Guide
How to convert MOV to MP4
Drop the MOV on Anyfile’s MOV to MP4 converter and the MP4 downloads a few seconds later. For most videos, iPhone ones included, nothing is re-encoded: the picture and sound are moved into the MP4 as they are, so it’s quick and the quality is untouched.
Step by step
Open the converter
Go to MOV to MP4 in any current browser. A video recorded in HEVC, as recent iPhones do by default, opens only where the computer can decode HEVC, which most Macs and many Windows PCs can.
Drop the video
Drag the .mov onto the drop card, or click Choose files. The card says Converting to MP4… while it works, and Cancel stops it.
Find the MP4 in Downloads
When it says Converted to MP4, the file is in your Downloads folder with the same name ending in .mp4. Drop several videos together and they come back in one ZIP.
Trim or crop it first, if you like
Open the video in the video editor to cut the ends, crop it for a phone screen or turn it. Then open the arrow next to Download, set Format to MP4 and press Download.
Copying works when the codecs inside the MOV also fit in an MP4, which is true of almost every phone and camera video: H.264 or HEVC pictures with AAC sound. Then even a long clip takes seconds, and the MP4 is the same quality and about the same size. When they don’t fit, the video is re-encoded at high quality instead, which takes as long as your browser’s encoder needs.
A codec doesn’t change with its container, so an iPhone video recorded in HEVC is still HEVC inside the MP4. If an older PC or TV can’t play it, re-encode it in the video editor by setting Quality to High: that uses H.264 wherever the browser can write it. Where a phone video was filmed is removed unless you tick Keep where it was filmed in the editor.
Nothing is uploaded: your browser reads the file and makes the new one on your device. See how it works, and how to check.
Other ways to do it
On a Mac. QuickTime Player’s File › Export As saves another MOV, not an MP4. iMovie can do it: add the clip to a project, then choose Share › Export File.
VLC and HandBrake. Both are free for Windows, Mac and Linux. VLC’s Convert/Save (in the Media menu on Windows, File › Convert / Stream on a Mac) writes MP4. HandBrake always re-encodes, which is slower but lets you choose the size and quality.
Renaming the file. Changing .mov to .mp4 by hand sometimes plays, because the two formats are close relatives, but apps that check the file properly can refuse it. Converting writes a real MP4.
When Anyfile is quicker
The converter is quicker for a batch of clips, on a Chromebook or a computer that isn’t yours, or whenever you’d rather not install anything: most MOVs are done in seconds because nothing is re-encoded. For heavy re-encoding, such as a long 4K film, a desktop app like HandBrake uses your computer’s full power and finishes sooner.
Questions
Does converting MOV to MP4 lose quality?
Usually not at all. When the picture and sound can be copied as they are, they are, so the MP4 is identical inside. Only a video that has to be re-encoded is compressed again, at high quality.
Will the MP4 play on Windows?
With H.264 inside, yes, everywhere. With HEVC inside, as many iPhone videos have, Windows needs HEVC support to play it; re-encode it with Quality set to High in the video editor to get H.264.
How big can the video be?
Up to 4 GB. Copying takes seconds whatever the length; a re-encode takes longer the longer the video is.
Is my video uploaded?
No. It’s converted in your browser, on your device, and never sent to a server.