The Best Video Converter Software for 2026: Convert, Compress & Edit Videos With Ease

We live in a world dominated by digital video. From binge-watching Netflix series to scrolling through TikTok on your phone, video is everywhere. But as ubiquitous as it is, dealing with the huge variety of video formats out there can still be a challenge.

While most devices do a decent job playing common video types these days, there are still plenty of situations where you may need to convert a video file from one format to another. Maybe you shot a video on your phone that you need to edit on your computer, or you downloaded a file that isn‘t compatible with your media player. That‘s where video converter software comes in.

A good video converter makes it quick and easy to convert almost any video file into a format you can use, without sacrificing quality. The best also offer handy extras like basic editing tools, compression options, and batch processing.

We tested all the most popular video converters, both free and paid, to find the top choices for every user and budget. After many hours of hands-on evaluation and comparison, here are our picks for the best video converter software you can get right now.

What to Look For in Video Converter Software

With so many video converters available, how do you choose the best one for your needs? Here are the key things to consider:

Format support: The more video formats the converter supports for input and output, the more versatile and future-proof it will be. All the ones we recommend handle all the most common formats like MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, etc.

Speed: Converting videos can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with high resolutions and long durations. The best converters leverage multi-core CPUs and GPU acceleration to process files as quickly as possible.

Quality: Conversion should not noticeably degrade the quality of your video. We chose converters that maintain visual fidelity and avoid compression artifacts.

Batch processing: If you frequently need to convert multiple files, being able to queue them up and convert them all at once is a huge time-saver.

Editing tools: While not essential, basic editing features like trimming, cropping, and applying effects are nice to have and can eliminate the need for a separate video editing program.

Ease of use: Your video converter should make the process simple with an intuitive interface and sensible presets for common formats and devices. Beginners shouldn‘t have to study video encoding to use it.

Price: Powerful video conversion doesn‘t have to be expensive – or even cost anything at all. Our top picks offer the best value for your money.

Best Paid Video Converter Software

Winner: Movavi Video Converter

After testing all the major video converters on the market, our pick for the best paid option is Movavi Video Converter. It checks all the boxes, with fast conversions, excellent output quality, an intuitive interface, and bonus features like basic editing and compression.

Movavi supports a huge number of formats (over 180 for input, 17 for output) at up to 4K resolution and 60fps. It can also rip DVDs and convert online videos from sites like YouTube. Conversions are hardware-accelerated for speed on supported Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD processors.

We like the simple visual layout that makes it easy to select your input files (with support for batch processing), choose your target format/preset, and start the conversion process. There are convenient presets for specific devices like phones and game consoles to take the guesswork out of it for beginners.

Other handy tools include a basic editor to trim, crop, and apply effects to your clips before converting them, and the ability to compress files to a target size. There‘s also a built-in media player to preview files.

The regular price of a lifetime Movavi Video Converter license is $59.95, but it often goes on sale for around $40. You can also opt to "subscribe" for a 1-year license for $44.95, which could be a good choice if you only need it short term. A free trial lets you test out all the features but limits conversions to only half the duration of each file.

Overall, while not the cheapest option out there, Movavi Video Converter is a polished, powerful, and easy-to-use program that‘s well worth the price. It‘s the best balance of performance and usability for the average person looking to convert videos to any format.

Pros:

• Fast conversions optimized for multi-core CPUs
• Supports a very wide range of formats up to 4K 60fps
• Intuitive, uncomplicated interface
• Useful presets for popular devices
• Handy extras like basic editing, compression, and media player
• Lifetime license available

Cons:

• Pricier than some alternatives
• Free trial is limited to half-length conversions
• Some features like disc burning reserved for the "Suite" version

Runner-Up: Wondershare UniConverter

The closest competitor to Movavi is Wondershare UniConverter (formerly Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate). It offers a similarly robust set of features and polished interface.

Format support is extensive, with over 1000 formats for input and all the key ones for output. Conversions are fast thanks to GPU acceleration support and quality is excellent. There are 30 preset device profiles and you can create your own. It even supports VR formats.

Other tools include a video compressor, basic editing functions, disc burning, and a built-in downloader for web videos. The interface is well-designed and makes the program easy to navigate and use for all skill levels.

The main downsides compared to Movavi are the lack of a lifetime license option (so you‘ll have to pay annually to keep using it) and slightly slower conversions in our testing. It‘s also marginally more expensive at $59.99/year. But overall it‘s a great alternative if you prefer a subscription model.

Best Free Video Converter Software

Winner: Handbrake

Don‘t want to spend money on a video converter? We don‘t blame you. Fortunately, there‘s an excellent free option out there: Handbrake.

Handbrake is a powerful, open-source video transcoder that‘s completely free to use on Windows, Mac, and Linux. While it lacks some of the polish and bonus features of paid converters, it‘s our pick for the best free option because of its solid format support, fast conversions, and high-quality output.

The interface is functional if a bit utilitarian. Beginners may find it intimidating at first, but there are convenient presets to simplify things. Once you get the hang of it, it offers a great deal of control over your encoding settings if you want to customize things.

Handbrake can‘t handle as many formats as the paid converters above – there‘s no support for WMV, FLV, or 3GP for instance – but it has you covered for the most popular ones including MP4, MKV, and WebM using the widely-supported H.264 and H.265 codecs. You can also use it to rip unprotected DVDs and Blu-rays.

Other handy features include batch scanning and queueing, subtitles support, chapter marking, clip previews, and extensible filters. It may not have the video editing features or device-specific presets of paid converters, but it covers all the basics and then some.

In our tests, Handbrake‘s conversion speeds were competitive, though it lacks the GPU acceleration of some paid tools so it may be slower for very high-res files. But for most users, it‘s plenty fast and delivers great quality results indistinguishable from the original.

Best of all, it‘s 100% free and open source with no ads, watermarks, or nags for paid upgrades. All in all, Handbrake is a robust video converter that can handle just about any conversion the average user might throw at it, making it easy to recommend to anyone who wants to avoid spending money.

Pros:

• Completely free and open source
• Solid format support including MP4, MKV, WebM
• Fast conversion speeds
• High quality output
• Batch processing support
• Advanced options for power users
• Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Cons:

• Interface can be confusing for beginners
• Lacks some format support vs paid tools
• No GPU acceleration
• No built-in video editing tools

How We Picked and Tested

To find the best video converter software, we tested all the top contenders, both free and paid. We evaluated them based on criteria like format support, conversion speed and quality, ease of use, extra features, and overall value.

For quality, we did a combination of objective measurements like peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and subjective blind comparisons. We also looked at how well they handled things like deinterlacing, upscaling, downscaling, frame rate changes, etc.

To test conversion speeds, we timed how long it took each program to convert a variety of test files at different resolutions on the same Windows PC. We looked at CPU usage to check hardware acceleration support.

Finally, we lived with each program for a while to get a sense of its interface, workflow, and features. We noted any stability issues or major annoyances.

After all our testing, Movavi and Handbrake stood out as the top choices in the paid and free categories, respectively. But there are plenty of other solid options out there, so we‘ve included some honorable mentions as well.

The Verdict

There‘s no one-size-fits-all choice for the best video converter – the right one for you depends on your specific needs and budget. But based on our testing, Movavi Video Converter is the best paid option overall, offering the best combination of versatility, speed, quality, and usability.

If you‘d prefer a subscription model, Wondershare UniConverter is a very close second. And if you want to stick to free software, you can‘t go wrong with Handbrake, as long as you‘re willing to forgo some creature comforts.

Whichever one you choose, all of these programs will make converting videos from one format to another a quick and painless process so you can enjoy your media how you want. Because life‘s too short to spend it worrying about codecs and containers.