos. Surprisingly, the free version has a wide range of video and audio editing tools for creating content. In addition, VSDC doesn’t limit video length or add a watermark to edited videos like many other free editors. It’s also easy to download and doesn’t require advanced hardware to run.

It’s simple to resize videos on VSDC, and this free editor is the best choice for people who frequently upload videos to YouTube and other social media platforms. While VSDC has advanced resizing tools, they are only available to premium users who pay to use the software. Plus, there’s no compatibility with Mac users, and the interface is very challenging to use, particularly for beginners.

Pros
  • Contains a large selection of tools, effects, transitions, and features
  • You can resize videos with just a few clicks
Cons
  • Advanced resizing tools are only available on the paid version
  • No hardware acceleration makes performance slow

11. Clideo Video Resizer Online - Best Selection of Aspect Ratios

Clideo Video Resizer Online Interface

Compatibility: Web Browser

Capterra Rating: 3/5

Price: Free
*Pro version available for $9/month or $72/year

Key Features:

  1. Picture-in-Picture and split-screen
  2. Adjust brightness and contrast
  3. Speed adjustment tools
  4. Slideshow maker

Clideo Video Resizer Online is a resizing tool available for free on files up to 500MB. It comes with social media presets for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and even ads for Discovery, TrueView, and In-Stream.

It is easy to resize videos with Clideo. Select a preset or input a custom dimension. Then crop or move the video around so it fits nicely into its new size. Choose a background color, blur, or zoom in on the video to cover blank spaces.

Clideo Video Resizer Online is very easy to use for first-timers and has a good selection of video resizing tools. Clideo also has a basic video editor on its site, but it is separate from the video resizer, video compressor, video cropper, and a host of other video editing tools that should naturally fall under the video editor. It does make these tools incredibly easy to find and use, especially if you only need that one tool to edit your video. We recommend PowerDirector if your video needs go beyond video resizing.

Pros
  • Google Drive and Dropbox integration
  • Great customer service
Cons
  • Sparse amount of editing tools, even in video editor
  • Resizer separate from other video editing tools

Best Video Resizer Comparison Chart

Software OS Beginner-friendly Resizing Feature Social Media Presets Advanced Editing Tools Free Download
PowerDirector Windows, Mac Yes Resize tools include manual adjustment of width and height, aspect ratio, and scale, or use the drag-and-drop tool Yes Yes
Free Download
Secure Download
OpenShot Windows, Mac, Linux, Web Browser Yes Manual adjustment of width and height, or enter aspect ratio No Yes Download
iMyFone Filme Windows, Mac Yes Change the scale, resolution, and aspect ratio or use the slider tool to rescale Yes No Download
EZGIF.com Web Browser Yes Manually enter a new size and click the resize button. No No Download
VEED Windows, Mac Yes Choose aspect ratio, use the drag-and-drop tool, and choose a new resolution Yes Yes Download
Easy Video Maker Windows No Manually resize videos by changing width and height input No Yes Download
Adobe Express Free Windows, Mac, Web Browser Yes Choose a social media-friendly template, enter custom size, or choose a site for automatic resizing. Yes No Download
Kapwing Web Browser Yes Input a custom size or choose a social media platform for automatic resizing Yes No Download
Kdenlive Windows, Mac, Linux, Ubuntu No Drag the cursor along the timeline to resize or use the Snap-To icons for preset sizes Yes Yes Download
VSDC Free Video Editor Windows No Change the resolution, aspect ratio, or scale to resize your videos Yes Yes Download
Clideo Video Resizer Online Web Browser Yes Select a custom size, a social media preset or use drag-and-drop tool Yes No Download

PowerDirector vs

OS

Windows, Mac

-

Beginner-friendly

Yes

-

Resizing Feature

Resize tools include manual adjustment of width and height, aspect ratio, and scale, or use the drag-and-drop tool

-

Social Media Presets

Yes

-

Advanced Editing Tools

Yes

-

How to Resize Video

Would you like to learn how to resize video? Forget about those complex editors that take weeks to learn. Just follow these simple steps to resize video on PowerDirector.

Download PowerDirector for free below.


  1. Open PowerDirector and select the video you want to edit
  2. Add your video to the editing timeline.
  3. Double click on the Video Clip in the timeline to open the PiP Designer Editing Window.
  4. Click on Object Settings to access the resizing tools.
  5. PowerDirector Interface - PiP Designer Resize
  6. Scroll the menu to see video resizing options, including Scale, Width, and Height. Adjust to your desired settings using the Slider Tool.
  7. Click OK on the bottom right corner of the PiP Designer to apply your changes and return to the timeline.
    Alternatively, you can resize video using the Drag-and-Drop Tool. Click and hold one of the four corners of the adjustment nodes on the video frame. Drag the node to the place you want on the screen to make the video larger or smaller.
  8. PowerDirector Interface - Resize Video

For more information on how to resize video, check out How to Resize a Video for Free [Mac, Windows].

Download the Best Video Resizer for Free

While you can find an abundance of free software on the internet for editing and resizing videos, not all of them are user-friendly. Out of our top eleven choices of free video resizers, PowerDirector beats them all. With an advanced video editing suite and lightning-quick rendering, it’s never been easier to create compelling content you can share with family, friends, or online.

You can quickly resize videos on PowerDirector using the PiP Designer or with the cursor to drag and drop the video frame in the editing preview. This professional editor doesn’t just offer tools for resizing videos, it also includes thousands of different effects, transitions, features, templates, and tools to create unique video content that you can export and share to virtually any platform.

Download PowerDirector for free to create new content with AI-powered editing tools and effects.

Video Resizer FAQ

1. What Is the Best Video Resizer App?

The best apps to resize video are:

  1. PowerDirector
  2. iMovie
  3. Splice
  4. KineMaster
  5. InShot

For more information on the best video editing apps, check out 5 Best Free Apps to Rotate Videos and 5 Best Free Apps to Crop Videos.

2. What Features Should I Look for in a Video Resizer?

The top features you should look for in a video resizer include the ability to:

  1. Resize with the drag-and-drop tool
  2. Resize via width and height
  3. Edit videos by cropping, cutting, trimming, and splitting
  4. Resize and rescale by changing the aspect ratio
  5. Export, share, and upload video content to any social media platform

If you’re looking for video resizing software that checks all of these boxes, we recommend PowerDirector.

3. How Can I Resize a Video?

You can resize video with PowerDirector in several different ways. You can drag and drop the corners of the video to your preferred size, enter in a new aspect ratio, or change the height and width of the video.

4. What is the Best Video Resizer?

PowerDirector is our choice for the best video resizer because it offers several ways to resize video for every skill level and need, has preset aspect ratios for all popular social media platforms, is beginner-friendly, and offers all its resizing tools for free.

5. How Do I Resize a Stretched Video?

You can resize a stretched video by changing its aspect ratio.

With PowerDirector, you can do this by clicking Tools, then Crop/Zoom/Pan. Use the Aspect Ratio drop-down menu to choose a new size.

6. How Do I Resize an MP4 Video?

You can resize an MP4 video in any of the ways described above in our “How to Resize Video” section.

7. How Do I Reduce the MB of a Video?

You can reduce the MB of a video in PowerDirector for free with these simple steps:

  1. Add your video to the timeline.
  2. Edit as needed, then click Produce.
  3. Choose Standard 2D, Online, or Device and choose a file format.
  4. Click on the + symbol to customize your final video file format. When you are done, click OK.

8. What is the Best Video Compressor?

PowerDirector is the best video compressor, because it comes with a full video editing suite and is beginner-friendly. You can compress video in a few simple clicks.

9. How Can I Resize Video Offline?

Many of the video resizers on our list are web-based and require an online connection.

However, with PowerDirector, you can resize video offline.

10. How Do I Change Video Resolution to 1280x720?

Follow these steps in PowerDirector to change video resolution.

  1. Click Produce.
  2. Choose a file format.
  3. Click Profile Name/Quality to choose a new resolution from the drop-down menu.

You will find many options that include 1280x720.

Was this article helpful?

You May Also Like:

Recommended Products: