There are many occasions that you need a video converter, for example, for changing the video format/codec to be compatible with portable devices or media players, or for reducing the video file size so as to upload to YouTube or the like. Thus, seeking for an excellent video converter is quite essential. What kinds of video converter can convert your videos effectively?
Firstly, for most users like me, we always want it to be free. Then it must be able to successfully convert the video. And it would be better if it could be fast and have a high quality of output video. Given that, we’ve tested dozens of popular free video converting software and picked out the 5 free video converters in good result.
Reasons for choice:
- Convert 4K/HD videos freely
- 200+ file formats support, including HEVC, H.264, VP9, MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV and more
- Batch download MP4 or MP3 from 1000+ sites
- Fast speed and high quality reserved
WinX Video Converter is a full-featured free video converter. It’s able to convert 4K or HD video footage to 200+ formats, such as HEVC, H.264, MPEG-4, MP4, MKV, MOV, WebM etc. Besides, it allows users to compress video, edit video, download online videos from the likes of YouTube or convert YouTube to MP3, MP4 etc.
By utilizing Super Transcoding Engine & Multi-core CPU, WinX Video Converter is able to deliver 20x real-time faster speed to convert 4K or HD footage. And the high-quality engine helps users to reserve almost no quality loss visually.
2. HandBrake
Reasons for choice:
- Be able to convert both video & DVD to MP4/MKV
- Hardware acceleration support
- Quick presets & advanced control options
- Compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux
Reasons to avoid:
- Limited video file format support
- Non-intuitive interface
As HandBrake is an open source video converter, many users started their first video conversion experience with HandBrake. It’s able to convert videos to MP4 and MKV format encoded in HEVC, H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Theora, and VP8/9. The quick presets and advanced control options can both meet the needs of novices and high-end users for video conversion. Also, you’re able to convert DVD to MP4 or MKV with HandBrake.
3. DivX Converter
Reasons for choice:
- Available to convert 4K videos
- Decent conversion speeds &high-quality output
- Easy to get started with
Reasons to avoid:
- You may install multiple other pieces of DivX software
- Features like more format support, editing, converting from/to cloud are locked in Pro version.
DivX Converter has both free version and Pro version. For the free version, DivX Converter offers decent conversion speed, high quality output and the option of 4K. You can convert popular video formats with DivX Converter, like MKV, HEVC and MP4 files. Also, custom encoding settings for resolution, bitrate and more are also allowed. But if you want to convert videos to more formats, you’re required to upgrade to Pro version. And more features like editing, converting videos from/to cloud also need to be unlocked in Pro version.
4. Freemake video converter
Reasons for choice:
- Wide format support
- Convert both videos and DVDs
- Built-in editing tools
- A simple interface that is easy to understand
Reasons to avoid:
- Some features are locked, like video to MP3 conversion, video download, and subtitles etc.
- Take long time to convert large videos
Freemake Video Converter is a quite well-known free video converter to convert videos, burn DVDs create photo slideshows, edit video files and more. It allows you to convert 4K and full HD videos between 500+ formats and gadgets. It’s easy-to-use, with an intuitive interface for beginners. You also get limited editing options in Freemake, like the ability to cut, crop, join and rotate clips, and your files can also be burned to DVD and Blu-ray discs.
But many users complain its slow speed, especially converting large 4K videos. Also, the output video have an annoying Freemake watermark. And if you’re willing to download videos from popular platforms, you have to upgrade to the paid version.
5. Zamzar (web-based)
Reasons for choice:
- Convert files online without install any third-party software
- Support 1200+ file formats.
Reasons to avoid:
- Depend more on network speed.
- Max. file size 50MB for free accounts
Zamzar is a well-known online video converter, which converts video files fairly easy within 3 steps. It requires no software to download. Just select your file, pick a format to convert to and away you go. Besides, it has wide format support for 1200+ file formats.
But for large 4K or HD videos, Zamzar is a little out of its depth, as it only accesses videos less than 50MB for free accounts. If you want to convert larger files with Zamzar, you’re required to upgrade you accounts to Basic, Pro or Business plan.
Conclusion
Users always want a free video converter to convert videos to different formats, reduce file size or optimize for mobile devices or online sharing. But there are different choices for different purposes, for example, to output high quality videos, convert videos fast or simply change the video format. But fortunately, the above 5 free video converters can all make these done. Just choose the suitable one according to your preference.