MOV to MP4 Converter: Free, Online, in Your Browser
By Bruce Li · Founder of PicWay. A heavy iPhone user with more than 100,000 photos, he tests every feature on a real iPhone.
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How to do it
Choose the MOV
Tap the box above and pick a MOV from your iPhone, camera or a screen recording. The page shows its size, resolution, frame rate and video format.
Check the video setting
An H.264 video is copied as it is. For an HEVC video, keep “Re-encode to H.264” to play it almost anywhere (on iPhone and iPad, the page won’t start it if the new file is estimated to be over 300 MB), or choose “Copy the video as it is” for a fast copy.
Convert and download
Press Convert to MP4 and keep the tab open. The page checks the new file, then offers the MP4 to download.
The short answer
This free online tool converts a MOV video to an MP4 file in your browser, with no sign-up. Choose the MOV, then press Convert to MP4. H.264 video is copied into the MP4 as it is, so it is fast and nothing is re-encoded. If the video is HEVC, which iPhones record by default, the page picks re-encoding to H.264 in browsers that support it so the MP4 plays on more devices (on iPhone and iPad, only if the new file is estimated to stay within 300 MB); you can switch to copying instead.
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What the video setting does
Copy the video as it is moves the H.264 or HEVC frames into the MP4 without decoding them, so it is fast and the picture isn’t re-encoded. Re-encode to H.264 decodes each frame and encodes it again as H.264, which plays on almost any device. The page offers the choice only for HEVC videos, in a browser with WebCodecs. An H.264 video is always copied.
Where the work happens
The video is read and converted by your browser, inside this page. This page has no server that receives your video.
Limits to know about
One video at a time. iPhone and iPad accept up to 300 MB, and computers up to 2 GB. Re-encoding a long or 4K video takes a while, because the device is doing the encoding, so keep the tab open. The MP4 doesn’t keep the MOV’s date and location. Sound that isn’t AAC is left out. On iPhone and iPad, if the new file from re-encoding to H.264 is estimated to be over 300 MB, the page starts on copying and won’t start the re-encode, and it says why.
On iPhone and Mac without a converter
Apple’s own settings change the video format rather than make an MP4 file. On iPhone, Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible makes new videos use H.264. On a Mac, QuickTime Player’s export can switch from Smaller File Size (HEVC) to Greater Compatibility (H.264) (menu names depend on your macOS version). Use this page when you need a file that ends in .mp4.
Convert on your iPhone with PicWay
In PicWay, open the video, tap Edit, then Convert, and pick MP4 · H.264 or MP4 · HEVC. MP4 saves a new video and keeps the original unchanged.
MOV and MP4 store video in nearly the same way, so the page reads the MOV piece by piece and writes the same video into a new MP4 file; the sound is kept as it is only if it is AAC. This runs inside the page, in your browser. Nothing is decoded for a copy, which is why it is quick.
Copying is fast, because nothing is re-encoded: the frames in the MP4 are the same data as in the MOV. Re-encode to H.264 if the MP4 has to play on an older Windows PC, an older Android phone or a site that can’t play HEVC. Re-encoding takes longer.
Because the video is HEVC (H.265), the format iPhones record by default, and some devices and websites can’t play HEVC. In a browser with WebCodecs the page therefore starts on H.264 (on iPhone and iPad, only if the re-encoded file is estimated to fit in 300 MB); without WebCodecs it can only copy. If you only need a different file type, choose “Copy the video as it is” instead.
When the video is copied, the frames in the MP4 are the same data as in the original, and nothing is re-encoded. The sound is kept only if it is AAC, and the MOV’s metadata, such as the date and location, isn’t carried over. When HEVC is re-encoded to H.264, the page sets the bitrate above the original’s, because H.264 needs more data for a similar picture, but some fine detail can still be lost. An HDR (10-bit) video becomes a standard 8-bit video when re-encoded, so colors can look flatter; copying keeps HDR.
Yes, if the sound is AAC. It is copied without re-encoding. This page keeps only AAC sound: sound in another format isn’t written into the new MP4, and the page tells you the MP4 has no sound.
No. The new MP4 holds only the video and the sound. Metadata from the MOV, such as the date it was taken and its location, isn’t copied, and the page says so under the result.
MOV files with H.264 or HEVC video. iPhones record HEVC by default, and H.264 when Formats is set to Most Compatible. MP4 and M4V files work too. Other formats, such as ProRes, can’t be converted here, and the page names the format it found.
Yes. On iPhone and iPad the video you choose can be up to 300 MB, because the new file is held in the page’s memory. On a computer it can be up to 2 GB. One video at a time.
Copying doesn’t need any special browser feature. Re-encoding to H.264 needs WebCodecs. If your browser doesn’t have it, the page offers only copying and says why.
Before offering the download, the page reads the new MP4 back and checks that its frame count, video format and dimensions (width × height) match. If frames are missing, it says so and doesn’t offer the file.