Add progress bar to video

How it works

1. 1

   Add your video

   Drop or pick the clip. It stays on your device.

2. 2

   Style the bar

   Pick a color, thickness, and top or bottom position. Press play and the preview bar moves exactly like the final render.

3. 3

   Render and download

   The bar is burned into the video so it shows on every platform, in every player.

The progress bar retention trick, done properly

Scroll any feed and you will see it: a thin colored line creeping across the bottom of the video. It works on viewer psychology, a visible countdown makes finishing the video feel cheap, and finished videos are what the algorithm promotes. The trick only works when the bar is accurate though; a bar that fills too early or never completes reads as broken.

This tool burns a mathematically exact progress bar into your video: it derives the sweep from the clip's real duration during encoding, so the bar hits 100% precisely on the final frame. Color, thickness, and top or bottom placement are yours to choose, and the live preview rides on your actual video so you can judge contrast before rendering.

Burned in, not an app effect

Editor apps often draw progress bars as an effect layer that exists only inside that app, or export it with a watermark on the free tier. Here the bar becomes part of the pixels: one clean H.264 MP4 with no watermark, rendered locally in your browser without uploading the clip anywhere.

Typical flow for short-form: trim the clip, convert it vertical with the horizontal-to-vertical tool, add the progress bar last so it spans the final cut exactly, then run the safe zone checker to confirm the bar and captions sit clear of the platform UI.

Why nothing uploads

Other tools send your video to their servers, which costs them money per file, so they add watermarks, cap file sizes, and make you sign up. This tool does the work right here in your browser using your own device. Your file is never uploaded, so there is no wait, no watermark, no size limit, and no account.

Questions

How do I add a progress bar to a video for TikTok or Reels?

Drop the clip here, pick a color and thickness, choose top or bottom, and render. The bar is burned into the pixels, so it plays identically on TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and anywhere else the video goes.

Why do creators add progress bars to short videos?

Retention. A visible bar tells viewers the video is short and almost over, which measurably reduces early swipe-aways. It is one of the oldest and most repeatable tricks in short-form editing.

Does the bar timing stay accurate?

Yes. The bar's position is computed from the video's own timestamps during encoding: it starts empty at 0:00 and reaches full width exactly on the last frame, whatever the clip's length.

Which color and position work best?

High-contrast colors read best: red or white on most footage. Bottom placement is the convention viewers already understand, but top placement avoids clashing with captions and platform UI in the lower fifth of the frame.

Is this free, and is there a watermark?

Free, no watermark, no signup. The overlay is rendered in your browser, so your video never uploads anywhere and the output is clean.

More tools