Ijharul Islam
To crop a video, open it in an editor's crop tool, choose an aspect ratio (for example 9:16 for TikTok or 1:1 for a feed) or drag the frame's edges, position the frame over the part you want to keep, and save a copy. iPhone Photos and Google Photos both have a Crop tool for video, and on a computer you can use Photos for Mac, Clipchamp, any editor or FFmpeg.
Cropping changes the picture's edges, not its length (that's trimming). This guide covers the steps on each device, the exact crop sizes for common ratios, and how to keep a moving speaker in frame.
The short answer
To crop a video, open it in Photos (iPhone) or Google Photos (Android), tap Edit, then Crop, choose an aspect ratio or drag the corners, and save. On a computer, use your editor's crop tool or FFmpeg, for example ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "crop=ih*9/16:ih,scale=1080:1920" out.mp4 to crop a 16:9 video to 9:16 at 1080×1920.
Key takeaways
- Crop removes the edges of the frame; resize scales the whole frame; letterboxing adds bars.
- From a 1920×1080 video, a 9:16 crop is only about 608×1080 pixels, so it gets softer when scaled to 1080×1920.
- Shoot wider and higher-resolution than you need if you know you'll crop.
- A fixed crop loses a speaker who moves; reframe with keyframes or a speaker-following crop.
Disclosure: we make QuickVeed and show how to do this in it, along with other ways. Details about other products come from their public pages, checked in October 2026 and linked at the end.
Crop, resize or letterbox: which one do you need?
People say “crop” for three different things. Pick the right one before you start:
| Operation | What happens | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Crop | Cuts off parts of the frame; the rest fills the new shape | You want a new shape and can lose the edges |
| Resize (scale) | Makes the whole frame bigger or smaller; shape stays the same | You need a smaller file or a specific resolution |
| Letterbox / pad | Keeps the whole frame and adds bars or a blurred background | Nothing at the edges can be lost, e.g. a slide or screen recording |
Cropping always throws pixels away, so the result has a lower resolution than the original unless you crop from a larger frame. That's the main thing to plan for.
Crop sizes for common aspect ratios
To find the size of a crop, keep the full height and multiply it by the new ratio (or keep the full width and divide). Round to an even number, which most video encoders need.
| From | To | Crop size | Then scale to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920×1080 (16:9) | 9:16 vertical | 608×1080 | 1080×1920 (an upscale, slightly soft) |
| 1920×1080 (16:9) | 1:1 square | 1080×1080 | No scaling needed |
| 1920×1080 (16:9) | 4:5 portrait | 864×1080 | 1080×1350 (an upscale) |
| 3840×2160 (16:9) | 9:16 vertical | 1216×2160 | 1080×1920 (a downscale, sharp) |
| 3840×2160 (16:9) | 4:5 portrait | 1728×2160 | 1080×1350 (sharp) |
| 1080×1920 (9:16) | 1:1 square | 1080×1080 | No scaling needed |
The table shows why recording in 2160p helps when you'll crop to vertical later: the 9:16 slice still has more pixels than the 1080×1920 you deliver. From 1080p, a vertical crop is a little soft but usually fine on a phone.
QuickVeed's free video aspect ratio calculator does this maths for any size: enter a resolution to get its ratio, or a ratio and one side to get the other, rounded to an even number. Check the shape each platform wants in the social media video size guide.
How to crop a video on iPhone and Android
iPhone (Photos)
- Open the video in Photos and tap Edit, then Crop.
- Drag the corners of the frame. The crop keeps the original proportions until you unlock it.
- To choose a fixed shape, tap the aspect ratio button and pick an option such as Square, 9:16 or 5:7 (the list depends on your iOS version).
- Drag the video inside the frame to position it, then tap Done.
The same Crop tool also rotates, flips and straightens. The crop applies to the whole video, so if the subject moves you'll need an editor with keyframes.
Android (Google Photos)
- Open the video in Google Photos and tap Edit.
- Tap Crop. To crop to a set shape, such as a square, tap Aspect ratio and choose one.
- Drag the frame and corners to position it, then tap Save to keep a copy with your edits.
How much of the picture each crop keeps
Before you crop, it helps to know how much you lose. From a 16:9 frame, keeping the full height:
| Crop to | Share of the width kept | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | 56% | Most of a centred subject survives; wide group shots lose the sides |
| 4:5 | 45% | Fine for one person; two people side by side rarely both fit |
| 9:16 | 32% | Room for one face or one product; anything off-centre is lost |
Shoot for the crop you'll need
If you know a video will be posted in several shapes, frame it for all of them when you film. A common method is to shoot 16:9 and protect a 9:16 area in the middle: keep the speaker, their gestures and any product inside the centre third of the frame, and put background interest at the sides. Many cameras and phone apps can show framing guides for this. Record in 2160p if you can, so the vertical crop still has enough pixels.
For screen recordings and slides, cropping to vertical usually doesn't work at all: text gets cut off. Letterbox those instead, or redesign the visuals for vertical.
Avoid stacking crops. Each crop and re-encode loses a little more, so crop once from the original file to every shape you need, rather than cropping a 1:1 version down to 9:16.
When the subject won't fit
Sometimes nothing fits in 9:16: a wide product, two people far apart, a landscape. Two alternatives look better than a bad crop. A split layout places two crops one above the other, for example each speaker's face in a 9:8 box. A blurred-background layout keeps the whole 16:9 picture in the middle of the vertical frame and fills the space above and below with a blurred, enlarged copy, which looks intentional rather than letterboxed. Most editors can make both with two layers of the same clip.
Whatever layout you use, check the result on a phone before posting. Platform buttons, the account name and the post caption cover parts of the vertical frame, so keep faces and key text in the middle area.
How to crop a video on a computer
Mac and Windows editors
Photos for Mac can crop and straighten a video, and the change applies to the whole video. On Windows, Clipchamp has a crop tool for removing edges or black bars. Free editors such as DaVinci Resolve, CapCut and Shotcut can crop too, and they also let you set a vertical project (1080×1920) and move the video inside it, which is the same result with more control.
FFmpeg (free, exact)
FFmpeg's crop filter takes a width, a height and optionally the top-left position; without a position, it crops from the centre. iw and ih mean the input width and height.
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| 16:9 to 9:16, centred, at 1080×1920 | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "crop=ih*9/16:ih,scale=1080:1920" -c:a copy out.mp4 |
| 16:9 to 1:1, centred | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "crop=ih:ih" -c:a copy out.mp4 |
| 16:9 to 4:5 at 1080×1350 | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "crop=ih*4/5:ih,scale=1080:1350" -c:a copy out.mp4 |
| Remove 140 px black bars top and bottom | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "crop=iw:ih-280" -c:a copy out.mp4 |
| 9:16 crop from the left edge | ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "crop=ih*9/16:ih:0:0,scale=1080:1920" -c:a copy out.mp4 |
-c:a copy keeps the sound untouched. Add -crf 18 to keep the re-encoded picture close to the original. If FFmpeg reports an odd width or height, add a scale step as in the examples; it fixes the size to even numbers.
How to crop horizontal video to vertical without losing the speaker
A centred 9:16 crop works when the subject stays in the middle. Interviews and podcasts rarely do: people sit at the sides, lean, and take turns. A fixed crop then shows an empty chair half the time.
Three ways to handle it:
- Keyframe the position in an editor: move the crop to whoever is speaking at each change. Accurate, but slow for a long video.
- Use a split layout: stack two 9:8 crops of each speaker in one 9:16 frame.
- Use a speaker-following crop that tracks faces and cuts to the new speaker automatically.
QuickVeed's Podcast to Clips does the third one for clips from a long video. You upload the recording (up to 3 hours), it suggests 3 to 10 moments of 15 to 90 seconds, and for each clip you choose 9:16, 1:1 or the original shape, with a crop that follows whoever is speaking or a fixed position. Captions in one of 11 styles are added at the same time. The transcript is 1.5 credits a minute, rounded up (45 credits for a 30-minute video, 90 for an hour), and each finished clip is 3 credits with the crop, captions, hook title and clean-up included.
It works on clips, not on a full-length video in one piece; for a single long vertical edit, an editor with keyframes is the better tool. For more detail, see how to convert horizontal video to vertical and Instagram Reels dimensions.
Frequently asked questions
How do I crop a video on my iPhone?
Open it in Photos, tap Edit, then Crop. Drag the corners or tap the aspect ratio button and pick a shape such as Square or 9:16, position the video and tap Done.
Can you crop a video without losing quality?
Cropping always reduces the pixel count, because the edges are removed. You avoid extra loss by starting from the highest-resolution source and re-encoding at a high quality setting.
How do I crop a video to 9:16?
Keep the full height and set the width to height × 9 ÷ 16: from 1920×1080 that's about 608×1080, which you then scale to 1080×1920. In FFmpeg: crop=ih*9/16:ih,scale=1080:1920.
What's the difference between cropping and trimming a video?
Cropping removes the edges of the picture and changes its shape. Trimming removes time from the start or end and changes its length.
How do I remove black bars from a video?
Crop them off. Measure the bar height, then crop that amount from the top and bottom, for example crop=iw:ih-280 in FFmpeg for two 140-pixel bars, or use your editor's crop tool.
Try it with your own video
Work out crop sizes with the free aspect ratio calculator, and let Podcast to Clips reframe long videos into vertical clips. Upload a wide interview, let the crop follow the speaker, and judge the vertical clips for yourself. QuickVeed plans start at $18/month, and new accounts get a 14-day trial with 75 credits, no card needed. Sign up or see pricing.
Sources
Competitor details in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products and prices change, so confirm with each vendor before you decide.
