Your screen recording is a 2 GB MOV that needs to be a 200 MB MP4. Someone sent you an MKV that QuickTime refuses to open. The camera shot HEVC and the editor wants H.264. This is the whole job, and there are more apps for it than there need to be.
Here are seven, what each one is actually for, and where each one gets in your way.
If you need images and audio too, see the wider comparison of media converters for Mac. If you only care about images, there’s a separate image-converter comparison.
The short answer
The best free video converter for Mac is HandBrake. It’s open source, it has more encoding controls than anything else here, and it costs nothing.
The best paid one for ordinary jobs is Picmal, $39 once, because “make this an MP4” takes two clicks and it batches a folder while also handling your images and audio.
If you already speak FFmpeg, ffWorks exposes all of it without the terminal.
Everything on this list runs locally. None of it uploads your footage.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Batch | Formats | Interface | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picmal | $39 once | Yes, folders | Video, audio, images, PDF | Native, simple | Getting it done quickly |
| HandBrake | Free | Yes, queue | Video only | Dense | Free, with deep control |
| ffWorks | ~$25 | Yes | Video, audio | Native, dense | FFmpeg power users |
| Permute | $14.99 | Yes | Video, audio, images | Native, simple | Cheap and cheerful |
| VLC | Free | Awkward | Video, audio | Not built for this | You already have it |
| QuickTime | Free, built in | No | A handful | Minimal | One quick export |
| Compressor | $49.99 | Yes | Video | Pro, complex | Final Cut Pro users |
1. Picmal
Picmal converts video, audio, images and PDFs in one native Mac app. Drop in a file or a folder, pick the output, click Convert. It reads MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM, WMV, FLV, M4V, MPG, HEVC, 3GP, M2TS, VOB, TS and more, and it writes MP4, MOV, WebM, GIF and audio-only.
Good at: MOV to MP4 and the other everyday conversions, whole folders at once, compressing video with a live size estimate before you encode, pulling the audio out of a clip, and running from Finder’s right-click menu or a Shortcut.
Not good at: subtitle track surgery, DVD ripping, or VMAF-grade quality metrics. It’s built to be quick, not exhaustive.
Price: $39 once. No subscription, updates included.
2. HandBrake
HandBrake has been the default free video encoder for over a decade. Open source, actively maintained, and more encoding knobs than you will ever turn: H.264, H.265, AV1, VP9, device presets, subtitle handling, deinterlacing, HDR tonemapping, and unprotected disc ripping.
Good at: everything to do with video encoding, for free, with genuinely expert-level control.
Not good at: looking approachable. The settings panel was designed by engineers, because it was. No images, no standalone audio conversion, no Finder or Shortcuts integration.
Price: free.
3. ffWorks
ffWorks is FFmpeg with a face: 450+ options, 60+ filters, and quality metrics like VMAF, PSNR and SSIM, all through buttons instead of terminal flags. Hardware-accelerated through VideoToolbox, and happy with 4K and 8K.
Good at: the most powerful video encoding on this list, by a wide margin, and the metrics post-production teams actually check.
Not good at: being simple. It’s overkill for “just make this an MP4”, and you need to already understand video encoding to get value from it. No image conversion.
Price: around $25.
4. Permute
Permute is the cheap, friendly option. Drag in video, audio or images, pick a preset, go. It also does light trimming, merging and rotating, which is more than most converters bother with.
Good at: price, simplicity, and small edits alongside the conversion.
Not good at: deep encoding control, or large batches with per-file settings.
Price: $14.99, or bundled in Setapp.
5. VLC
VLC plays essentially any file ever made, and it has a converter hidden in File then Convert / Stream. You almost certainly already have it installed.
Good at: being already there, and reading formats nothing else will open. Useful as a last resort for an obscure file.
Not good at: being a converter. The dialog is confusing, the profile system is opaque, batching is painful, and the output settings don’t always do what you expected.
Price: free.
6. QuickTime Player
Already on your Mac. Open a file, then File then Export As, and pick a resolution. That’s the whole feature.
Good at: one quick export of a file macOS already understands, with zero setup.
Not good at: anything else. It won’t open MKV, it won’t batch, and your format choices are a short list of Apple’s picking.
Price: free, built in.
7. Compressor
Apple Compressor is the professional encoder that pairs with Final Cut Pro. Distributed encoding across machines, broadcast-grade output, iTunes Store packages, closed captions, and precise control over everything.
Good at: professional delivery specs, and anything that has to satisfy a broadcaster or a store.
Not good at: casual use, or justifying $49.99 if you are not in Final Cut all day.
Price: $49.99.
Which one should you pick?
- You want it free and you only do video: HandBrake.
- You want MOV to MP4 done in two clicks, and folders at a time: Picmal.
- You also convert images and audio: Picmal, or Permute if $14.99 matters more than batch depth.
- You know FFmpeg and want the knobs: ffWorks.
- You need it once, right now, and the file is a MOV: QuickTime.
- The file won’t open in anything else: VLC.
- You live in Final Cut Pro: Compressor.
A note on online converters
Skip them for video. A 2 GB clip has to upload before anything happens, most free services cap you well below that, the queue is shared with strangers, and some add a watermark. Every app above does the work on your own machine, in less time than the upload would have taken, without handing your footage to someone else’s server.
Converting video with Picmal
Picmal is a native video converter for Mac. Drag in a file or a whole folder, choose MP4, MOV, WebM, GIF or audio-only, and it converts locally with no upload, no watermark, and no file-size cap. It’s a one-time $39, and the same app handles compressing video, images and audio.
Common jobs: MOV to MP4, MKV to MP4, AVI to MP4, HEVC to MP4, and MP4 to GIF.
