How to Speed Up a Video (2×, 4× or a Time-Lapse)
Speed up a video 1.25× to 4× — for quicker tutorials, time-lapses and highlight reels — with voices kept at their natural pitch. Free, in your browser.
3 min read ·
To speed up a video, open Change Video Speed, add the video, pick a speed — 1.25×, 1.5×, 2×, 3× or 4× — and choose whether to keep the sound. The new length is shown before you start. Press Change speed, and download the MP4. Voices stay at their natural pitch, so a 1.5× tutorial is quicker without sounding like chipmunks.
Speed up a video step by step
- Open Change Video Speed.
- Add the video — MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV — or paste a direct link.
- Choose the Speed. The tool shows the result, such as "10:00 at 2× = 5:00".
- Choose the Sound: Keep it (same pitch) or Remove it.
- Press Change speed to …, check the result, and download the MP4.
Which speed for what?
| Speed | Use it for |
|---|---|
| 1.25×–1.5× | Tutorials, lectures, talking-head videos — still easy to follow |
| 2× | Screen recordings of slow processes, walkthroughs, cooking steps |
| 3×–4× | Time-lapse style: drawing, building, cleaning, travel drives |
For a true time-lapse of hours (a sunset, a plant growing), 4× isn't enough — record with your phone's Time-lapse mode instead, or speed up an already sped-up clip again.
Keep or remove the sound?
- Keep it for speech up to about 1.5×: the tool changes the speed without changing the pitch, so voices sound natural, just faster.
- Remove it above 2×, where speech becomes hard to follow and background noise sounds frantic. Add music afterwards with Add Audio to Video.
Tips
- Cut the boring bits first with the Video Cutter — speeding up a clip that's half waiting is less effective than removing the waiting.
- Speed up only part of a video by cutting that part out, speeding it up, and joining the pieces again with the Video Merger.
- Faster means smaller. A 2× video is half as long, and usually about half the file size — handy when a clip is just over an upload limit.
- Loop a sped-up clip for a background or display with Loop Video.
Make a time-lapse from a long recording
- Record the activity with the phone on a stand — a drawing, a build, a sunset over 20 minutes.
- Trim the start and end with the Video Cutter.
- Speed it up 4×, choosing Remove it for the sound.
- Run the result through again at 4× for 16× — a 20-minute recording becomes 75 seconds.
- Add music with Add Audio to Video.
If you only want silence and the original speed, Mute Video removes the sound without re-encoding.
Fast-forward vs playback speed
Most players and YouTube let viewers change playback speed. Speeding up the file itself matters when you're posting to apps that don't offer that, making a highlight reel, or keeping a social clip short enough for the platform's limit.
Quality and format
The sped-up video is saved as an MP4 (H.264 and AAC) that plays everywhere, whatever the original format. Speeding up drops frames evenly, so motion stays smooth.
Privacy
The video is processed in your browser with ffmpeg (WebAssembly); nothing is uploaded, and there's no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
What's the maximum speed?
4×. For more, run the result through again (4× twice = 16×).
Can I slow a video down instead?
Yes — the same tool offers 0.75×, 0.5× and 0.25×. See the guide to making a slow-motion video.
Will it work on my phone?
Yes, in Safari or Chrome. Short clips are quickest.