16 Best Video-Encoding Software in 2024

What should you look for in video encoder software? Let’s explore the best video encoding software and see how they compare – so you can make the best choice, whether you’re digitizing your DVD library, converting videos for your preferred video sharing platform, or anything else.

Compatibility: processor: Intel, AMD, or a compatible CPU at 1 GHz or newer. OS: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 (either 32-bit or 64-bit) RAM: at least 256 Mb for XP and 2000, 512 Mb for Vista, 1 Gb for 10, 8, 7. Display: 1024 x 768 resolution with 32-bit colors, or better.

Best for: Movavi is sleek, modern, and easy to use with effective and intuitive editing tools, especially its stabilizing feature. It’s a perfect option for any skill level, especially for a beginner, but skilled users also credit it as professional video encoding software.

G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5

Movavi Video Converter is a free-download video encoding, compression, and conversion platform. Along with allowing users to convert videos to more than 180 formats, it also includes features to add subtitles and perform a few other video editing tasks, such as trimming and merging videos.

Impressive features:

• Easy to compress files thanks to a boosted conversion speed

• Animated arrows make educational videos extra easy to use

Compatibility: AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, MKV, FLV, OGG, etc.

Best for: experienced users

CNET rating: 2.8 out of 5, 195 reviews

AVS Video Converter is free-download video conversion software for Windows. The free version has some limitations, and the full version pricing starts at $39.99. Compatible with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, AVS Video Converter is a versatile option for Windows users but not a good one for Mac users.

Impressive features:

• Watch videos with subtitles

Compatibility: ASF, AVI, FLAC, FLV,[e] Fraps,[e] Matroska, MP4, MPJPEG, MPEG-2 (ES, MP3), Ogg, PS, PVA, QuickTime File Format, TS, WAV, WebM

Best for: individuals looking for an affordable, or in this case, free, video encoder.

CNET rating: 4.6 out of 5, 37 reviews

VLC is an open-source freeware media player. Along with playing audio and video files, VLC also includes features to convert videos to different formats and do some limited editing. While it is fairly robust for a media player, VLC is not very intuitive and doesn’t include much support or documentation if users run into issues.

Impressive features:

• This is a video encoder software free download, not-for-profit project that includes subtitle synchronization and many video and audio filters with no spyware or advertisements

Compatibility: supports all video formats so long as it possesses a DirectShow codec.

Best for: a beginner interested in compressing videos that also allows users to compress a number of videos at once.

CNET rating: 3.3 out of 5, 147 reviews

NCH Prism is a free video encoding software for MacOS X. Along with the full paid version, there is also a free version with limited conversion formats and fewer encoding formats than the full version. Because it’s very user-friendly, NCH Prism is popular with newer users, but some users have reported issues with audio syncing and stabilization.

Impressive features:

• As a universal video converter, it supports all formats and allows the user to compress multiple videos at once

Compatibility: DivX 3, 4, 5, 6 (. divx, . avi), XviD (. avi, . divx), all AVI files (. avi), H. 264, DivX Plus (. mkv), MPEG-1 (. mpg, . mpe, . mpeg, . m1v), MPEG-2 (. vob, . ts, . m2v), WMV (. wmv ) and AVCHD Camera Files (. mts, . m2ts)

Best for: any skill set interested in compressing long videos with excellent sound quality.

CNET rating: 3.6 out of 5, 1,660 reviews

DivX Converter is a free-download video encoding software with graded pricing for users who need multiple licenses. It’s available for both Mac and PC, and gives users the ability to backup DVDs and convert videos for multiple platforms. Licensing starts at $19.99 for 2-10 users.

Impressive features:

• Drag and drop technology enables users to encode videos with ease

Compatibility: x86 (IA-32 and x86-64), PPC (PowerPC), ARM, DEC Alpha, SPARC, and MIPS

Best for: experienced user looking for a simple interface with countless editing features.

G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5, 19 reviews

FFmpeg is a video encoding software that’s free. It prides itself on being a complete solution for recording and converting audio and video across platforms. It’s not the easiest or most intuitive platform around, and can be confusing for newer users, but it is 100% free, which can be attractive to users accustomed to working with freeware.

Impressive features:

• One of the quickest visual and audio converters that also allows you to stream music and video

Compatibility: this Windows video encoder works with Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10 or later (32-bit and 64-bit versions supported), Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, macOS Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina (10.15), Big Sur

Best for: beginners.

Trustpilot rating: 4.1 out of 5, 208 reviews

VideoProc is a Windows-compatible video converter and editor with a free download and either paid or free options. It supports most popular file formats, and many users find it intuitive and user-friendly. The free version does have limited capabilities, and some users have reported slow download speeds.

Impressive features:

• Offers a full graphics processing unit that allows users to edit and transcode with ease

• Users can even edit background noise

Compatibility: almost all video formats, including MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, MP3, WAV

Best for: beginners.

MacUpdate rating: 3.3 out of 5, 43 reviews

Permute is a free-download media converter with capabilities to convert audio and video files for multiple platforms and formats. It offers a free download and trial period, but is not Windows compatible and requires MacOS X 10.12 or higher.

Impressive features:

• Convert any media file with ease using the drag-and-drop interface

Compatibility: Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon X2, or better.

Best for: users looking for video conversion from any format to any format.

CNET rating: 3.5 out of 5, 155 reviews

HandBrake is an open-source tool for converting videos into multiple formats. It’s fairly intuitive, and users may choose between versions for Mac, (10.11 or higher), Windows, or Linux. If you’re looking for features like clip merging and basic editing tools, though, you won’t find them with HandBrake.

Impressive features:

• An utterly open-source video transcoder

• One of the original programs for copying DVDs to data storage devices

Compatibility: able to access most video, audio, and image formats. Outputs include AVI, MP4, WMV, Matroska, FLV, SWF, 3GP, DVD, Blu-ray, MPEG, and MP3.

Best for: users looking for a video encoder for free that can convert any video format without registration.

CNET rating: 4 out of 5, 864 reviews

Freemake Video Converter is a freeware tool for converting videos to AVI, MP4, MPEG, DVD, Blu-ray, and others. It boasts support for more than 500 formats, and users may also opt to download videos with Freemake Video Downloader, though copyrighted YouTube videos are not supported for download.

Impressive features:

• Users find it to be intuitive, and most formats are available, which makes the process easier

Compatibility: ability to convert MPEG-4, AVI, MP4, 3GP, DVD, FLV, WMV formats, website compatible formats, Android devices, or iOS.

Best for: users who may not speak English looking for some video encoder software for free.

Soft112 rating: 3.1 out of 5, 5 reviews

Koyote Free Video Converter is a free open-source platform for converting videos across multiple platforms. Users report fast conversion speeds, and you can extract audio from video files into MP3 and other formats. Users enjoy the software’s fast download speeds and accessibility across platforms, but many people don’t appreciate that you must have antivirus software installed on your computer before you can download it.

Impressive features:

• A user-friendly dashboard that allows users to convert their video with a few clicks

• Available in a variety of languages, making it internationally accessible

Compatibility: AVI, MP4, H264, MOV, WMV, XVID, Theora, MKV, FLV

Best for: converting videos to the right sizes and file formats for specific mobile devices and video publishing platforms.

MacUpdate rating: 3.4 out of 5, 15 reviews

Miro Video Converter is freeware with versions available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. It specializes in converting video files to formats for specific hardware, such as Android or Apple phones, PSP, and Kindle Fire. Users report some of the fastest encoding speeds on the market, but you cannot change the output resolution, which is a problem for many users who want a little more control over their conversions.

Impressive features:

• Thirty-times faster speed than other converters

Compatibility: MP3/WMA/AMR/OGG/AAC/WAV. All to JPG/BMP/PNG/TIF/ICO/GIF/TGA

Best for: a more experienced user wanting free video-encoding software to convert most kinds of video, pictures, and audio.

CNET rating: 3.7 out of 5, 341 reviews

Format Factory is a free-download video converter. It also includes features to cut, join, split, and mix videos, as well as a tool to remove logos. A screen recorder, video player, and downloader are included in the full version, as well.

Impressive features:

• A free service for the conversion of most kinds of video, pictures, and audio

Compatibility: MP4, M4V, AVI, MOV, MKV, WMV, 3GP, FLV, IVF, DIV, DIVX, MPG, MPEG, MPE, WEBM, ASF, QT, MTS, M2T, M2TS, MOD, TOD, VRO, DAT, 3GP2, 3GPP, 3G2, DVR-MS, F4V, AMV, RM, RMM, RV, RMVB, OGV, TS, any 4K video, etc.

Best for: beginners and experienced users looking to convert and/or download YouTube videos to many other formats.

Trustpilot rating: 2.3 out of 5, 16 reviews

DVD VideoSoft is a free video encoder software for Windows 10. PC users can convert and compress videos to multiple formats with a free download. However, DVD VideoSoft is not compatible with MacOS or Linux.

Impressive features:

• Easy to use for both Macs and PCs

• Users can convert video files to MP4, MP3, AVI, MOV, MPEG for most multimedia devices

Compatibility: MPEG, VOB, PS, M2P, MOD, VRO, DAT, MOV, DV, AVI, MP4, TS, M2T, MMV, REC, VID, AUD, AVR, VDR, PVR, TP0, TOD, M2V, M1V, MPV, AIFF, M1A, MP2, MPA, AC3

Best for: a more experienced user who wants their video encoder program to convert, edit or watch videos, including QuickTime, and iPod formats.

CNET rating: 3.4 out of 5, 13 reviews

MPEG Streamclip is both a video converter and video player for Mac or Windows. Among others, its supported input formats include MPEG, MOV, PS, VOB, M2V, VID, REC, and AVI.

Impressive features:

• Quickly export converted videos to QuickTime, AVI, DV, and MPEG-4 files with higher quality

Compatibility: AV1, HEVC, MP4, MOV, HEVC, H.264, MPEG4, AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, MTS, M2TS, TS, AVCHD, MOD, and others

Best for: converting videos on Mac to MP4 format so that users can play them no iPads, iPhones, PSPs, and other devices.

Trustpilot rating: 4.8 out of 5, 120 reviews

MacX Free MP4 Video Converter is a free-download video encoder software and converter tool for Mac. After the initial trial, users may purchase a subscription to the full version of the software. Pricing increases with number of users, and some features are reserved for the premium version at $229.95 for a lifetime bundle.

Impressive features:

• Saving videos from 1000+ sites

Can’t decide which encoding software to choose? Here’s a comparison of three products we picked for you to help you choose what’s best for your purpose.