Convert a video to MP4
A MOV holding H.264 already is an MP4 in all but the label. This changes the label properly.
Drop files here
or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: MP4, M4V, MOV
Up to 3 files per runUp to 150 MB per file5 runs per dayRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Three iPhone clips of a school concert, MOV to MP4 for the school’s upload page
A parent filmed the spring concert upright on an iPhone set to High Efficiency: IMG_2041.MOV (1:24), IMG_2042.MOV (2:11) and IMG_2043.MOV (0:58), HEVC picture and AAC sound at about 45 MB a minute. The school’s upload page takes only .mp4. Setting: Sound “Keep the sound”.
- All three go in one run: the free plan takes 3 files a run at up to 150 MB each, and 5 runs a day. The longest clip is about 98 MB.
- Picture and sound are copied into the MP4 as they are, nothing re-encoded, so each clip takes about as long as reading the file and loses nothing.
- The clips stay upright: the angle the phone stored is copied with the picture.
- Each MP4’s index is written at the front, about 27 KB for the 1:24 clip and 42 KB for the 2:11 one, so a browser can start playing before the download ends.
| Clip | Length | Frames at 30 fps | Size | Comes out as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMG_2041.MOV | 1:24 | 2,520 | ≈ 63 MB | IMG_2041.mp4 |
| IMG_2042.MOV | 2:11 | 3,930 | ≈ 98 MB | IMG_2042.mp4 |
| IMG_2043.MOV | 0:58 | 1,740 | ≈ 44 MB | IMG_2043.mp4 |
Three MP4s the size of the MOVs give or take the index, ready to upload. The picture is still HEVC: if an older Windows PC plays the sound but shows no picture, run that clip through Compress video, which re-encodes it to H.264.
How it works
- Drop the video onto the box. MOV, M4V and MP4.
- Choose whether to keep the sound.
- Press Convert to MP4. It finishes in seconds, because nothing is re-encoded.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is this so much faster than other converters?
- Because most of them re-encode when they do not have to. A QuickTime .mov from an iPhone already holds H.264 or HEVC video and AAC audio — the same things an MP4 holds. All that differs is the container around them. This copies the tracks into an MP4 box as they are, so it takes about as long as reading the file and costs no quality at all.
- Will it convert anything to MP4?
- No, and a converter that claims it will is usually re-encoding behind your back. This takes MOV, M4V and MP4 whose picture is H.264 or HEVC (H.265, what an iPhone records by default). Something in another codec — ProRes, for instance — cannot be copied across as it stands, and you will be told so rather than handed a slow re-encode you did not ask for. Compress video re-encodes on purpose.
- My MP4 will not play on an older device.
- Rewrapping will not fix that: if the picture is in a codec the device cannot decode, the box around it makes no difference. Compress video re-encodes to a widely playable H.264 and is the tool for that.
- Does the file get smaller?
- Barely — the tracks are the same size, so only the container overhead changes. What does change is that the index is written at the front, so the file starts playing before it has finished downloading. If you need it smaller, that is Compress video.
- Will a video filmed upright come out on its side?
- No. A phone stores an upright video as a sideways picture plus the angle to show it at, and that angle is copied into the MP4 with the picture, so it plays upright wherever the MOV did. To turn a clip that really was filmed sideways, use Rotate video.
- Is my video uploaded?
- No. It is read and rewritten in your browser, which is why a 150 MB file is fine here on the free plan when 20 MB is the limit elsewhere. The free plan takes three files a run and 5 runs a day.