How to Crop MP4 Video: 6 Best Ways for Windows, Mac & Online (2026)

Part 1. Why Crop MP4 Videos

Before learning how to crop MP4 videos, you should be clear about different editing concepts.

Crop (Spatial): This refers to changing the visual area of the frame. You are physically cutting off the edges of the picture (like using scissors on a printed photo).

• • Example: Removing black bars or zooming in on a person’s face.

Trim/Cut (Temporal): This refers to changing the duration of the video. You are shortening the timeline.

• • Example: Removing the first 5 seconds of a video where nothing happens.

It is essential to remember that Cropping reduces your video's resolution by discarding pixels; stretching a small crop to fill a large screen often results in a blurry or pixelated image. This is a common challenge when trying to remove Letterboxing (black bars at the top/bottom) or Pillarboxing (bars on the sides). While techniques like Pan and Scan can eliminate these bars to fill your screen, they often sacrifice parts of the original composition. To maintain professional clarity, the best practice is to 'overshoot' in a higher resolution (like 4K), so you have enough pixel data to crop or reformat without visible quality loss.

Part 2. Crop MP4 on Windows 10/11 & Mac (Built-in Tools)

To crop MP4 videos on Windows and Mac computers, the easiest choices are the built-in editing tools, Clipchamp, and iMovie.

2.1 Clipchamp for Windows

Microsoft Clipchamp is an easy-to-use video editor built into Windows that makes cropping MP4 videos simple. You can just grab the corners of the video and drag them to cut off unwanted edges or black bars. It’s especially convenient for social media because it includes one-click size presets for TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

Now, let's see how to crop MP4 videos using Clipchamp.

1. Open Clipchamp

Access Clipchamp from your browser, and click Create a new video to open the editing interface.

2. Import MP4 Video

Drag and drop your MP4 file into the 'Your media' tab, then drag it onto the timeline at the bottom. Otherwise, you can click the Import media button to add the MP4 videos you want to crop.

3. Crop the MP4 Video

Choose the Crop icon ine the floating bar to adjust the videos as you need.

4. Export the Cropped MP4 Video

After that, click the top right Export button, and then 1080P to save your videos.

Note: It provides many output resolution options, and you can choose one from them according to your requirements.

This built-in provides various tools for you to adjust and polish your MP4 videos besides cropping. You can explore this tool to enhance your video effects. If you want to output video in 4K, you need to buy the premium version.

2.2 iMovie for Mac

iMovie for Mac provides a streamlined cropping interface centered around its 'Crop to Fill' tool, which allows users to manually drag a selection box to eliminate black bars or focus on specific subjects within an MP4. Unlike the mobile version's pinch-to-zoom, the Mac version offers precise framing and the dynamic Ken Burns effect for adding cinematic motion to static crops. While it is exceptionally fast and optimized for Apple hardware, its primary limitation is a fixed 16:9 widescreen canvas, which often requires users to crop and export in landscape first before using the macOS Photos app to finalize vertical formats for social media.

Follow us to see how to use it to crop MP4 videos.

1. Open iMovie on Mac and Import MP4

Launch iMovie on your Mac. Drag your MP4 into the timeline and click on it so it is highlighted in yellow.

2. Crop the Video

Click the Cropping Tool button located in the toolbar and select the Crop to Fill option. Then, adjust the corners of the white frame in the viewer to select your desired area.

3. Save Changes and Output Video

Lastly, click the blue checkmark in the top right to save the change.

This tool is powerful. Since it is built specifically for macOS, it handles high-resolution 4K and 8K footage with incredible speed, utilizing Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) for smooth real-time previews. Its biggest limitation is its rigid 16:9 widescreen canvas. It does not natively support square (1:1) or portrait (4:5) ratios for Instagram.

Part 3. Crop MP4 for Zero Quality Loss for Windows and Mac

AnyMP4 Video Converter Ultimate is one of the most outstanding video editing software to crop MP4 videos without watermarks. It stands out for its exceptional technical flexibility, allowing you to crop MP4 files with surgical precision by manually inputting pixel values or selecting from a wide range of social-media-ready aspect ratios, like 16:9, 1:1, etc. Unlike the limited web-based processing of Clipchamp or the restrictive ecosystem of iMovie, AnyMP4 utilizes full GPU hardware acceleration (NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel) to deliver processing speeds up to 70x faster, making it ideal for high-resolution 4K or 8K footage. The pro-level features are designed so that everyone can learn easily.

How to Crop MP4 Videos on Desktop

1. Import MP4

Start the best MP4 cropping software after you install it on your hard disk. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X. Go to the Add Files menu at upper left corner and choose Add Files, find the target MP4 videos and open them. If you have put all MP4 files into a single folder, choose Add Folder to import them together.

2. Crop MP4

As long as MP4 loading, you will be taken to the main interface. Click the Edit icon under a title to open the video editor window. Then head to the Rotate & Crop tab. There are several functions on the window. To crop MP4, for example, drag and move the crop box until you are satisfied. You can also resize the video by setting the Crop Area. If you want to change MP4 aspect ratio, pull down the Aspect Ratio option and select a proper one. Hit the OK button to confirm it.

Tip: Click the Apply to All button and the editing will use to all MP4 files in the main interface.

3. Export MP4

Go back to the main interface and head to the bottom area. Select a location folder from the Save to field and click the Convert All button.

The steps are intuitive, and you can follow the provided guide to complete the MP4 cropping. Additionally, it includes various other video editing tools to help you further refine your videos. It offers a free trial, and you can try it for evaluation first.

Part 4. Crop MP4 Online (No Software Needed)

An online video editor is a simple way to crop MP4 videos occasionally. VEED.io, for example, is a well-known web-based MP4 editor. It helps you to crop an MP4 or set the aspect ratio for social media easily. Its interface specializes in social media adaptation, providing a 'Settings' menu where you can instantly resize your canvas to presets like TikTok (9:16), Instagram (1:1), or YouTube (16:9). For custom reframing, you can simply click the video on the canvas and drag the corner dots or side bars to manually 'crop out' unwanted edges or black bars.

1. Visit www.veed.io in a browser and sign in an account. You can create a new account with your email address for free. However, free version will add watermark to your MP4.

2. Click Upload Your Video and it allows you to upload a MP4 from My Device or Dropbox. You can also Record a new video for editing later.

3. The MP4 will be put on the timeline frame by frame. To change the aspect ratio of MP4, pull down the Size option and choose appropriate one. The crop box around the image enables you to crop MP4 by dragging and moving.

4. Finally, click the Export button to download the cropped MP4 or share it directly.

With this free online tool, you can crop MP4 videos on any device, anytime, and anywhere. The limitations are also obvious, that the free plan includes a VEED logo on exports and large video files tke long time to upload.

Part 5. Crop MP4 Video on Mobile

How to Crop MP4 Videos on iPhone with iMovie

iMovie is the built-in video editor on iPhone, so it is the easiest way to crop MP4 on iOS devices. It provides excellent technical flexibility for basic reframing and focuses on speed by allowing real-time adjustments directly on your iPhone or iPad. It can fit clips into a standard 16:9 or 9:16 aspect ratio. Because iMovie handles modern MP4 and MOV formats natively with Apple's hardware optimization, you can quickly crop and export high-resolution 4K clips without needing to navigate complex menus or third-party conversion tools.

Step 1. Open iMovie app, go to Projects, tap +, choose Movies, select the MP4 video and tap Create Movie.

Step 2. Select the MP4 on the timeline and tap the Pinch to zoom video icon. Move the video and put the area that you want to keep in the center. Then pinch the screen in or out with your fingers to crop MP4 on iPhone.

Step 3. At last, save the cropped MP4 to your Camera Roll or share to social media.

With this built-in video editing tool, you can crop your MP4 videos on your phone easily and quickly. However, it lacks advanced features for you to manually animate the properties because iMovie lacks a keyframe system.

How to Resize MP4 Videos on Android with KineMaster

Although there is no pre-installed video editor on Android, third-party video editors, like KineMaster, provide the capacity to crop MP4. KineMaster provides a high-performance mobile solution for cropping MP4 videos. It is distinguished by its unique 'Pan & Zoom' tool for primary timeline clips and a dedicated 'Cropping' menu for video layers. For primary footage, the app allows you to use intuitive pinch-to-zoom gestures to define the start and end positions of a frame, making it easy to eliminate black bars or create dynamic focus shifts. When working with layers, the dedicated Cropping tool offers manual handles for precise edge adjustment and even includes a masking feature to crop videos into specific shapes like circles or triangles with adjustable feathering for smooth edges. It excels in technical flexibility and speed - supporting high-resolution 4K exports at 60 FPS.

Step 1. Open the MP4 editor app from your app tray and tap the movie-making icon. When prompted, choose the proper video aspect ratio.

Step 2. Then import the desired MP4 from your video library and tap it on the timeline.

Step 3. Tap the Pan & Zoom icon and use two fingers to zoom the video on the preview panel to crop MP4 on Android.

Step 4. At last, export the video with appropriate resolution, frame rate and bitrates.

It is also a powerful tool for you to crop MP4 videos on Android with ease. It supports 4K exports at 60 FPS, which ensures that your cropped video remains as sharp as possible. However, one shortcoming is that the free version exports with a watermark, which is annoying.

Part 6. FAQs on Cropping MP4 Video

Conclusion

Now, you should learn 5 ways to crop MP4 videos on computers, mobile devices, and online. These five methods vary in difficulty and product features, so there's always one that fits your needs. Next, you can download the right tool on your computer or handset and follow our steps to remove unneeded parts from the video. AnyMP4 Video Converter Ultimate is the most versatile tool to protect the video quality when cropping MP4. If you have more problems, please leave a message in the comment area below this post.