You have a 45-minute meeting recording and you only need to share three specific segments. Or you want to email a video but it's 80MB and Gmail caps attachments at 25MB. Or you've filmed a long tutorial and want to break it into chapters for YouTube. All of these require the same thing: splitting one video file into multiple parts.
Splitting is fast — much faster than you'd expect. Because the video doesn't need to be re-encoded, a tool that uses stream copy can divide even a large file in seconds. VideoTools Video Splitter does exactly this, for free, right in your browser.
When You Need to Split a Video
Email attachments. Gmail and Outlook both limit attachments to 25MB. If your video is larger, you can split it into parts and attach one per email. Aim for parts under 20MB each to leave room for the email itself. For more tips on sending large videos, see our guide on how to send large video via email.
Social media posting. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts all have maximum video length limits. If your content is too long for a single post, splitting it into a multi-part series is a common strategy. Each part gets its own upload, and viewers can follow the sequence.
Meeting and lecture recordings. A two-hour Zoom recording is hard to navigate and share. Splitting it by topic or agenda item makes the recording searchable and shareable — send only the relevant segment to the people who need it, without making them scrub through the entire recording.
File organization. Long screen recordings, surveillance footage, or event videos are easier to manage when divided into logical segments. Splitting by scene or time period keeps your video library organized without losing any footage.
How to Split a Video Online (Step by Step)
Here's how to split a video using the free VideoTools Video Splitter:
Step 1: Open the Video Splitter. Go to the VideoTools Split tool in your browser. No account, download, or installation needed.
Step 2: Upload your video. Drag and drop your file onto the upload area, or click to select it. MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI, and MKV are supported. Your file stays on your device — nothing is uploaded to a server.
Step 3: Choose a split mode. You have three options: Equal Parts (divide into 2–10 equal segments), By Duration (split every N seconds), or Custom Split Points (place cuts exactly where you want them on the timeline).
Step 4: Configure the split. For Equal Parts, select the number of segments. For By Duration, enter the interval (e.g., 300 seconds for 5-minute chunks). For Custom, click on the timeline bar to place split points at the exact moments you want to cut.
Step 5: Click Split and download. Hit the split button and wait a few seconds. Splitting uses stream copy — no re-encoding means your video is divided in seconds, not minutes, with zero quality loss. Download each part individually.
Three Ways to Split
Equal Parts divides your video into segments of the same length. If you have a 30-minute video and choose 3 parts, you get three 10-minute files. This is the simplest mode and works well when you don't need precise control over where the cuts happen — for example, splitting a large file into email-sized chunks.
By Duration splits at regular time intervals. Set it to 300 seconds and a 20-minute video becomes four 5-minute files. This is useful for creating consistent-length segments, like breaking a lecture into 5-minute chapters or dividing a long recording into manageable pieces.
Custom Split Points gives you full control. Click anywhere on the timeline to place a split marker. Add as many markers as you need, move them to fine-tune the positions, and split. This is the mode to use when you need to divide a video by scene, topic, or specific moments — like separating each speaker's segment from a panel discussion.
Split vs. Trim — What's the Difference?
These two tools solve different problems, and picking the right one saves time.
Splitting takes one video and produces multiple output files. Every second of the original is preserved — nothing is discarded. The video is simply divided at the cut points. You use split when you want all of the content, just organized into separate files.
Trimming takes one video and produces one shorter output file. You select a start and end point, and everything outside that range is removed. You use trim when you want only a specific portion of the video and don't need the rest. See our guide to trimming videos online for a step-by-step walkthrough.
The quick test: "Do I want to keep everything, just in separate files?" Use split. "Do I want only one specific section?" Use trim.
Tips for Better Splitting
For email, aim for parts under 20MB. Gmail and Outlook allow 25MB attachments, but leaving a 5MB buffer accounts for email overhead and avoids failed sends. Use Equal Parts mode and increase the number of parts until each one fits under the limit.
Stream copy splits at keyframe boundaries. Because splitting uses stream copy (no re-encoding), the actual cut points may shift by a few frames to align with the nearest keyframe. For most purposes this is unnoticeable. If you need frame-accurate cuts for professional editing, use the trim tool instead, which can re-encode for precise cuts.
Compress after splitting if needed. If individual parts are still too large after splitting, run them through a video compressor to reduce file size further. This is a two-step process — split first to get manageable segments, then compress each one.
FAQ
Can I split a video for email attachment? Yes. Split your video into parts under 25MB each (Gmail and Outlook limit) or under 20MB to be safe. Use Equal Parts mode and adjust the number of parts until each segment fits within the limit.
Why is splitting on VideoTools so fast? Stream copy technology means the video is cut without re-encoding. The tool only needs to find the split points and copy the data — it doesn't process every frame. Even a 500MB video splits in seconds.
Can I split a video into unequal parts? Yes. Use Custom Split Points mode to place split markers wherever you want on the timeline. Each resulting segment can be a different length.
What format are the split parts saved in? The parts keep the same format and codec as the original video. An MP4 input produces MP4 outputs. Since stream copy is used, the video and audio streams are identical to the original — no quality loss.