This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Chris Howe
Hi everyone!
Over the past two weeks, I built a small side project called VideoCompress
— a fast, free, and easy-to-use online video compressor with no watermark or usage limits.
💡 The Problem
There are plenty of “free” online video compressors, but most of them come with frustrating limitations — watermarks, file size limits, or hidden paywalls.
I wanted something simple: just upload → compress → download — no distractions, no tricks.
🧱 The Tech Stack
The project is built with:
- Frontend: Nuxt, for static site generation and an ultra-fast UI.
- Backend: FastAPI, for handling API requests.
- Video Processing: FFmpeg, running on the server for efficient compression.
The Nuxt app is completely static — deployed on a CDN for fast global access — while the backend API handles the heavy lifting on the server.
⚙️ Why I Moved Compression to the Backend
Initially, I implemented compression on the frontend using WebAssembly builds of FFmpeg.
It worked, but the performance wasn’t great — CPU utilization was low, and large files took ages to compress.
By moving the compression process to the server side, I could fully leverage the machine’s CPU and I/O performance.
This resulted in much faster compression, especially for longer videos or high-resolution formats (like 1080p or 4K).
It also gave me more flexibility to:
- Optimize compression presets dynamically
- Handle larger uploads
- Support multiple video formats (MP4, MOV, AVI, etc.)
🧪 Lessons Learned
- Frontend compression sounds cool, but for heavy workloads, it’s just not efficient.
- FFmpeg remains unbeatable when it comes to quality-to-size ratio.
- Keeping the UI minimal is key — users just want results, not settings overload.
- Building static with Nuxt + FastAPI backend is a great combo for projects like this — quick to build, easy to deploy, and highly scalable.
🌍 Try It Out
If you’d like to give it a try, you can check it out here:
👉 https://videocompress.ai
It’s completely free, no watermarks, no hidden limits.
Would love to hear your feedback or suggestions for improvement!
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Chris Howe
Chris Howe | Sciencx (2025-10-10T04:12:12+00:00) I Built a Free Online Video Compressor in 2 Weeks. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/10/10/i-built-a-free-online-video-compressor-in-2-weeks/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.