The best free video compression software for Windows 11?

ShotCut - That is actually a pretty solid choice if you're looking for a free video compression utility on Windows 11. It's primarily known as a full-fledged video editor, but lots of people use it specifically to cut down on video file sizes.

Here's the simple way to use it as a video compression utility:

1. Download and install ShotCut.

2. Click on the 'Export' button in the top- right corner. This opens up all the compression settings.

3. In the export panel, look for the 'Quality' parameter under the 'Codec' tab. This is your main tool for controlling file size. The default is often set to preserve quality, which can actually make the file bigger than the original! So, to compress it, you'll want to turn down that quality slider. Maybe try something like 45% and see how it looks.

4. For even better compression, switch the codec from H 264 to H 265. This can shrink your video to about 42% of the H 264 file size while keeping quality very good. It will take longer to export, but the results are worth it.

If you want a free video compression utility that gives you a lot of control without being too complicated, ShotCut is a great option. Just remember the key trick: turn down that quality slider from the default!