Free Online Video Trimmer

To trim a video, upload it to EchoWave's video trimmer, drag the start and end handles on the timeline (or type exact times), choose Extract to keep the selected part or Remove to cut it out, then press Trim video and download the result. The trimmer is free, needs no sign-up and adds no watermark.

How the video trimmer works

Your video appears with a timeline of frames and two handles. By default the selection covers the whole video, so you shorten it by pulling the handles in.

• Extract keeps only the selected part. Use it to pull a highlight out of a long recording or to cut the dead time off the start and end.
• Remove cuts the selected part out and keeps everything around it, joined into one video. Use it for a pause, a mistake or an ad break in the middle.
• Fade to black and Audio fade are optional tick boxes. They are off until you turn them on.

The shortest selection you can make is 0.05 seconds. Press Preview to play the selected range before you commit. If you need more than one cut, repeat the process on the result, or use the video cutter page for the cutting workflow and the split video tool to divide a video into equal or timed pieces.

Trimmer, cutter and splitter: which one

The three words describe different jobs, and EchoWave has a tool for each.

• Trim shortens a clip. Extract keeps a range, Remove cuts a range out. This page.
• Cut is another word for the same job. The video cutter and cut video pages cover it from that angle.
• Split turns one video into several files. The split video tool can divide by equal parts, by a maximum length, or at custom points, and you choose which pieces to export.

For cuts that depend on other layers, such as removing a section under a music track or text, open the video in the video editor, where you can split a clip on the timeline and delete the piece you do not want.

Trim by exact start and end time

Dragging is quick, but typing is exact. Type a start of 00:12 and an end of 00:47 and the tool keeps that range. Press Set start or Set end while the video is paused to grab the playhead's current time. On the timeline, the handles also move with the arrow keys: a tap moves 0.1 seconds and holding Shift moves 1 second.

Exact times help when a clip has to hit a length for an ad, a quote or a rhythm. Platforms change their limits for Reels, Shorts and TikTok often, so check the current maximum on the platform before you trim to it, then type the end time so the result fits on the first attempt.

Cut a section out of the middle

To remove a pause, a blooper or a dead patch, switch the mode to Remove, drag the handles around the part you do not want and press Trim video. The pieces before and after are joined into one continuous video, and the page shows the resulting duration first.

Need to remove two or three sections? Run the trimmer again on the result, one section at a time. Check each join before you move on. If a clip has music, text or other clips layered on it, do the cuts in the editor instead so everything stays lined up.

Does trimming change the quality?

A trim cuts the video to a new length. It does not scale it or crop the picture, and the trimmer adds no watermark. Fade to black and Audio fade are optional and off by default, so a plain Extract is just a shorter copy of your clip.

If the result is still too big to send, run it through the video compressor. If the shape is wrong for where it is going, crop the video next.

Supported formats

The upload box says MP4, MOV or AVI and many more, and it accepts video files in general. This includes the formats that phones, cameras and screen recorders produce. If your browser cannot play a file, EchoWave converts it to MP4 for the preview, which usually takes 10 to 30 seconds, and then you can trim as normal.

The trimmer works on video. An audio-only file is not accepted here.

Trim a clip for social posts

Feeds autoplay, so the strongest moment belongs at the start. Cut the countdown, the pause and the throat-clearing off the front. Cut the tail too, because a clip that ends on its point loops better than one that trails off.

Length comes first and shape second. A vertical 9:16 frame suits TikTok, Reels and Shorts, 1:1 suits a feed post and 16:9 suits YouTube. If the shape also needs to change, crop the trimmed clip or resize it for Instagram.

Trim on a phone or a computer

The trimmer is a web page, so there is nothing to install. On a phone, tap the upload box and pick a video from your camera roll. The handles are large enough to drag with a finger, and the Start time and End time boxes are there when you need to be exact.

Long recordings, like a lecture, a meeting or a gameplay session, are the common case. Extract the part you need, then trim again if you need to tighten it. Uploads are used to produce your file and are not made public.

Clipping from a YouTube video

EchoWave works on video files you upload. It cannot download a video from a YouTube link. If you have the file and the right to use it, trim it here like any other clip. The YouTube cutter page covers that case.