Free tool
MOV to MP4 converter
Drop an iPhone video, a QuickTime file or a Mac screen recording into this MOV to MP4 converter. MOV and MP4 hold the same kinds of video, so the picture and sound are usually copied across untouched: a 30-second 1080p recording converted in under a second.
- Free
- No re-encoding for H.264 and HEVC
- Nothing is uploaded
Drop your MOV video here, or Choose your MOV video
MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV, up to 2 GB and 3 hours. Everything happens in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How it works
How do you convert MOV to MP4?
Add the MOV and the converter reads what’s inside. A Mac screen recording or a Most Compatible iPhone video holds H.264, which is copied into the MP4 as it is. For an HEVC iPhone video, choose to keep HEVC or convert it to H.264.
- 1
Add the MOV
From Photos, AirDrop, Files or the desktop, where a Mac saves its screen recordings.
- 2
Check what it will do
The page says whether the video is copied or re-encoded before you press Convert to MP4.
- 3
Save the MP4
It keeps the MOV’s name with .mp4, its length and its size, give or take a few kilobytes.
Is converting a MOV to MP4 really just renaming it?
Close, but not quite. Both are built from the same boxes, and Apple’s MOV allows a few things MP4 doesn’t. Renaming often works by luck; converting rewrites the index the way MP4 players expect, while the video and sound inside are copied byte for byte.
That’s why a MOV to MP4 conversion here takes a fraction of a second and the file comes out the same size: nothing is decoded. Our 22 MB screen recording came out as a 22 MB MP4, and ffmpeg read every frame of it without an error.
What about iPhone videos in HEVC?
An iPhone set to High Efficiency records HEVC, which MP4 can hold too, so the default is to copy it. Choose Convert to H.264 when the MP4 must play on an older Windows PC, a TV or an app that refuses HEVC; that re-encodes the picture.
Re-encoding HEVC needs a browser that decodes it. Safari does: our 20-second 1080p clip took 3.3 to 4.5 seconds. In a browser without an HEVC decoder, the page says so and keeping HEVC still works.
- High Efficiency
- Video insideHEVC (H.265)
- What the converter doesCopies it, or re-encodes to H.264 if you choose
- Most Compatible
- Video insideH.264
- What the converter doesCopies it
- Portrait video
- Video insideStored on its side, with a rotation flag
- What the converter doesKeeps the flag, so it plays upright
| iPhone setting | Video inside | What the converter does |
|---|---|---|
| High Efficiency | HEVC (H.265) | Copies it, or re-encodes to H.264 if you choose |
| Most Compatible | H.264 | Copies it |
| Portrait video | Stored on its side, with a rotation flag | Keeps the flag, so it plays upright |
Why are Mac screen recordings MOV files?
Because the Mac’s recorder (Shift-Command-5) and QuickTime Player save QuickTime movies. Inside is H.264 video, the same as in most MP4 files, so converting one takes seconds however long the recording is, and nothing about the picture changes.
Screen recordings are often large. If the MP4 is too big to send, run it through the video compressor next, or trim the part you need.
Is the recording a meeting you need notes from?
Then convert it if you must share it, but get the words out too. NoteOwl imports a MOV or MP4 on your Mac and transcribes it with each speaker labelled; Search finds what was said across all your recordings later.
FAQ
Questions about converting MOV to MP4
Is my MOV uploaded?
No. The file is read from your device and the MP4 is built in the page itself. In our tests the browser made no network requests from choosing the MOV to downloading the MP4.
Will the MP4 look worse than the MOV?
Not when the video is copied, which is the case for H.264 and, unless you choose otherwise, HEVC: the frames are the same bytes. Only Convert to H.264 re-encodes, at a bitrate chosen to keep the picture looking the same.
Why is my iPhone video sideways in some apps?
iPhones store portrait video on its side with a flag that tells players to turn it. The converter keeps that flag, so players that follow it show the MP4 upright, as the MOV was.
Can it convert a ProRes MOV?
It reads ProRes, but MP4 doesn’t hold it, so the video would have to be re-encoded as H.264, and browsers can’t decode ProRes. Export an H.264 version from Final Cut Pro or Compressor instead.
How long does a long screen recording take?
About as long as reading the file: an hour-long 720p recording (1.3 GB) took 5 seconds in Chrome’s engine and 10 in Safari’s, because no frame is decoded. Only HEVC to H.264 takes time in proportion to the length.
Does it work on an iPhone?
Yes. In Safari, choose the video from Photos or Files and convert it. Safari saves the MP4 to the Downloads folder in the Files app, from where you can share it.
Keep exploring
More video tools
- WebM to MP4 converterConvert a WebM (VP8 or VP9 with Opus) to an H.264 and AAC MP4 in your browser, so it opens in QuickTime Player, iMovie and on iPhones
- MKV to MP4 converterRemux an MKV (an OBS recording, or a film with H.264 or HEVC) into an MP4 in your browser in seconds, without re-encoding
- MP4 to WebM converterConvert an MP4 to a VP9 and Opus WebM in your browser, for a web page’s video or anywhere WebM is asked for
- Video compressorMake a video smaller in your browser: pick a size to fit (10, 25 or 100 MB, or your own) or a quality, and see the size before and after
Related
- MOV to MP3 converterTurn a MOV video’s sound into an MP3 in your browser: iPhone videos, QuickTime and Mac screen recordings; nothing is uploaded
- Record Mac audioHow to record the sound your Mac plays (system audio) with Apple’s own tools, and how NoteOwl records calls without a bot
- Audio to textTranscription software for your Mac: drop in an audio or video file and get a speaker-labelled transcript with timestamps, unlimited, with nothing uploaded
Recordings turned into notes, on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
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