Free Software To Convert Mov To Mp4 For Mac

This article shares with you top free MOV to MP4 converters to transcode MOV to MP4 on MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. No watermark will be added to your output file. And, quality loss will never occur, either.

MOV is a popular format which is widely adopted by iPhone, Canon, Nikon, Final Cut Pro, iMovie, and more devices and programs. But when you try to upload an MOV video to YouTube or Facebook or try to play MOV file on Android, you may be told that your file is not accepted. So that's why we need to convert MOV to MP4 which format provides better compatibility.

The first way is using the paid version QuickTime; the second way is using MOV to MP4 converter Mac free software. This software has Windows and Mac versions; it can do the video conversion on more than 180 kinds video formats, including but not limited to convert M4B to MP3, MOV to MP4, WAV to MP3, MTS to MP4Of course, this is one of the advantages of f2fsoft Video Converter. The free MOV to MP4 converter should have a relatively easy user interface for people that have little technical knowledge. Thankfully, that is absolutely the case when it comes to this software. Choose the Converter menu on the top toolbar. Click the + icon to add your QuickTime MOV files or drag them into the program directly. Then choose your target QuickTime MOV file on the pop-up window. Click the Convert All To option to select the MP4 format on the top-right from the Video tab.

In this article, we'll share you 6 best free MOV to MP4 converters for Mac to reach your conversion goal. Here we go!

Table of Contents

MacX Video Converter Free

MacX Video Converter Free leaves the rest contenders in the dust because of its all-round features:

  • With 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs, it enables you to free convert MOV to MP4, H264, HEVC, MPEG-4, as well as MKV, AVI, FLV, WMV, etc. 180+ video and 14+ audio formats. No input video size limit, no watermark/logo!
  • Free convert any video to iPhone iPad, Android, Samsung, Sony, Microsoft device, PS5, Xbox, etc. 420+ device profiles.
  • Constantly updated conversion algorithm, plus High Quality Engine to ensure 98% quality kept; 'Auto Copy' mode to let you remux MOV H264 to MP4 H264, MOV HEVC to MP4 HEVC with 1:1 original quality.

Speed never becomes a bother to you since this tool packs advanced GPU hardware acceleration tech to can assign once CPU's work to graphical-processing expert GPU, speed up to 5X faster than its rivals, no CPU overuse or overheating errors.

Free Software To Convert Mov To Mp4 For Mac

Supported input and output video formats are a long list.

Highest possible quality kept and No.1 fast speed guaranteed.

Free adjust video resolution, frame rate, bit rate, aspect ratio and edit video (trim, crop, merge, rotate, add subtitle...).

Unable to convert audio files.

Editing features are fundamental. Advanced editing features are still on the way.

How to Fast Convert MOV to MP4 on macOS with High Quality for Free

Step 1: Add MOV Video File

Free download the best MOV quicktime video converter for macOS (macOS Big Sur also supported) if you haven't, run it and click 'Add Video' button to import target MOV file. You can also directly drag-drop MOV file into the main interface of this free Mac MOV to MP4 converter.

Step 2: Select MP4 as Output Format

Choose 'MP4 Video' as output format from Mac General Video or Mobile Video Profile if you wanna transfer to mobile devices.

Step 3: Choose Destination Folder

Click 'Browse' button to select a destination folder to save the resulting MP4 file.

Step 4: Start to Convert (QuickTime) MOV to MP4

Click 'RUN' and then it will start converting MOV to MP4. It will finish converting videos quickly.

Tips: Tick 'Intel' to activate the Intel QSV hardware acceleration tech to speed up MOV to MP4 conversion speed.
Check the boxes of Use High Quality Engine and Deinterlacing to ensure a high-quality conversion.

MOV to MP4 Conversion Test and Specfic Data

Free Software To Convert Mov To Mp4 For Mac Computer

Here we have used a 94.7 MB MOV (H264) video for test, converting MOV (H264) to MP4 (H264). The original MOV file is 4 mins 47s in length and 1280x720 in resolution. Frame rate: 23 fps; bit rate: 2768 kbps. The whole test is based on a 27-inch iMac (2011 Middle) with Yosemite OS and 2.7GHz Intel Core i5 processor.

The test result is that: it takes 38.30 seconds to successfully convert MOV to MP4 on Mac, with 1280x720 resolution, no change on frame rate and video length. A little bit down in bit rate - 2176 kbps, but no visual change in video quality. And the output MP4 file size is only 54.6 MB.

iMovie

iMovie, the default video editor software for MacBook/iMac, also works like a charm in video conversion. Considering both MOV and MP4 are natively friendly formats to iMovie, iMovie is capable of loading MOV video footage and converting to MP4 without much sweat, nor watermark/logo. Just couples of clicks are required.

Needless to download or install anything, natively built-in on your Mac computer.

Easily convert MOV QuickTime video to MP4 on Mac, alongside with a bunch of features to edit videos.

Output formats are limited, no other formats like MKV, AVI, WMV, WebM, etc.

Not support you output 4K video at 60FPS, only 30FPS.

More parameter settings are unadjustable, like frame rate, bit rate, aspect ratio, video profile level.

How to Use iMovie to Free Re-format Video from MOV to MP4

Step 1. Launch iMovie on your MacBook or iMac > click 'File' at the top of the toolbar > choose 'New Movie' from the drop-down menu.

Step 2. Tap 'Import Media' button on the main GUI of iMovie > choose the MOV file you wanna convert.

Step 3. After your mov footage has been imported, click on it, and a yellow border will appear nearby > click 'File' again on the top menu bar > opt for 'Share' > tap 'File'.

Step 4. Tweat the export settings on the pop-up Window, such as quality, resolution, compress, etc., then click Next.

Step 5. Finally, name your resulting file and choose the place you want to save MP4 video, then click Save. You can see the export progress as a small circle in the top-right corner of iMovie. When the conversion is completed, you'll be greeted with a notification on your Mac desktop. Then, transfer your resulting MP4 to iPhone iPad Android for playback, editing or uploading to YouTube, Ins, Facebook for sharing.

Online Converter

As the best online, free converter I have used, I must objectively say it's the second-to-none free online video converter for Mac to convert MOV to MP4. Of course, it shares online video service common feature - limited input video size. Just load your QuickTime mov video less than 500MB.

It is simple and pain free to convert MOV to MP4 for Android iOS on Mac/Win.

Multi-purpose for users to convert image, Ebook, document, etc.

Only convert one video each time and input size is limited.

It is brimming with ads and misleading download buttons.

Conversion speed needs to be improved.

Lossy conversion process. The output MP4 quality is damaged to certain degree.

Conversion procedure is unstable sometimes (network connection also related).

How to Convert QuickTime MOV to MP4 with Online Converter

Step 1. Open Online Converter and choose 'Convert video to MP4'.

Step 2. Upload MOV video files.

Step 3. Press 'Convert' button. Then leave the job to this free MOV to MP4 online converter.

Common Problems with MOV to MP4 Conversion on Mac Using Online Converter

  • The tool fails to recognize the source MOV file.
  • It stutters or even crashes when loading a large size 4K MOV video file.
  • Sometimes users cannot find the output file in inbox.

VLC Player

VLC media player is not only a top rated media player for you to play MOV MP4 files, but also a solid yet free MOV to MP4 converter for macOS. See it can be used to convert quicktime mov to mp4 with solely 4 clicks shown on the picture below. And after MOV to MP4 conversion task is over, you can also play MP4 video within VLC or stream MP4 video from Mac to Apple TV/Windows 10/8 as you want.

Change MOV to MP4 as easy as pie.

Play MP4 MOV files with high quality.

Also AirPlay feature to stream MOV MP4 movie videos from iOS/Mac to Apple TV, etc.

Very flexible and lightweight.

User interface is quite basic.

Movie video downloading ability needs improvement.

It couldn't be better if VLC can get a big boost in video conversion speed.

How to Free Transcode QuickTime Video MOV to MP4 with VLC Player

Step 1. Run VLC on your MacBook, iMac or Mac Mini.

Step 2. Tap File from the top menu of VLC Mac > select Convert / Stream from the drop-down list.

Step 3. Output profile is unavailable unless the Convert & Stream window pops up. Then choose H.264 + MP3 (MP4). Meanwhile, you're allowed to customize your output MP4 before conversion, such as encapsulate the video, change video codec, frame rate, resolution, edit subtitles, and more.

Step 4. Click Browse to save your converted file and tap Save.

Common Errors with Converting MOV to MP4 Free on macOS via VLC

  • The output file has no audio/sound.
  • The audio is out of sync.
  • No video. Converted MP4 file is a black screen with correct audio.
  • MOV to MP4 (H264, AAC) conversion crashes VLC on Mac.

Free Software To Convert Mov To Mp4 For Mac Windows 7

QuickTime Pro

One more MOV to MP4 video transcoder for Mac I want to share with you is called QuickTime Pro, which I believe is not strange to you. But how to use QuickTime Pro to compress & convert MOV to MP4? Follow me my friends.

It's easy to use to convert MOV to video formats like MP4 on macOS.

It's multipurpose and can be used to edit MP4 video file.

Cannot extract MP3 audio files from MP4 video.

Only support a limited selection of codecs.

How to Change QuickTime Video (MOV) to MP4 via QuickTime Pro

Step 1: Click 'File' at the top of your QuickTime Pro, then click 'Export' to open up your .mov file.

Step 2: On the pop-up window, select 'Movie to MPEG-4'. Then press the 'Options' button.

Step 3: Opt for 'MP4' in the 'MPEG-4 Export Settings' dialog-box to choose the codec that you want to use for the compression (also the 'Audio' settings can be adjusted as the same).

Step 4: Mouse click on OK until back to the 'Save exported file as' window, specify the destination folder to save MP4 file and click 'Save'. Job's done and leave the rest to QuickTime Pro.

General Errors When Free Converting MOV to MP4 on Mac with QT Pro

  • Error -43: a file could not be found.
  • Error 11821 when converting MOV file to MP4 on Mac.
  • Error message states that it's a file QT Pro doesn't understand - 2048.

Convert Mov To Mp4 Online

Mobile Media Converter

Mobile Media Converter, designed as a mobile app, works beautifully on a desktop, as well. It is a free video converter to convert QuickTime video MOV to MP4, WMV, FLV, MPEG, AVI, as well as an audio converter to convert MP3, Windows Media Audio (wma), Ogg Vorbis Audio (ogg), Wave Audio (wav) etc. Though it's not so famed as other MOV video converters, its professional ability is not inferior in any aspect.

Free decode and re-encode videos, as well as audio files.

Free download videos from online sites.

Converter

It's based on FFmpeg. FFmpeg installation is a must.

Some files from Youtube don't convert nicely and don't work at all.

How to Use Mobile Media Converter for MOV to MP4 Conversion

Step 1: Run Mobile media converter on your Mac computer > tap File or drag media to load your QT MOV files.

Step 2: Choose output format as MP4. Here you can see the specific MP4 profiles, including iPhone iPad MP4, Android MP4, PSP MP4. Choose what you desire most. Then tap OK.

Optional: adjust configurations if needed, including video/audio codec, bit rate, video size, video FPS, etc. Basic video editings are also covered in this tool, like trim, crop, add subtitles, etc.

Step 3: The last hit goes to 'Convert!' button. Then the conversion engine will go into action.

Summary

Each MOV to MP4 converter mentioned above has its own merits.

The professional free MOV to MP4 video converter for Mac - MacX Video Converter Free - gives the widest codecs support and can aid you to convert MOV to MP4 with the fastest speed and high quality, and meanwhile allows you to reduce video file size so as to get better compatible with your media devices.

The free Online Converter and iMovie are fabulous for those who want to convert MOV to MP4 without downloading any software. But you have to bear the slow conversion speed and ads. VLC media Player and QuickTime Pro are also great options to let you free convert MOV video to MP4 as easy as possible. The ointment is that the output MP4 video quality is decreased after video transcoding.

Still have any problem on how to convert MOV to MP4 on macOS, just email us >>

Free MP4 Converter Review

Check what famous editor and our customer talk about our product.

    • Wow, so excited. This MP4 converting software should be free. Now I can play WMV file on my QuickTime Player now.

      By Steven
    • This freeware is great. But it is lacking in some editing features. So I try its Pro version to get the Mac Video Converter Ultimate. Very great.

      By Devin
    • I find this software on Mac Store, and what it interests me most is it is totally free. The easy converting features are enough for me. Very practical

      By Doreen
    • For a long time, I have been looking for one free MP4 converter. And this one is my favorite. Runs fast and beautiful interface, also many video formats supported. Enough good for me.

      By Luna
    • For one free MP4 converter, this is very good. When I add my MKV video into it, and choose MP4 output format, just click Convert, this converter ran and a little time, finished.

      By Mila
    • Output clear, but a little slow for me. Maybe it is my old Mac. Anyway, helped me a lot.

      By Haley
    • MP4, MOV, 3GP, ok, all of them are supported. That is my need. Since I used this free Mac MP4 Converter, I never changed.

      By Neal
    • So many free MP4 converting programs, I choose this one. Not disappointed. If you want one free MP4 converter, you can try this. The developers are good.

      By Dane