How to crop your video for YouTube and download the result

One of the most difficult things about shooting a YouTube video is getting the framing right. It’s far too easy to get the perfect shot, only to discover in the editing process that you left an unwanted object in the frame, or you wish you’d placed your camera had come closer to the subject so there isn’t as many distractions going on in the scene.

This can happen far too often, especially if shooting in public places and outdoors. It might be that a stranger wonders in and out of your shot, but they’re only visible in the corner or at the bottom of the frame of your otherwise-perfect masterpiece.

If this is the case, there’s a simple way you can resolve this. Use a video cropping tool, such as Clideo’s Crop YouTube Video tool, to get rid of objects in the edges or corners of your videos before you broadcast them on YouTube for millions to see. It’s not only free, but it’s super simple to use and can be mastered in just three easy steps. So here’s how to crop a YouTube video and save it...

  1. Upload your work

    To get started, visit Clideo’s crop YouTube videos tool through your device’s web browser and simply choose and upload which clip you would like to crop. You can do this by either hitting the blue Choose file button or - if on a desktop machine - dragging and dropping the file into the page. You can also add a clip directly from your Dropbox or Google Drive account, if you like, just select from the options on the small, downwards facing arrow on the right side of the Choose file button.

    Upload a video you want to crop from YouTube

    Please note that the online video cropping tool will work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android devices for most moving image files under 500MB for free, including the most popular AVI, MPG, MP4, MOV, WMV formats.

  2. Get cropping

    The second stage of the tool will allow you to crop and edit the actual shape of the video.

    Crop the YouTube video by selecting the aspect ratio

    To make things easier, there are crop size presets for different social media formats. For YouTube video, hit the preset 16:9 ratio crop size and then select the desired area using the preview box to make it fit the frame you want. Once you’re ready to create the freshly-cropped video, hit the Crop button on the bottom right side.

  3. Save your new clip

    After a few moments, your video will be cropped, converted and processed and will be ready to be saved back onto your device.

    Download the cropped YouTube video

    You’ll be given the option to download directly via the Download button, or it can be saved to your Google Drive or Dropbox via the small downwards-facing arrow on the right. Not happy with the result? Simply select the Edit result button and you’ll be sent back to the tool’s editing page to make any desired changes.

We are regularly improving our tools to add new features or enhance your experience. Check our Help Center for the most recent instructions.