Can I use Shrinkpad for free?

Yes! Shrinkpad offers a free tier that lets you compress up to 10 files per batch with standard compression settings. It's perfect for trying out the app or occasional use. For unlimited batch processing, all formats, and advanced controls, you can upgrade to a Personal or Team license.

What file formats does Shrinkpad support?

Shrinkpad supports a wide range of formats. For images: JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, TIFF, GIF, and BMP. For videos: MP4, MOV, M4V, AVI, and MKV. We also support 30+ RAW camera formats including CR2, CR3 (Canon), NEF (Nikon), ARW (Sony), DNG, and many more.

Does Shrinkpad support video compression?

Yes! Shrinkpad can compress videos just like images. Simply drag and drop your video files or folders, and Shrinkpad will reduce their file size while maintaining visual quality. Video compression is available on Personal and Team licenses.

How many files can I process at once?

With the free tier, you can process up to 10 files per batch. With a Personal or Team license, there's no limit — you can process hundreds or even thousands of files in a single batch.

Are my files uploaded to the cloud?

No, never. All compression happens 100% locally on your Mac. Your files never leave your device, and we have zero access to your images or videos. This makes Shrinkpad perfect for sensitive or confidential content.

Does it work on my Mac?

Shrinkpad runs natively on macOS 13 Ventura and newer, with full support for both Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and Intel Macs. The app is optimized to take full advantage of Apple Silicon performance.

Can I use Shrinkpad on multiple devices?

The Personal license ($14) is valid for 1 device. If you have multiple Macs or work with a team, the Team license ($35) covers up to 10 devices. You can transfer your license to a new device if you replace your computer.

Is there a refund policy?

Yes, we offer a 7-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. If you're not satisfied with Shrinkpad for any reason, simply email support@shrinkpad.app within 7 days of your purchase with your purchase date and order details, and we'll process a full refund.

How to Compress Video on Mac Without Losing Quality

You recorded a 4K video. It's 2.5GB. You need to send it somewhere — email, Slack, a client portal — and it's just... too big.

So you Google "compress video" and immediately worry: Won't it look terrible? Short answer: no. Modern video compression is nothing like the blocky YouTube-circa-2007 experience. The hardware in your Mac was literally designed for this. Let's walk through your options.

Why Video Files Are So Massive

Video is thousands of still frames, each essentially a photograph. One minute of 4K video at 60fps is roughly 350MB if shot in ProRes, or about 175MB in HEVC. That adds up fast.

The key insight: the codec matters more than the quality slider. H.265 (HEVC) produces the same visual quality as H.264 at roughly half the file size. If your video is already H.265, you can still compress further by slightly reducing the bitrate — and the difference is invisible to the human eye.

The Built-in Way: QuickTime Export

macOS gives you a basic option out of the box:

Open your video in QuickTime Player.
Go to File → Export As.
Choose a resolution: 4K, 1080p, 720p, or 480p.

The problem? You can only pick resolution presets, not quality or bitrate. So if you want to keep 4K but reduce the file size, QuickTime can't help. And there's no batch processing — one file at a time.

The Terminal Way (For the Brave)

If you're comfortable with the command line, ffmpeg is the gold standard:

ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx265 -crf 28 output.mp4

This works brilliantly. The CRF value (18-28 is the useful range) controls quality — lower means bigger, higher means smaller. But the learning curve is steep: codec flags, two-pass encoding, audio settings. It's a rabbit hole.

The Fast Way: Compress Video with ShrinkPad

If you want the power without the complexity, this is where a dedicated tool pays off.

Real World Test

Compressing a 4K video (2.1GB, 3 minutes):

QuickTime: 1080p export only — no quality control, lost 4K.
ffmpeg: 2 min 40 sec (if you know the right flags).
ShrinkPad: 45 seconds, with real-time quality preview.

Here's the workflow:

Drag & Drop: Drop your video files (or an entire folder) onto ShrinkPad.
Adjust quality: Slide the quality bar and watch the estimated file size change in real time.
Choose format: Keep it as MP4 or MOV — whatever you need.
Compress: Hit the button. ShrinkPad uses multi-threaded Apple Silicon encoding, so it flies.

It handles MP4, MOV, M4V, AVI, and MKV. And since everything happens locally on your Mac, you're not uploading 2GB to a server and waiting.

Stop uploading your files to the cloud.

Compress images and videos locally on your Mac. Fast, private, and no internet required.

Download for Mac Learn more

Quick Cheat Sheet: What Quality Setting to Use

Not sure how much to compress? Here's a practical guide:

Sharing on social media: 70-75% quality. Nobody's pixel-peeping on a phone screen. You'll save 70-80% of the file size.
Sending to a client: 85-90% quality. Visually identical to the original. Saves 40-60%.
Archival backup: 95%+ or lossless. Keep everything. You're optimizing for the future, not bandwidth.

The key is that ShrinkPad's real-time preview lets you compare before and after — so you're never guessing.

Keep It Moving

Your Mac has a video encoding engine built right into the silicon. There's no reason to upload gigabytes to a web tool or fight with command-line flags. Compress locally, keep your quality, and move on.

If you're also dealing with large photo libraries alongside your videos, check out our guide on batch compressing images on Mac.