4 Free Ways to Convert MOV to MP4: How to Apply Them

MOV and MP4 are two video formats that appear frequently in our lives; both of them can hold data such as video, audio, image, subtitle, etc., but they are slightly different in terms of applicability, file size, and quality. Apple developed the MOV format, so it is more compatible with Apple devices such as iPad, iPhone, and Mac. Meanwhile, MOV is also the default video format of the Apple system; we'd better use QuickTime Player to play MOV videos. While MP4 has a wider compatibility, almost any platform supports it. In terms of file quality, MOV format video is clearer, but the file size is too big, while MP4 can find a balance between compression rate and quality.

Some devices currently do not support smooth playback of MOV videos, and oversized files are not easy to save and upload. Therefore, we need convert MOV to MP4. This article recommends four free conversion methods. Read and try them.

Part 1. Batch Convert MOV to MP4 Without Losing Quality

Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate

To do this, we need a format converter that is easy to use, such as Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate, which supports more than 1,000 multimedia formats and can handle videos with a definition of 4K or 8K. Once we upload the file to the platform, it will convert MOV to MP4 with 120X faster efficiency, ensuring that the video size is compressed without much loss of quality. Before outputting the result, we can also call the editing tools on Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate to enhance the video quality further and add more elements.

Here is how to transform MOV to MP4 with Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate.

Step 1. Download and install Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate on your device. Open it and choose Add Files to upload your MOV video.

Step 2. Navigate to Convert All to in the top right corner. Expand the menu under it and choose Video > MP4. Select a quality among all the options. If you want to trim or edit the video before outputting, click Cut.

Step 3. When you finish all these settings, click Convert All to save your converted MP4 file.

The interface of Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate is made to be very simple and friendly for users of all levels. As a desktop MOV to MP4 converter, it can meet almost all our expectations. Besides video conversion, we can also turn to this software if we have picture or audio processing characters.

Part 2. Free Changing a MOV to MP4 via VLC Media

Player

Although Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate's performance is already perfect, as the first third-party format converter, the file length of free conversions it offers is limited. To unlock the full features, we may need a subscription. Is there a platform that can provide us with free MOV to MP4 conversion service forever? That's when we have to set our eyes on VLC Media Player. The most outstanding advantage of this platform is that it is easy to use, and all the services are entirely free. Besides the most basic video playback functions, it can also perform some simple audio and video editing activities. VLC Media Player supports almost all operating systems and is compatible with the most common multimedia formats. Even if we are using a mobile device, we can download the VLC Media Player app and then enjoy the services of the platform.

Here, we will teach you how to convert MOV to MP4 on Mac or Windows. The step-by-step guide below will use a Windows computer as an example.

Step 1. Get VLC Media Player on your PC. Launch it and click Media in the top left corner. After dropping down the list, choose Convert/Save.

Step 2. After launching the Open Media window, click +Add to upload your MOV file. Then click the Convert/Save button.

Step 3. Then go to the Profile tab and choose Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4) in the drop-down menu. Finally, click Start.

After completing the above steps, we have successfully converted MOV to MP4 for free. VLC Media Player is still relatively efficient, and we can also find some essential video editing functions on this platform. But compared with professional format converters, VLC Media Player is still limited. It can't make our videos more colorful, and we can't preview the effect when editing videos. So, as far as desktop converters are concerned, we still recommend Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate.

Part 3. How to Save MOV as MP4 Online

To try the above two methods of changing a MOV to MP4, we all need to download and install the converter first. If you want to skip this step and start uploading and processing directly, we can try some excellent online converters. Here, we recommend trying the FVC Free Online Video Converter, which is totally free and also supports users to adjust the encoding, resolution, sampling rate, and other elements of the video before outputting to get higher quality files. Don't worry about watermarks. The platform doesn't add any markers to videos.

Here is how to save MOV as MP4 using FVC Free Online Video Converter.

Step 1 Open FVC Free Online Video Converter with your browser. Click Add Files to Start and upload your MOV video. You may need to install a launcher for format conversion.

Step 2 In the bottom menu of the screen, choose MP4 as the output format. Then click Convert.

Step 3 When the conversion process is over, choose Select Folder to find a storage path for your video.

Part 4. Transform MOV to MP4 with Terminal Command

The above methods provide a more conventional format conversion service, i.e., they require us to upload a file and then choose the output format. But besides these tools, there is another unique software that can help us convert .mov to .mp4; it is FFmpeg, which is different from video editing software with buttons and options; it works by code command drive. We need to integrate the source file, the operation to be performed, and the output format into one command and then feed it to FFmpeg so that it can accomplish the task automatically.

Here is how to convert MOV to MP4 with FFmpeg.

Step 1 Install FFmpeg on your computer. Then, you need to prepare a command.

ffmpeg -i input.mov output.mp4

In the above example, we can replace input.mov with the storage path of the MOV video on our computer and output.mp4 with the save path of the converted file.

Step 2 Type the command into the FFmpeg interface and press Enter. The format conversion process will start.

The variety of tasks that FFmpeg can accomplish is so great that it is the best assistant for those who are experienced in using it, and it is also completely free. However, for new users who are not interested in or do not understand the code, FFmpeg is obscure. If you find it too much trouble to prepare the code, try the first few more conventional methods.

Part 5. A Comparison of Each Way

In this section, we will compare their differences in a table to help you choose the best option among the four in this article.

Part 6. FAQs of Converting MOV to MP4

Part 7. Conclusion

In this article, we introduced 4 ways to convert MOV to MP4. Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate is the most comprehensive and cost-effective and can complete all types of audio and video file editing operations; if you are more inclined to complete the conversion online, we recommend FVC Free Online Video Converter. The performance of the four routes in various aspects has been summarized in the table below. The performance of the four ways in each element has been shown in the form of a table in the article, we hope it can help you make a quick choice.

Conclusion

In conclusion, converting MP4 to QuickTime is necessary to avoid playback issues, get better video quality, and more. This guide has carefully reviewed and provided users with how-to steps so that they can easily navigate the conversion process without stressing over it.