Introduction

Your iPhone shoots HEIC. Your client sends a TIFF. Instagram wants WebP. That screen recording is a 2GB MOV that needs to be an MP4. The podcast is a WAV file that should’ve been MP3 ten minutes ago.

You can juggle five different apps for this, or you can find one that handles most of it. Here are eight Mac converter apps, what each one actually does well, and where each one falls short.

If you only care about images, we have a separate comparison of image-only tools.

The short answer

The best free media converter for Mac is HandBrake for video and Kompressor for images. Neither does everything, so most people end up running both.

If you’d rather have one native app that converts images, video, and audio without juggling tools, that’s Picmal at $15.99 once, no subscription. It won’t edit video like Permute or squeeze files like Compresto, but for “just convert this” across every media type, it’s the simplest path.

The rest of this guide is which slice each tool covers, so you can pick by what you actually convert.

Quick comparison

Tool	Price	Images	Video	Audio	Docs	Native UI	Best for
Picmal	$15.99	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	All-round media conversion
Permute	$14.99	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Video editing + conversion
HandBrake	Free	No	Yes	Partial	No	No	Free video encoding
ffWorks	~€22	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Pro FFmpeg workflows
Kompressor	Free	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Free image conversion
XnConvert	Free (personal)	Yes	No	No	No	No	Batch image editing
How To Convert	$29	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Documents + media
Compresto	$49	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Compression

1. Picmal

Picmal is a native Mac app. You drag files in, pick a format, and they come out converted. Images, video, audio. No presets to configure, no encoding jargon to learn.

Key Features

• 20+ image formats (HEIC, JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, RAW, PSD, SVG, PDF, and more)
• Video conversion (MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, and more)
• Audio conversion (MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, and more)
• Shortcuts integration for automation
• Folder monitoring: drop files into a watched folder, they convert themselves
• Finder right-click action: convert without opening the app
• Strips metadata (EXIF, GPS, ICC profiles)
• 100% offline. Nothing leaves your machine.

Pros

• One app for images, video, and audio
• Looks and feels like a real Mac app, not a web wrapper
• Shortcuts + folder monitoring for hands-off workflows
• $15.99 one-time, 14-day refund

Cons

• No video editing. Can’t trim, crop, or merge clips.
• No image filters or watermarks
• No document conversion
• macOS 14+ only

Best for: People who convert files constantly and want it to feel invisible.

Detailed Picmal review →

2. Permute

Permute has been around for years and does something the others don’t: video editing. Trim a clip, crop it, stitch two clips together, then convert. One app.

Key Features

• Images, video, and audio conversion
• Video editing: trim, crop, stitch clips
• OCR text extraction from images
• Audio normalization and volume adjustment
• Scheduled conversions
• Available via Setapp ($9.99/mo)

Pros

• Video editing built in, not bolted on
• OCR pulls text out of images
• On Setapp, so you might already have access
• Supports macOS 11+

Cons

• Can’t strip metadata
• No Finder right-click, no Shortcuts, no folder monitoring
• The interface has a lot going on for a “just convert this” task

Best for: People who edit and convert video in the same sitting, or anyone already paying for Setapp.

Picmal vs Permute comparison →

3. HandBrake

HandBrake has been the go-to free video encoder for over a decade. Open source, runs on everything, and gives you more encoding knobs than you’ll ever turn. If video is all you need and your budget is zero, start here.

Key Features

• Free and open source
• Deep encoding controls (H.264, H.265, AV1, VP9)
• DVD and Blu-ray ripping (unprotected discs)
• Device presets (Apple, Android, web, gaming consoles)
• Subtitle support (SRT, SSA, VobSub, CEA-608)
• Video filters (deinterlace, denoise, HDR tonemapping)
• Cross-platform (Mac, Windows, Linux)

Pros

• Free. Actually free. No upsells.
• More encoding options than any other tool here
• Device presets so you don’t have to think about codec settings
• Active community, regular updates

Cons

• No image conversion whatsoever
• No standalone audio conversion
• The UI looks like it was designed by engineers (because it was)
• No Shortcuts, no folder monitoring
• The settings panel will intimidate casual users

Best for: Video-only workflows where you want granular control and don’t want to pay.

Picmal vs HandBrake comparison →

4. ffWorks

ffWorks is FFmpeg with a face. All 450+ options, 60+ filters, and quality metrics like VMAF and PSNR, accessible through buttons and dropdowns instead of terminal flags. For people who know what those acronyms mean and use them daily.

Key Features

• Full FFmpeg engine behind a GUI (450+ options)
• 60+ video filters (color, crop, overlay, and more)
• Quality metrics: VMAF, PSNR, SSIM
• Hardware acceleration via VideoToolBox
• 4K/8K support with fine-grained encoding control
• Drop zones for batch processing

Pros

• The most powerful video encoding on this list, by a wide margin
• Quality metrics that post-production teams actually rely on
• Hardware-accelerated encoding
• Native Mac interface
• Runs on macOS as old as 10.13

Cons

• No image conversion
• Overkill for “just make this an MP4”
• No Shortcuts, no Finder integration
• You need to already understand video encoding to get value from it

Best for: Video professionals who know FFmpeg but are tired of typing flags into a terminal.

Picmal vs ffWorks comparison →

5. Kompressor

Kompressor is free, Mac-native, and has one trick that none of the others do well: a real-time preview that shows you exactly what your compression settings will do to the image before you commit. You slide the quality down and watch the artifacts appear. Slide it back up. Find the sweet spot.

Key Features

• 50+ input formats, 20+ output formats
• Real-time preview with quality comparison
• Batch conversion with drag & drop
• Visual compression feedback
• Optimized for Apple Silicon
• Metadata removal

Pros

• Free
• The quality preview alone justifies installing it
• Fast on Apple Silicon
• Handles modern formats (WebP, AVIF, HEIC)
• 100% offline

Cons

• Images only. No video, no audio.
• No Shortcuts integration
• No folder monitoring
• No Finder right-click action

Best for: Anyone who converts images and wants to see what “80% quality” actually looks like before clicking Convert.

Picmal vs Kompressor comparison →

6. XnConvert

XnConvert reads 500+ image formats. If a format exists, XnConvert probably supports it. It’s less a converter and more a batch image processing pipeline: 80+ actions you can chain together. Free for personal use.

Key Features

• 500+ input formats, 70+ output formats
• 80+ batch actions (resize, crop, watermark, filters, transforms)
• Full metadata editing, not just removal
• Custom presets for repeat workflows
• Watch folder automation
• Cross-platform (Mac, Windows, Linux)

Pros

• Reads formats you’ve never heard of
• 80+ editing actions you can stack into workflows
• Free for personal use
• Same interface on Mac, Windows, and Linux

Cons

• Images only. No video, no audio.
• On macOS, the UI feels like a tourist
• Way too much interface for “convert these PNGs to JPG”
• Business use requires a €15 licence
• No Shortcuts integration

Best for: Power users with weird format requirements and batch workflows that need more than just conversion.

Picmal vs XnConvert comparison →

7. How To Convert

How To Convert casts the widest net. Images, video, audio, documents (PDF, Word, Markdown, ebooks), and even email formats (EML, MSG). No other tool on this list touches documents or email.

Key Features

• Images (40+ formats), video (50+ formats), audio
• Document conversion (DOCX, PDF, Markdown, ebooks)
• Email format conversion (EML, MSG)
• Cross-platform (Mac, Windows, Linux)
• 5-device licence included
• 100% offline

Pros

• The only tool here that converts PDFs, Word docs, and ebooks
• Email format support is genuinely rare
• 5-device licence for one price
• Cross-platform

Cons

• $29, nearly double most alternatives
• Feels like a cross-platform wrapper, not a native Mac app
• No Shortcuts, no folder monitoring, no Finder integration
• No metadata removal

Best for: People who regularly deal with document and email formats alongside media files.

Picmal vs How To Convert comparison →

8. Compresto

Compresto doesn’t convert between formats. It makes files smaller. That’s it. Images, video, and PDFs come out up to 90% lighter. If your problem is “this folder is 12GB and it should be 2GB,” Compresto is the most direct answer.

Key Features

• Image and video compression (up to 90% reduction)
• PDF compression
• Raycast extension for quick access
• Folder monitoring for automatic compression
• Metadata removal
• Native macOS interface

Pros

• Best compression ratios on this list
• PDF compression that actually works. Most tools skip this.
• Raycast integration
• Folder monitoring

Cons

• $49 one-time (or $7/mo). The most expensive option here.
• Compression only. Can’t convert a PNG to a JPG.
• No audio support
• No Shortcuts integration
• No Finder right-click action

Best for: Anyone whose main problem is file size, not file format.

Picmal vs Compresto comparison →

Which one is right for you?

• You want one app for images, video, and audio with a simple interface: Picmal
• You need video editing (trim, crop, merge) alongside conversion: Permute
• You need free, advanced video encoding: HandBrake
• You want FFmpeg power without the command line: ffWorks
• You only convert images and want it free with real-time preview: Kompressor
• You need 500+ image formats with advanced batch editing: XnConvert
• You need document and email conversions too: How To Convert
• Your priority is maximum file compression: Compresto

Conclusion

No single app wins every category. HandBrake and Kompressor are the best free options for video and images respectively. Permute earns its spot if you edit video. ffWorks is for professionals who already think in codecs. How To Convert is the only one that touches documents. Compresto squeezes files harder than anything else here.

If you want one app that handles images, video, and audio without making you think about it, Picmal is the simplest path. Jump straight to the video converter for Mac or the audio converter for Mac, browse our format conversion tools, or read the HEIC to JPG conversion guide.