Discord Video Too Large to Send? Compress It or Share a Link

Check the size, then choose how to send it

When Discord refuses a video, compression is the first instinct. First, check the video's file size in your device's file details and compare it with the upload limit shown for your Discord account.

Discord's official file attachment FAQ lists 20MB for free accounts, 50MB for Nitro Basic, and up to 1GB for Nitro. Some users may be included in experiments with different limits, so use the limit shown in your own upload screen. Server Boost limits apply only inside the boosted server and are separate from Nitro's personal upload limit. Discord lists 50MB for all members at Server Level 2 and 100MB at Level 3; a separate 250MB Larger File Uploads experiment may not be available to every server. Use Nitro when you need more direct attachment capacity from your account, and use server-oriented storage when the video will be shared or revisited by a server audience. The file size limit guide explains the wider upload restrictions.

Choose this	When it fits	Next step
Trim the video	It is only slightly over the limit	Remove unneeded footage, then check the size again.
Compress and attach	You want playback inside Discord	Export a smaller copy, preview it, and attach it.
Share a link	You need to preserve the original quality	Upload the original, set access permissions, and send the link.
Nitro or server-oriented storage	You handle large videos frequently	Use the upload capacity or storage workflow that fits your audience.

Discord checks the original file size before Discord applies compression. Changing mobile video-quality settings alone cannot get an oversized file past that check. If it is over the displayed limit, choose trimming, pre-compression, or link sharing based on the table above. On desktop, use the verified FFmpeg route when a CLI is practical; on a phone or without a CLI, use the original-quality link steps below instead of guessing at an unverified compression workflow.

Compress the video and attach it to Discord

This example was tested on September 13, 2026, with the FFmpeg 7.0.2-static command-line app on Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS. The sample was a generated 20-second, 1920 × 1080 landscape video with audio.

1. Load the video. With FFmpeg installed, open a terminal in the video's folder. Replace input.mp4 in the command below with your filename; -i selects the input file.
2. Adjust resolution and bitrate. The tested settings resize this sample to 1280 × 720, with a video bitrate of 1800k and an audio bitrate of 96k. These are example settings, not a guarantee that every video will fit.
3. Export a separate copy. Run the command and wait for it to finish:

   ffmpeg -i "input.mp4" -vf "scale=1280:-2" -c:v libx264 -b:v 1800k -c:a aac -b:a 96k -movflags +faststart "discord-video.mp4"

4. Check the exported size. On the tested Ubuntu setup, run stat -c '%n: %s bytes' discord-video.mp4. The sample went from 85,414,421 bytes to 4,801,249 bytes, about 4.8 MB. Your result depends on length and content. Preview the copy and compare its size with the limit shown in your upload screen. If it is still too large, or if text and fine details are no longer readable, do not keep recompressing; switch to the link-sharing steps below.
5. Attach and send the exported file. Open the intended Discord conversation, select the plus sign in the message field, then Upload a File. Select discord-video.mp4, add any message, and send it. Wait until the attachment appears in the conversation.

Share a link to the original-quality video

For the original quality, share access to the original file. A lower-quality streaming preview isn't the same as the downloadable original.

1. Upload the original video. Choose a destination that keeps the original file and supports sharing, select the original from your device, and wait for the upload to finish.
2. Set who can open it. Give the intended recipients viewing access. If they need the original quality, also allow downloading the original file. Save those permissions.
3. Send the sharing link. Copy the uploaded video's sharing link, paste it into the intended Discord conversation, and send the message.
4. Confirm recipient access. Ask a recipient to open the link using their own account. Confirm they can view the video and, when needed, download the original. If access fails, correct the permissions and have them retry.

This also keeps event recordings and editing footage available for reuse. For help choosing a sharing destination, see the large file sharing guide.

Start free, then add capacity when it fits

DisCoRibute lets you test the video sharing flow from the free allowance, then expand through storage plans only when the workflow works for your server.

See the video sharing steps