MOV to MP4 Converter
Turn iPhone videos, Mac screen recordings and other QuickTime .mov files into MP4 that plays everywhere. H.264 video is rewrapped, not re-encoded, so it keeps its exact quality and is done in seconds; HEVC from recent iPhones is converted to H.264 so Windows can open it — or kept as it is if you choose Fast mode.
H.264 and HEVC video is moved into the MP4 as it is: same quality, done in seconds. HEVC stays HEVC.
HEVC and other formats are re-encoded to H.264 + AAC so the MP4 plays on older Windows PCs, Android phones and TVs; iPhone HDR becomes standard color. Slower.
Loading the video engine (first time only)…
This browser can't re-encode video (no WebCodecs support). Fast mode still works.
🔒 Your videos are converted on your own device and never uploaded. Your settings are remembered in this browser.
How to convert MOV to MP4
- Leave Mode on Best compatibility (H.264) so the MP4 plays on Windows PCs, phones and TVs, or choose Fast — no re-encoding to keep HEVC video exactly as it is.
- Drop your .mov files into the box or tap Choose videos. Each row shows the video format and the length.
- When a row says Done, it also tells you whether anything was re-encoded. Press Play to check the video, then Download it; Download all saves the files one after another.
MOV and MP4 are close relatives
MOV is Apple's QuickTime file format. MP4 is built on the ISO base media file format, which was itself developed from QuickTime, so the two are containers of the same design and can hold the same kinds of video and sound. The differences lie in the label and a few details inside — and in the fact that some websites, Windows apps and devices accept only the .mp4 kind.
That's why many MOV files — screen recordings and clips from iPhones set to Most Compatible, which are H.264 — don't need re-encoding at all. The converter reads the compressed video and audio out of the MOV and writes the same data into an MP4. Every frame and every audio sample stays exactly as it was, and the job takes about as long as reading the file.
Fast mode or Best compatibility?
Fast copies H.264, HEVC and AV1 video and AAC, MP3, AC-3 and E-AC-3 sound straight into the MP4. HDR, 10-bit colour and the rotation flag of portrait videos come through untouched. Other formats are converted so the MP4 plays in common players: video such as VP9 or VP8 becomes H.264, and PCM, Opus, Vorbis or FLAC sound becomes AAC.
Best compatibility (H.264), the default, re-encodes all video except ordinary 8-bit H.264 and turns other sound into AAC; AC-3 sound, common in camcorder .mts files, is kept as it is because most browsers can't decode it. HDR is converted to standard colour and the rotation is applied to the picture itself. That is what lets an iPhone clip open in Windows' own Photos and Media Player apps, on Android phones, TVs and strict upload forms. If this browser can't decode HEVC, the video is copied as in Fast mode and the row says so. It is slower, because every frame is decoded and encoded again, and the MP4 often ends up larger than an HEVC original, since H.264 needs more data for similar quality. To make a file smaller rather than more compatible, use the video compressor; to keep only its sound, MP4 to MP3.
What happens to each kind of MOV
What the converter does depends on what's inside the file, not on the .mov name. Each row shows the video format as soon as you add a file, and the finished status tells you which path it took.
| Inside the file | Typical source | Fast mode | Best compatibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.264 video, AAC sound | Mac screen recordings, iPhones set to Most Compatible, many cameras and apps | Copied — same quality, seconds | Copied as well, if it's ordinary 8-bit H.264 |
| HEVC (H.265) video, AAC sound | iPhones on the default High Efficiency setting, including HDR clips | Copied — stays HEVC, HDR kept | Re-encoded to H.264, HDR turned into standard colour |
| H.264 video, PCM sound | Some DSLR and mirrorless cameras | Video copied, sound converted to AAC | The same |
| ProRes | iPhone Pro models set to ProRes, masters exported from editing apps | Not supported — browsers can't decode ProRes | Not supported |
| VP9 or VP8 (WebM, MKV) | Browser-based recorders, some screen-capture apps | Re-encoded to H.264 | Re-encoded to H.264 |
The status reads “Done · not re-encoded”, “Done · sound converted to AAC” or “Done · re-encoded to H.264”, so you always know whether the picture was touched.
HEVC, Windows and the compatibility switch
Since iOS 11, iPhones set to the High Efficiency camera format — the default — have recorded HEVC, also known as H.265. Macs, iPhones and iPads play it without fuss. Windows' built-in Photos and Media Player apps need Microsoft's HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store before they can play it (some PCs come with it preinstalled), while VLC plays HEVC out of the box. iPhone photos run into the same wall as HEIC files, and HEIC to JPG deals with those.
That is why Best compatibility (H.264) is the default: Fast mode keeps HEVC as HEVC, so a clip that wouldn't play on a Windows PC before won't play there after conversion either — only the container changed. Fast mode doesn't decode the video, so it runs even on a computer that can't play HEVC; Best compatibility does decode it — if it can't, the video is copied instead and the row tells you — which on Windows means Chrome with a graphics card that supports HEVC and hardware acceleration switched on, or Edge with the HEVC Video Extensions installed.
iPhone settings that decide what you get
- Settings › Camera › Formats: High Efficiency records HEVC; Most Compatible records H.264, which opens everywhere but takes more space.
- Settings › Camera › Record Video › HDR Video: while this is on, iPhone 12 and later record Dolby Vision HDR.
- Transfer to Mac or PC (in the Photos settings): with Automatic, videos copied to a computer over a cable may be converted to a more compatible format on the way; Keep Originals copies the HEVC files exactly as recorded.
- Mac screen recordings made with Shift-Command-5 or QuickTime Player are saved as .mov files and normally contain H.264 video, which rewraps in seconds.
Other ways to convert MOV to MP4
- iMovie (Mac): add the clip to a project and choose File › Share › File. iMovie saves an MP4, re-encoding it along the way. QuickTime Player's Export As produces .mov files, not MP4.
- Clipchamp (Windows 11): put the clip on the timeline and export. Clipchamp outputs MP4 and always re-encodes.
- VLC (Windows, Mac, Linux): Media › Convert / Save with one of the MP4 profiles. Those profiles re-encode, so it takes far longer than rewrapping.
- HandBrake: free and open source, with detailed quality controls; it always re-encodes.
- ffmpeg: on the command line,
ffmpeg -i input.mov -c copy output.mp4rewraps without re-encoding, much like Fast mode.
What's kept and what's left out
- Kept: the main video track and the main audio track, with their timing; in Fast mode also HDR, 10-bit colour and the rotation of portrait videos. HEVC is labelled hvc1, the form Apple's players expect.
- Left out: extra audio tracks, subtitles, timecode and other data tracks that cameras and phones sometimes add.
- File names: holiday.mov becomes holiday.mp4; an MP4 put through again gets “-converted” added so nothing is overwritten.
- Large 4K files: if the computer can't encode H.264 at the original size, Best compatibility scales the video down to 1920 pixels on the long side.
- Files over 512 MB are written with the MP4's index at the end instead of the start, which saves memory. They play normally once downloaded; the difference only matters if you host the file on a website and want playback to begin before it has fully loaded.
Phones can also record when and where a video was shot. Don't rely on conversion to remove that information — if a clip shouldn't reveal its location, check the file's details before you share it.
Frequently asked questions
Does converting MOV to MP4 lose quality?
Not when the video is ordinary H.264, such as a Mac screen recording: it is copied in both modes. HEVC is re-encoded to H.264 in the default Best compatibility mode, which costs a little quality; choose Fast mode to copy HEVC and AV1 untouched. Formats such as VP9 are re-encoded in either mode.
Can I just rename .mov to .mp4?
It sometimes seems to work, because many players look at what's inside a file rather than at its name. But the file is still a QuickTime movie with a new label, and editors, upload checks and some devices can still reject it. Converting writes a genuine MP4, and in Fast mode it takes barely longer than renaming.
Why is the MP4 almost the same size as the MOV?
When the video and sound are copied — H.264 sources, or anything in Fast mode — only the container changes, so the size barely moves. HEVC re-encoded to H.264 often comes out larger. To make a video smaller, compress it to a target size instead.
Is there a file size limit?
Yes: up to 2 GB per file on a computer and 500 MB on a phone or tablet, because the finished MP4 is assembled in the browser's memory before it is saved. There is no limit on the number of files.
Are my videos uploaded?
No. The MOV is read and the MP4 is written inside your browser tab, and you save the result straight from the page. The first time, the page fetches its video engine from capypix.com; the video itself is never sent to a server, so there is no upload to wait for, however large the file.
How do I convert MOV to MP4 on Windows 11?
Open this page in Chrome or Edge, drop the .mov file in and download the MP4. The default, Best compatibility (H.264), turns an HEVC clip into H.264 so Windows' own apps can play it; Fast mode only rewraps it. Clipchamp, which comes with Windows 11, can also export MP4 but always re-encodes.
How do I convert MOV to MP4 on a Mac?
Use this page in Safari or Chrome, or iMovie's File › Share › File, which exports MP4 after re-encoding. QuickTime Player can't save MP4 files; its Export As command produces .mov.
How do I convert MOV to MP4 on iPhone?
Open this page in Safari, tap Choose videos and pick the clip from your library; download the MP4 and it lands in the Downloads folder of the Files app. Files up to 500 MB can be converted on a phone.
Can I convert ProRes MOV files?
Not yet. Browsers have no ProRes decoder, so both modes stop with a message naming ProRes. Export an H.264 or HEVC version from your editing app, or use a desktop converter.
Does it work with MKV or WebM files?
Yes. An MKV with H.264 or HEVC video, such as a recording from OBS, is rewrapped into MP4 just like a MOV. WebM files usually contain VP8 or VP9 video with Opus or Vorbis sound, so they are re-encoded to H.264 and AAC.
Can Windows play MOV files?
Usually, when the video inside is H.264 — Windows' Media Player and Photos apps handle that. HEVC MOVs from recent iPhones need Microsoft's HEVC Video Extensions first. Converting with Best compatibility (H.264) gives a file that plays without any add-on.