Online Tool Store
· 4 min read
3 Letterbox Tool Tools, Compared Honestly
Heshan Fernando
Co-founder & COO
You’ve got a video in one aspect ratio and need it to fit a different one — square for Instagram, portrait for TikTok, widescreen for YouTube — without cropping out any of the original frame.
Letterboxing (or pillarboxing) solves this by adding padded bars instead of cutting content, which is the right choice whenever preserving the full frame matters more than filling the entire new canvas.
How to judge a letterbox tool
Offers pad as a distinct option from crop or stretch. Cropping loses content at the edges; stretching distorts the image — pad (letterbox/pillarbox) is the only option that keeps everything visible undistorted.
Runs locally when possible. Video processing that stays in your browser is both more private and often faster than a round trip to a server.
Supports common target ratios. Square, portrait, and widescreen presets cover most social media and platform needs.
No signup for a quick conversion. Fitting one video to a new ratio is typically a one-off task.
The comparison
| Tool | Best for | Free tier | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| ezgif.com | Auto-detect and remove existing black bars, no watermark | Free, no signup | 200MB file cap; auto-deleted after one hour |
| Vivideo | Social media presets (9:16, 1:1, 16:9, 4:5) | Free, no watermark | Signup requirement not clearly stated |
| WUTools | Crop, Pad, or Stretch modes with quality tiers | Free, no signup, fully local | 100MB file cap |
| Letterbox Tool | Square, portrait, or widescreen with padded bars | Free, no signup | No crop or stretch alternative modes |
Facts checked August 2026; tools change their plans.
ezgif.com
ezgif.com lets you pad a video with black bars to fit a new ratio without distortion, and can also automatically detect and remove existing letterboxing or pillarboxing from a video — genuinely free with no watermark.
It isn’t for someone with a very large file — the 200MB cap is generous, but uploaded files are automatically deleted an hour after upload, so download promptly.
Vivideo
Vivideo offers presets specifically tuned for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Reels — 9:16, 1:1, 16:9, or 4:5 — processing in your browser with no watermark on the result.
It isn’t for someone who wants signup requirements confirmed in advance — the page doesn’t clearly state whether an account is needed.
WUTools
WUTools gives you three distinct fit options — Crop, Pad (letterbox/pillarbox bars, or a blurred background fill), and Stretch — with quality tiers and fully local WebAssembly processing so nothing is uploaded.
It isn’t for someone with a longer or larger video — it’s capped at 100MB, smaller than ezgif.com’s 200MB limit.
Letterbox Tool
Our tool fits a video into a new aspect ratio — square, portrait, or widescreen — with padded bars instead of cropping, rendered and downloadable, entirely in your browser.
A real limitation: it offers pad (letterbox) mode only — for crop or stretch alternatives on the same video, you’d need a tool like WUTools that supports all three fit modes.
Which one to pick
If you specifically want padded bars without cropping, use our Letterbox Tool.
If you want to choose between crop, pad, or stretch depending on the video, use WUTools.
If your video already has black bars you want removed, use ezgif.com’s auto-detect feature.
If you want presets tuned to specific social platforms, use Vivideo.
How to do it with Letterbox Tool
- Open the Letterbox Tool.
- Upload your video and choose the target ratio — square, portrait, or widescreen.
- Render and download the result with padded bars, no content cropped.
Browse the full tools directory for more free, browser-based video tools.
You might also need
If cropping to fill the frame is actually what you want instead of padded bars, our Video Cropper trims a video to a new aspect ratio by cutting the edges rather than adding bars.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free letterbox tool that doesn’t need an account?
Yes. Our Letterbox Tool, ezgif.com, and WUTools all work without requiring signup.
What’s the difference between letterboxing and pillarboxing?
Letterboxing adds horizontal black bars above and below the video, typically used when fitting a wide video into a taller frame. Pillarboxing adds vertical bars on the left and right, used when fitting a narrow or square video into a wider frame — both preserve the original content without cropping or distorting it.
When should I letterbox instead of crop?
Letterbox when every part of the original frame matters — text, faces near the edges, or important visual context that cropping would cut off. Crop instead when filling the entire new frame matters more than preserving every original pixel, and the edges you’d lose aren’t critical, a tradeoff covered in general video aspect ratio conversion guidance.
Final thought
For fitting a video to a new aspect ratio without losing any content, letterboxing is the safer default — reach for cropping only when you’re confident the edges being cut aren’t important to the shot.