Compress a video
Camera footage recorded at capture-quality bitrates is re-encoded with H.264, dropping detail a viewer is unlikely to notice so the file loads fast and stays clearly watchable. A lower CRF keeps more quality. Pay per use, no subscription.
This task is not available right now, so it cannot be purchased. Nothing is charged for it.
How it works & APIA video that's technically fine but too heavy is still a problem — slow pages, bounced uploads, storage bills that creep up for no visual gain.
Where the extra weight comes from
Cameras and phones tend to record at settings tuned for capture quality, not for delivery: high bitrates, minimal compression, sometimes formats meant for editing rather than playback. None of that is wrong at the point of recording, but shipping that same file straight to a website, an app, or an email attachment means paying — in load time, in bandwidth, in storage cost — for quality margins nobody watching on a phone screen will ever perceive.
What happens to your video
The service re-encodes the video to reduce its file size, balancing bitrate and encoding settings against visual quality so the result stays clearly watchable while dropping the weight that delivery doesn't need. Once it's done, you're notified and the compressed file is ready to fetch.
Compression is a trade-off, not a trick
Video compression works by discarding information a viewer is statistically unlikely to notice — subtle color gradients, motion between frames that can be predicted rather than stored outright — a principle that's been refined since the earliest broadcast-era codecs and is why modern formats can shrink files dramatically without an obvious loss in perceived sharpness.
Push it too far and the trade becomes visible as blocking or blur; the point of a dedicated compression step is landing in the range where the file is small but the drop in quality isn't something a viewer would flag.
What you can do with it
User-generated video on a CMS or app
A platform accepting video uploads from users compresses each file automatically on arrival, keeping storage and bandwidth costs predictable regardless of what device recorded the original.
Faster-loading marketing and landing pages
A web team compresses hero and product videos before publishing so page load times stay fast, directly supporting both user experience and search ranking.
Email and messaging attachments
A sales or support team compresses recorded demo videos so they fit within email and messaging attachment size limits without switching to a separate file-sharing link.
Archive and backup storage costs
A company compresses older recorded footage before long-term archival storage, cutting storage costs on assets that are kept for reference rather than active editing.
FAQ
Will compression make my video look worse?
Compression targets bytes that are unlikely to be visually missed, so a well-compressed file stays clearly watchable; pushed too aggressively, any codec starts to show blur or blocking, which is why balanced settings matter.
What happens if compression fails on a file?
The task is retried automatically up to three times, and if it still fails you receive a clear error with no charge for that attempt.
What does the CRF setting change?
It sets the balance between quality and size. A lower value keeps more detail and gives a larger file; a higher value shrinks the file further but, pushed too far, shows blocking or blur.
Why are phone videos so heavy in the first place?
Cameras and phones record with settings tuned for capture, with high bitrates and light compression. That margin helps while editing, but nobody notices it on a phone screen, so it only slows pages and fills storage.
How do I know when my compressed video is ready?
The job runs in the background after you send the video. You are notified when it finishes, and the compressed file is then ready to download.
Related tools
For developers — API access
Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.
API endpoint
One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. This capability is currently available through the API, not as an interactive Web tool.
Call it from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/compress \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"video":"https://example.com/clip.mp4"}'const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/compress", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"video": "https://example.com/clip.mp4"
})
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();import os, requests
res = requests.post(
"https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/compress",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
json={
"video": "https://example.com/clip.mp4"
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/compress", false, stream_context_create([
"http" => [
"method" => "POST",
"header" => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
"content" => '{"video":"https://example.com/clip.mp4"}',
],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"video":"https://example.com/clip.mp4"}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/compress", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)Example request
{
"video": "https://example.com/clip.mp4"
}Example response
{
"task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
"type": "video.compress",
"status": "queued",
"_links": {
"result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
}
}The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.
Pricing
Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.
Limits
max_mb | 500 |
max_minutes | 60 |
max_megapixels | 3.9 |
Errors
| HTTP | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
401 | unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key. |
402 | insufficient_balance | Your balance doesn't cover the task price. |
404 | unknown_type | That task type doesn't exist. |
429 | rate_limited | Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling. |
Technical notes
This endpoint compresses a video down to a size that actually suits where it's going, trading invisible bytes for a file that loads and plays the way it should.
What the endpoint does with the file
Send the video to POST /video/compress and a task_id comes back while the job queues.
Who actually needs this, routinely
This isn't a one-time fix — it's a recurring need for anyone with a pipeline that ends on the web: a CMS accepting user-uploaded video that must not balloon storage costs, an app with upload size limits that raw camera footage blows past, an email marketing tool that can't attach anything heavy, a site whose load time directly affects how it ranks. Each of those is the same underlying task repeated at scale, which is exactly what an API endpoint is for.
Honest status update
The path, the pricing, and the behavior described here are the final version; once open, failed compressions are retried automatically and never billed if they still don't succeed. This endpoint is completing its final deployment phase.
Technical questions
How much smaller does the compress video API make a file?
It depends on the source: footage recorded at a high, uncompressed bitrate typically shrinks the most, while an already-compressed file has less room to reduce further without visible quality loss.
Is there a free tier for the compress video API?
There's no free tier — free tiers get abused and slow everyone down. Access runs on a prepaid ForHosting KIT balance: top up from $10.00 (it never expires) and each request is charged at its published price, so a call with no balance returns HTTP 402. No subscription, no tokens, no invented credits, and a failed task is never charged.
How do I get the compressed file back?
Via a signed webhook when the job completes, or a signed link that stays valid for 24 hours after compression finishes.
Can I compress a large batch of videos in one workflow?
Yes, each compression request is an independent async task with its own task_id, so processing an entire library is a matter of looping the call, not a special bulk mode.
Does compressing change the video format?
Compression reduces file size within the existing format; if you also need a different container or codec, pair this with the video converter endpoint.
Is this endpoint accepting jobs yet?
It's in final deployment; the endpoint, price and behavior documented here are final and it will open for requests shortly.