5 Ways to Find Duplicate Videos on Windows PC and Mac

Videos are typically large in size, so duplicate videos can waste lots of storage space. If you have a large video collection and want an easy, quick way to delete duplicates among them, this article can get you covered.

In this article, I will share five ways to find and delete duplicate videos, helping you easily find the method that best suits your needs. Some methods are available for Windows, some for Mac, and some for both.

 Cisdem Duplicate Finder

Easily Find and Remove Duplicate Videos

• Identify duplicate videos, photos, audio files, and all other types of files
• Detect similar photos too
• Support Windows PC, Mac, external storage devices, cloud drives, and more
• Find duplicate files in folders, iTunes/Music, and Mac's Photos
• Automatically select all but one file for deletion in each set of duplicates, enabling you to delete all duplicates at once
• Also let you select/deselect files manually or choose from 10 rules (e.g., Select Newest)
• Send deleted duplicates to Recycle Bin (PC) or Trash (Mac) for easy recovery if needed
• Easy to use for everyone

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.11 or later GET IT ON Google Play Download on the App Store

5 ways to find and remove duplicate videos

I tested these five methods on my Windows 11 Pro computer and iMac running macOS Ventura.

Method 1. Use a duplicate file finder with support for video files

Compatibility: Windows 10 or later; macOS 10.11 or later

My take: Accurately and quickly identify duplicate videos and allow users to reliably remove all duplicates at once

This method uses Cisdem Duplicate Finder, which supports videos as well as all other types of files. It quickly compares videos' hash values (which are generated by file content) and accurately detects duplicate videos - videos that are exactly the same in every way, regardless of their file names.

It displays detected duplicates for you to easily view. (Mac users can even preview videos within the app.) Thanks to automatic duplicate selections (and manual adjustments if needed), it's easy and quick to remove all duplicates.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Download and install Cisdem Duplicate Finder on your Windows or Mac computer. Open the app.

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.11 or later

2. Under Local File Scan, add the folders or drives where you believe duplicate videos exist. You can also drag and drop folders or drives directly into the scan area.

Click Scan Now.

3. Go to the Videos tab to review the found duplicate videos as needed.

4. The app has already automatically selected all duplicates while keeping original files unselected. Simply click Delete to delete all selected files at once. (You can select or deselect files by hand or choose from multiple selection rules.)

Method 2. Use a tool dedicated to duplicate video detection

Compatibility: Windows bit-64

My take: Effectively find both duplicate and similar videos

Duplicate Video Search finds duplicate videos by comparing the actual visual content of video files. Therefore, it can identify duplicate videos, videos with the same content but differences in sizes or formats, and certain edited (like trimmed) versions of the same video.

It supports nine video formats by default, which is enough in most cases. You can add more supported formats if needed. It offers three sets of options. You can configure options to decide how it compares and detects same and similar videos. This app is not foolproof. It’s more suitable for computer-savvy people or those who work heavily with videos.

When the detection is complete, you will be presented with the sets of duplicates this app finds. In each set, all but one video is automatically selected for elimination. The automatic selection may not be that reliable when it comes to similar videos.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Download Duplicate Video Search on your Windows PC.

2. Launch it. Under the Search Folders box, Click the Add button. Add folders you want to search for duplicate videos.

3. In the Process File Types box, make sure the video types that you need to scan are in the list.

4. Disable or enable the 3 Video Reading Options according to your needs. Adjust other settings if necessary, or simply keep the default settings.

5. Click Search.

6. When the scan is complete, it will show you all found duplicate videos as a list of thumbnails, and displays resolution, duration, size in the Summary column.

7. It also automatically selects videos that it believes are duplicates. You can also manually check the boxes next to the video files that you wish to delete.

8. Remove the selected videos to the Recycle Bin by clicking the Delete button on the top tool bar.

Method 3. Use an open-source tool

Compatibility: Windows 7 or later; macOS 10.12 or later

My take: Good for finding and removing duplicate files including duplicate videos

If you prefer a free method, then this method is worth checking out. It uses an open-source app called dupeGuru. It supports videos and some other common files types like images and audios. It has three modes: Standard, Music and Picture, each with several file comparison methods. To make sure that it accurately looks for duplicate videos, you need to choose the Standard mode and then the Contents method.

Despite being free, it is efficient to use. With it, both the identification and removal of duplicate videos can be easy and quick. It doesn’t provide a built-in video preview feature but you can double-click on the video file name to play it using the default application.

However, some features/options can be somewhat hidden. For example, to turn on automatic selection, you need to go to the Mark menu. To remove selected items, you need to go to the Actions dropdown menu. Additionally, dupeGuru only lets you select or deselect videos it considers to be duplicates, while the original videos cannot be selected or deleted.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Download and install dupeGuru on your computer.

2. Open it. Select Standard mode. Select Content as the scan type.

3. Click the plus icon on the bottom right corner. Add folders to scan.

4. This step is optional. Click More Options. Exclude video files smaller/larger than a specific size from scanning.

5. Click Scan.

6. Click the Mark button. Select Mark All from the drop down menu. This will mark all duplicate videos for you.

7. Then go to the Actions menu. Choose Send Marked to Recycle Bin.

Method 4. Use a method built-in to Mac

Compatibility: macOS 13 or later

My take: Good for detecting duplicate videos and photos in Photos on Mac

Developed by Apple, Photos is a photo management app included with macOS, which allows users to view and manage photos and videos. The Photos app in macOS 13 or later has a duplicate detection feature. This feature is completely automatic and not customizable and works in the background.

It may take some time for the macOS to analyze your Photos library and find duplicate videos. If you can’t see duplicate videos there, one possibility is that none of your videos has a duplicate. Another possibility is that Photos hasn’t finished detecting duplicates. In such a case, you have to wait. There is nothing else that you can do. You may have to wait for hours, days or even longer.

It offers 2 options for you to deal with duplicates: merge or delete. If you choose to merge, Mac will automatically keep the one with the best quality of all the duplicate videos and includes all the metadata.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Open the Photos app on your Mac.

2. Select Duplicates from the left sidebar.

3. Click Filter By on the upper right corner. Choose Videos.

4. Then you can view all the found duplicate videos on your Photos library. Each set of duplicate videos has a Merge option, and you can click Merge to automatically get rid of all but one video. You can also manually select videos to delete.

Method 5. Use a free tool dedicated to identifying duplicate videos

Compatibility: Windows XP or later

Our take: Good for looking for duplicate video files

If you are a Windows users who is looking for an easy way to find duplicate videos but prefers manually deleting them in File Explorer, this method is for you. In addition to folders, this method supports searching your iTunes library for duplicate videos.

The Search result tab will display all the found duplicate videos. To remove them, you need to go through all the videos and manually select the unwanted ones for removal. There is a Select automatically button, but it is not available in the free version. And the Selection button is also useless, which only helps select all, deselect all, or invert selection. The built-in video preview also doesn’t work at all. Another annoying thing is that ads always popping up when it performs scans, moves files, and deletes files.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Download and install it on your PC.

2. Select Strong duplicate as the comparison type.

3. Check the box next to Video files under File type.

4. Click the Add folder button. Add folders to scan. Or click Add iTunes library to start iTunes on your PC and search for duplicate videos in it.

5. Click the Start button at the bottom.

6. Select unwanted video files by hand.

7. Click Action. Then click Remove.

8. Close the pop-up ads window. Confirm the deletion.

A complete comparison of these 5 methods

Below is a comparison to help you make quick informed decisions.

FAQs

Why are there duplicate videos on my computer?

They can accumulate on your computer for various reasons, such as copying videos to another folder, importing or downloading the same videos to your computer twice or more, etc. Compressing, converting or editing videos can lead to similar videos. Generally, you only need to keep one copy or version of a particular video on your computer. Knowing the reasons may help you avoid duplicate videos.

How do you get rid of duplicate videos?

You can do it manually or using dedicated software. If there aren’t many video files on your computer, looking for them by hand is feasible. If there are tons of videos, using software is the best choice.