How to Fix Premiere Pro Export Stalling at 60 Percent

On Windows 11, Premiere Pro export often climbs to about 60 percent, then sits there with a time estimate that never updates. The likely cause is hardware encoding on your GPU: it finishes the video frames quickly, then stalls while the file is assembled with its audio. Switching to software encoding gets the export through.

Switch the export to software encoding

1. Click the sequence you want to export in the Timeline panel so it's active.
2. Press Ctrl+M to open the Export Settings window.
3. Click the Video tab.
4. Change the encoding setting from Hardware Encoding to Software Encoding.
5. Click Export and let it finish.

Software encoding can be a bit slower, but the export completes instead of stalling. After it finishes, you can switch back to Hardware Encoding for your next projects.

If that doesn't work, render the sequence first

Rendering the timeline before you export means Premiere has less work to do at the end.

1. Click Sequence in the top menu bar and choose Render In to Out.
2. Wait for the render bar above the timeline to turn green.
3. Press Ctrl+M to open the Export Settings window.
4. Expand the General section and check Use Previews.
5. Click Export.

If you export to a cloud-synced folder

Exporting straight into a Google Drive or OneDrive folder can slow to a crawl while the sync client uploads. Export to a local drive first, then move the finished file into the cloud folder by hand. The export runs at full speed and the sync starts only once the file is ready.

FAQ