Quick Reference
Video Format Comparison Table
At a glance comparison of the most common video formats — including codec support, file sizes, quality, and compatibility.
| Property | MP4 | WEBM | MOV | MKV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Container | MPEG-4 Part 14 | Matroska (web) | Apple QuickTime | Matroska |
| Common Codecs | H.264, H.265 | VP9, AV1 | ProRes, H.264 | H.264, H.265, VP9 |
| Audio Codecs | AAC, MP3 | Vorbis, Opus | AAC, PCM | AAC, FLAC, AC3 |
| File Size (per min) | Medium | Small ✓ | Large | Very Small ✓ |
| Quality | Excellent | Very Good | Near-lossless ✓ | Excellent |
| YouTube Upload | ✓ Best support | ✓ Good | ✓ Good | Limited |
| Browser Support | All ✓ | Chromium + Firefox | Safari only | Limited |
| Subtitles | Yes | VTT ✓ Best | No built-in | Multiple tracks ✓ |
| Editing Masters | Good | Not ideal | ✓ Best | Very Good |
| Best Use Case | Universal web delivery | Browser embeds | Apple editing | Archiving |
- Choose the right CRF value: Use Trimpx CRF Calculator
- Set correct bitrate for your format: Bitrate Calculator
- Best free editors comparison: Shotcut vs DaVinci Resolve vs OBS
- Captions guide: Add subtitles with our Free Subtitle Generation Guide
Need to convert between formats? Use Trimpx's Convert preset to set up your FFmpeg command instantly.
Watermark Guide: Watermark Guide