Short version: Shortcuts is free and fine for occasional resizing. Squeezius is faster when you need a video to fit a specific limit — Gmail, Discord, WhatsApp — without trial and error.
At a glance
| Apple Shortcuts (Encode Media) | Squeezius | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, built in | Free for videos up to 1 minute; Pro for longer ($19.99 once, $9.99/yr, or $1.99/wk) |
| Setup | Build the shortcut yourself | None |
| Hit an exact size (e.g. 19 MB) | No — choose a resolution and hope | Yes — pick a size or a destination |
| Picks resolution for you | No | Yes, based on length and target |
| Video to audio | Yes (Audio Only) | Yes, M4A or WAV |
| Video to GIF | Needs extra actions | Built in |
| Live Photo to video | Possible with extra actions | Built in |
| Processes on-device | Yes | Yes |
When Shortcuts is enough
If you occasionally want a smaller copy of a video and don’t care about an exact size, build a shortcut with Encode Media at 720p and keep it in your share sheet. It’s free, private, and made by Apple.
When Squeezius is worth it
- You keep bouncing off a limit and re-trying different resolutions.
- You send to different places with different caps (work email at 10 MB, Discord at 20 MB).
- You want a GIF or Live Photo conversion without wiring up a multi-step shortcut.