How to Crop a Video on Windows 11 and 10 (Free)

Cropping a video cuts off the edges of the picture: black bars, a distracting background, a watermark in the corner, or extra space when you want a vertical or square clip for social media. It’s different from trimming, which shortens a video’s length. Windows 11 and Windows 10 can crop videos for free with Microsoft’s Clipchamp editor. This guide walks through Clipchamp step by step, plus free alternatives and a one-line FFmpeg command for exact crops.

Quick Answer

Open Clipchamp from the Start menu (or install it free from the Microsoft Store). Import your video and drag it to the timeline. Select the clip, click Crop in the floating toolbar, drag the handles around the area you want to keep, and click Done. Then click Export and choose a resolution.

Crop vs. Trim vs. Resize

Action	What changes	Example
Crop	Removes parts of the frame (edges)	Remove black bars or a watermark
Trim	Removes time from the start or end	Cut the first 5 seconds
Aspect ratio / resize	Changes the frame shape, such as 16:9 to 9:16	Make a vertical video for TikTok or Reels

Method 1: Crop with Clipchamp (Free, Built In)

1. Open Clipchamp from Start. On Windows 10, install it from the Microsoft Store if it’s missing. Sign in with a Microsoft account.
2. Click Create a new video.
3. Click Import media (or drag your file into the window), then drag the video onto the timeline.
4. Click the clip on the timeline to select it.
5. Click Crop in the floating toolbar next to the preview.
6. Drag the corner and edge handles until only the part you want is inside the frame.
7. Click Done.
8. Click Export and choose 1080p (or 720p for smaller files). The video saves to your Downloads folder by default.

Tip: to change the whole video’s shape for social media, click the aspect ratio button (for example, 16:9) and choose 9:16 or 1:1, then use Fill or crop to reposition.

Method 2: Photos App

In Windows 11, opening a video in Photos and choosing Edit video hands the file off to Clipchamp. The older Windows 10 “Video Editor” in Photos can trim and remove black bars, but it can’t freely crop the frame.

Method 3: Free Desktop Editors

• Shotcut: open the video, go to Filters > +, add Crop: Rectangle (or Crop: Source), set the edges, then Export.
• DaVinci Resolve (free version): in the Edit page, open the Inspector > Cropping settings for precise pixel crops.

Download them only from their official websites.

Method 4: FFmpeg (Exact Pixel Crop)

If you have FFmpeg installed, this command keeps a 1280 x 720 area starting 100 pixels from the left and 50 from the top:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "crop=1280:720:100:50" -c:a copy output.mp4

The format is crop=width:height:x:y. The audio is copied unchanged.

Quality Tips

• Cropping removes pixels. A heavily cropped 1080p video may look soft when exported at 1080p, so crop only what you need.
• Export at the same frame rate as the original.
• Keep the original file until you’ve checked the result.

See also trimming a video on Windows 10.

Troubleshooting

There’s no Crop button in Clipchamp

Make sure the clip on the timeline is selected, and update Clipchamp in the Microsoft Store.

The export has black bars

The project aspect ratio doesn’t match your crop. Change the aspect ratio, or use Fill to remove the bars.

The export takes a long time

Long or 4K videos take a while. Close other apps and export at 1080p.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Clipchamp free?

Yes. The free version exports up to 1080p without a watermark. Some stock media and effects need a paid plan.

Can I crop a video on Windows without installing anything?

On Windows 11, Clipchamp is usually preinstalled. On Windows 10, it’s a free Microsoft Store install.

Summary

1. Open Clipchamp and import your video.
2. Select the clip, click Crop, and drag the handles.
3. Click Done, then Export.
4. Use Shotcut, DaVinci Resolve, or FFmpeg for more control.