How do I change a video's aspect ratio without cropping it or adding black bars?

How to change a video's aspect ratio without cropping

Updated 2026-11-11 · AI Video Expand

There are three ways to change a video's aspect ratio: crop it (free, but you lose the edges), pad it with black bars or a blurred copy (keeps everything, but the new space is empty), or fill the new space with AI-generated picture (keeps everything and looks like it was filmed that way). To fill instead of crop, upload the clip to AI Video Expand, pick 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 5:4, and pay ⁠$4.99⁠ for up to 10 seconds at 720p; the MP4 keeps your original sound.

**The original clip**One run at 720p, shown as it came out: the wall, curtain and dark cabinet on both sides are new.

Crop, pad or fill: which one?

Way	What happens	Cost	Use it when
Crop	Cuts the frame to the new shape; whatever is outside is gone	Free in any editor	The subject is in the middle and nothing important is at the edges
Pad (black bars or blur)	Shrinks the whole clip onto the new canvas and fills the rest with black or a blurred copy	Free in any editor	You need it fast and empty sides don't matter
AI fill (outpainting)	Keeps the whole clip and paints new picture in the space the new shape adds	From ⁠$4.99⁠ a clip here	Cropping would cut someone off and bars would look unfinished

Common changes and what gets added

9:16 to 16:9 (TikTok, Reels or Shorts to YouTube): picture is added on the left and right, about two thirds of the final frame.
16:9 to 9:16 (YouTube to TikTok, Reels or Shorts): picture is added above and below.
16:9 or 9:16 to 1:1 or 4:5 (Instagram feed): a smaller strip is added, so it is the easiest change to get right.
4:3 old footage to 16:9: a narrow strip on each side.
This tool makes 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 5:4. It doesn't make 4:3 or 21:9 yet.

Step by step

Upload the clip on the home page: MP4 or MOV, up to 5 minutes and 480 MB, no sign-in needed (a clip over a minute: 720p, to 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1).
Pick the shape you need (16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 5:4) and 720p or 1080p. The price goes by the clip's length and shows before you pay.
Pay for just that clip: 720p: ⁠$4.99⁠ for up to 10 seconds, ⁠$9.99⁠ up to 20, ⁠$29.99⁠ for a full minute; 1080p costs twice that. One payment per clip, no subscription; or credit packs from ⁠$12.99⁠.
Wait about 1 to 3 minutes. The expanded MP4 shows up in My videos, with your clip's own sound and no watermark.
Download it (on iPhone, Save to Photos) and upload it where you need it.

Resize without losing quality

Changing the shape is different from changing the size. If you only need a smaller file or a lower resolution, any editor's export settings do that for free. AI fill is for when the shape itself has to change and you want to keep the whole picture. Pick 1080p if the original is sharp; 720p matches soft or older footage better.

What can go wrong

The AI invents what was outside the frame, so it can't show what really was there: a person cut off at the edge gets a made-up rest of their body, and signs or faces that only appear in the new area are made up too. Fast camera moves and busy edges can shimmer. Up to 5 minutes per clip; trim a longer one to the part you need first.