We crop videos to cut unwanted parts, trying to focus audience’s attentions or fit the video to different streaming platforms. A video cropping is often processed with a fixed aspect ratio. For a Mac user, cropping video can be done with iMovie—the free video editor preinstalled in macOS. And today, we list 4 free options to crop a video on Mac with or without iMovie
Part 1. Easily Crop Video with Wanted Aspect Ratio on Mac
I used to be a iMovie heavy user since the year of 2015 when I had my first Mac, it was absolutely the best free video editor these years, but as my video editing skills advanced and my needs to create videos becomes diversified & complicate, I switched to a professional video editor for cropping or other video editing needs. In addition, online, free video cropping tools are limited in features or come with a watermark. Therefore, most of us finally prefer a paid video editor expert to crop or edit videos on Mac.
To crop videos with wanted aspect ratio on Mac, be it square, widescreen or portrait, Movavi Video Editor Plus is a robust program to try.
Open iMovie on Mac. When you get to the main window, click the “Create New” button and then choose “Movie” option from the drop-down list. Click “Import Media” to import the video you want to trim and then click “OK” to load it to iMovie. After loading, choose the video clip in the “Media” pane. MP4 cutter MovieMator for Mac and Windows PC. MP4 Cutter Mac Download. MP4 Cutter Windows.
Standout Features of Movavi Video Editor Plus
- Edit audios and videos: add music, add text, remove sound, delete, cut, crop, trim, combine, split
- Offer free sounds, music, video, etc.
- Edit titles
- Auto create videos for quick video creation
- Record video, audio
- Add effects and transitions to video
- Rich media templates available to decorate videos
- Add animation and stickers to video
- Export videos as different video and audio formats
- Support 4K videos
How to Crop Video on Mac with Wanted Aspect Ration?
- Grab a copy of Movavi Video Editor Plus to your Mac, install the application.
- Launch the program, add the video to Timeline.
- Click on the imported video in Timeline, choose the Crop button.
- Choose a Cropping aspect ratio, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1 or custom.
- Then click Export to save the cropped video on Mac.
Part 2. Crop A Video on Mac with iMovie
iMovie is the free video editor on Mac, it allows to create videos with music, texts, transitions, titles, background and so on, also, it helps to crop, rotate, stabilize, mute, adjust color, share, etc. However, you don’t have too many choices on cropping aspect ratio, it allows 16:9 only.
The Good
- Free to use
- Offer editing tools
The Bad
- Crop aspect ratio is limited to 16:9
- Limited media sources to decorate videos
How to Crop A Video on Mac with iMovie?
- Run iMovie, drag and drop the video to iMovie Timeline.
- Then find Cropping button, go to Crop to Fill.
- Move and resize the adjustable frame to crop the video.
- When you feel satisfied with the cropping result, click Cropping button again to apply the change.
- Go to File>Share>File to save the cropped video on Mac.
Part 3. Crop A Video on Mac without iMovie (3 Free Options)
If you don’t have iMovie or iMovie cannot crop videos in your wanted aspect ratio, there are 3 free options to crop a video on Mac without iMovie: using QuickTime Player or online, free Video Cropping tools.
#1 QuickTime Player
QuickTime Player is more than a media player on Mac, it allows recording a part of the screen too, which makes it possible to crop a video with wanted aspect ratio by recording. However, cropping video with QuickTime Player won’t keep the audio, if you are cropping video for further editing and will add new audio track to it, this method is plausible.
The Good
- Free to use
- Crop videos with wanted aspect ratio
- Play and record videos
The Bad
- You have to record the video to crop, the process is time consuming
- There is no sound kept in the cropped video
How to Crop Video on Mac with QuickTime Player?
- Open the video you want to crop, get it ready for playing and pause.
- Run QuickTime Player application on Mac.
- Go to File>New Screen Recording, click on the recording button.
- Drag to record part of the video.
- Click Start Recording and play the video immediately.
- Once the video playing finishes, click the Recording button to save the cropped video.
#2 KAPWING (online, free, No Watermark)

KAPWING is an online, free video editor, it is capable of adding texts, images, audios, and subtitles to video, also of trimming, adjusting, cropping, muting and converting videos. You can crop videos with this tool in constrained aspect ratio, like 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 1:2.4, 4:5, 5:4, 820:312, also can crop video with unconstrained aspect ratio. The created videos will be saved in 720P or 1080P. But you have to sign in with Facebook or Google account to download watermark-free video after cropping.
The Good
- online, free to use
- No watermark is added to the cropped video
- Offer editing tools
- Crop video in square, widescreen, portrait and other aspect ratio
The Bad
- Sign in to remove watermark
- Time consuming to upload, process and download video
- Potential risks of information leaks
How to Crop Video on Mac online, free with Kapwing?
- Navigate to Kapwing and sign in.
- Upload video to the program.
- Click on Crop and choose a cropping aspect ratio.
- Click Done Cropping.
- Click Export Video.
- After cropping process, click Download to save the cropped video to your Mac.
Trimming Video Mac
#3 Online Video Cutter (online, free, No Watermark)
It is an online, free video tool to crop, rotate and trim videos. You can crop videos in 1:1, 4:3, 4:5, 16:9, 18:9, 21:9 or customize the aspect ratio. No sign in is required to process or download cropped video, but there is a file size limit, max 500MB is supported.
The Good
- online, free to use
- No watermark is added
- No sign up/in
- Crop video in constrained and unconstrained aspect ratio
- Trim and roate videos
The Bad
- Time consuming to upload, process and download video
- File size limit: 500MB
- Potential risks of information leaks
Free Video Trimmer For Mac
How to Crop Video on Mac online, free with Online Video Cutter?
- Navigate to Online Video Cutter.
- Upload video for cropping.
- Click on Crop button and choose a cropping aspect ratio.
- Click Save, then download the cropped video to your mac.
Final Words about Crop Video on Mac with VLC
I notice that some users tried to crop videos on Mac with VLC player, however, I failed after several testing.
VLC media player does have a Crop feature in its video toolbar, but you can only crop video in the playing, there is no option offered to save the cropped video.

Quick Trim Video
Also, I tried to follow the videos to crop video in VLC by tweaking video effects, preferences, video cropping filter. When I tried to export the video, I am not allowed to use the video-cropping filter, therefore, I cannot crop videos in VLC.