Comparison

Video Compressor vs Below

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Video Compressor

This app helps you reduce the storage space videos take up on your device. It compresses videos by lowering bitrate while preserving quality and safely replaces originals after verification. Avoid deleting precious memories or paying for extra cloud storage.

Highlights
  • Compresses videos by lowering bitrate
  • Preserves video quality (resolution, frame rate, HDR)
  • Safely replaces original videos after integrity check
  • Background compression and Live Activities tracking
  • On-device processing for privacy
  • Reduces cloud storage usage
Features
Read full description

Your videos are eating your storage. Deleting them hurts, and cloud plans add up — LeanVid opens a third way. It compresses videos by lowering only the bitrate while preserving quality (resolution, frame rate, color, HDR, and every track), then safely replaces the originals — but only after each result passes an integrity check. ■ MADE FOR YOU IF • You keep seeing "iPhone Storage Almost Full" • You can't bring yourself to delete family or travel videos • You'd rather not add another monthly fee just for more cloud storage ■ COMPRESSION THAT PROTECTS QUALITY • Lowers only the bitrate — resolution and frame rate stay untouched • Best-effort preservation of HDR (HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision compatible) and color information • Audio, subtitle, and metadata tracks are copied as-is (only audio that MP4 can't hold is converted to AAC) • Compare before and after with side-by-side, top-bottom, or slider playback — see for yourself, then decide • Detailed spec comparison: codec, bitrate, HDR, frame rate, and more ■ VIDEOS OUTSIDE YOUR PHOTO LIBRARY, TOO • Pick videos from the Files app (On My iPhone, iCloud Drive) and compress them • Files your iPhone can't play are handled by the built-in converter — MKV, WebM, AVI, WMV, FLV, TS, MPG and VOB files with VP9, AV1, VP8, MPEG-1/2/4, DivX, Xvid, WMV or Motion JPEG video • Their audio (AAC, MP3, AC-3, Opus, Vorbis, WMA, PCM) is converted along with the video; subtitle tracks and iPhone spatial audio are not carried over • Replace the original file or save the result to your photo library ■ SAFEGUARDS FOR YOUR ORIGINALS • Replacement proceeds only after the result passes integrity verification • Deleting originals goes through the iOS system confirmation, and they stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days • A recovery journal safely rolls back interrupted work if the app quits mid-task • Compression history lets you re-compare or export anytime ■ SAVINGS THAT REPEAT EVERY MONTH • A lighter library lowers your cloud usage too • Once usage drops below a plan tier, downgrading one step saves you money automatically every month • Not a one-time cleanup — savings that show up on every bill ■ NO WAITING AROUND • Compression continues in the background (iOS 26+ devices; earlier versions pause and auto-resume) • Track progress from the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island with Live Activities • Sort by size to start with the videos that free up the most space • Videos stored in iCloud are downloaded and processed automatically ■ PRIVACY • Everything happens on your device — no data about your videos is ever collected or transmitted • No contradiction: an app that cuts your cloud fees never uploads your videos to a cloud of its own • No account required About the permission it asks for LeanVid needs access to your photo library to find compressible videos and to replace originals after verification. Originals are deleted only with your confirmation. Videos from the Files app need no extra permission — only the files you pick are accessed.

About

Below

Features
Read full description

Need it under 10 MB? Choose the maximum file size. Below makes the video fit. Below does one job: it makes a video fit strictly under the size you ask for. No bitrate math, no quality sliders, no guessing. Type the limit in MB, tap Make it smaller, and Below picks the resolution, frame rate and bitrate for you. Then it checks the finished file byte for byte, so a video Below calls done really is below your limit. PICK THE LIMIT. WE HANDLE THE REST. • Enter any size from 0.1 MB up, with decimals. • Tap a preset: 10, 25, 50 or 100 MB. • Save three sizes of your own in My sizes. They are one tap away in the app and in the Share Sheet. • Below warns you before a limit would cost too much detail, and refuses limits that cannot produce a watchable video. • Already small enough? Below keeps the original quality and tells you so. VERIFIED, NOT ESTIMATED Below measures the real output file after encoding. If a first pass lands over the limit, Below tries again at a lower bitrate. It never reports a predicted size as a result. Duration, orientation and audio are preserved. Saved copies keep the date the video was filmed, so they land in the right place in Photos. Location is removed unless you choose to keep it. Output is standard H.264 MP4 with AAC audio, so it plays and shares anywhere. KEEPS GOING IN THE BACKGROUND Start a compression, then switch to another app or lock your phone. Below keeps working, iOS shows its progress, and you can stop it from there. COMPRESS FROM WHEREVER THE VIDEO LIVES • Photos and Files inside the app. • Share Sheet: share a video from Photos or Files, choose Below, and finish right there. • Shortcuts: the Compress Video Below Size action takes a video and a target in MB and hands back the smaller file for any automation. YOUR VIDEO NEVER LEAVES YOUR IPHONE Everything happens on your device. No account. No upload. No servers. No analytics. Your original video is never changed or deleted. Below collects no data. SIMPLE, HONEST PRICING Your first three compressions are free, with full quality and no watermark. Below Pro unlocks unlimited compressions for a single one-time purchase. No subscription. No ads. Ever. WHAT BELOW IS NOT Below is not a video editor or a media library. It does not trim, filter, batch or convert between formats. It is the fastest way to answer one question: how do I get this video under X MB? Sizes use decimal megabytes (1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes), the same unit Photos and most services use. Very short clips and very small limits may not have enough room for a watchable result; Below tells you when that happens instead of producing something unusable.

Screenshots

Video Compressor4 screens
Below4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Video Compressor at none against Below's 1. Video Compressor also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). Below's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Below sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Video Compressor asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Video Compressor ships an update weekly, Below every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Video Compressor versus Below: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVideo CompressorBelow
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHyungsung KimMatthew Donders

In-app purchases

None

Video Compressor

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Below

One-time1
  • Below Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Video Compressor free?
Video Compressor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Below free?
Below is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Video Compressor or Below have ads?
Video Compressor shows ads; Below does not.
Which is updated more often, Video Compressor or Below?
Video Compressor ships an update weekly, and Below every 5 days. Most recently, Video Compressor was updated on October 4, 2026 and Below on October 1, 2026.

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