HandBrake

Open-source video transcoder for converting and compressing video formats.

Best for: Content creators, video editors, and archivists compressing or converting video for web and mobile

Free plan

4.9/5Editorial score 95/100handbrake.fr

Starts at

Free Forever (GPLv2)

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Editorial score95/100

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The editorial note

What to know about HandBrake

HandBrake is a legendary open-source video transcoder built to convert video files from nearly any format to modern, widely supported codecs like H.264, H.265 (HEVC), AV1, and VP9. Ideal for shrinking file sizes for web streaming, mobile devices, and archival without sacrificing visual fidelity.

Is it right for you?

Who HandBrake suits

Choose it if

Content creators, video editors, and archivists compressing or converting video for web and mobile

Look elsewhere if

Users looking for multi-track creative video timeline editing or color grading software

What you get

Key features

Universal video format conversion (MP4, MKV, WebM)
Advanced codec supportAV1, H.265, H.264, VP9, VP8
Hardware-accelerated transcoding engines
Batch queue processing for multiple videos
Subtitle track passthrough, styling, and burned-in closed captions
Video filtersdeinterlacing, denoising, cropping, and color scaling

Works with

Integrations4

FFmpegIntel QuickSyncNvidia NVENCApple Silicon VideoToolbox

What it costs

Pricing

HandBrake pricing plans
Plan	Price	What it includes
Open Source	Free Forever (GPLv2)Billed one-time	100% free download for macOS, Windows, and Linux with full batch encoding capabilities

Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.

The trade-off

Pros and cons

Pros

Exceptional compression quality with customizable RF (Constant Quality) rates
Hardware-accelerated encoding support (Intel QSV, Nvidia NVENC, Apple VideoToolbox, AMD VCN)
Convenient built-in device presets for Web, Discord, YouTube, Apple TV, and Roku

Cons

Does not remove copy protection from commercial encrypted DVDs or Blu-ray discs
Extensive video setting options can overwhelm non-technical users

Quick read

At a glance

Category: Video & Audio
Pricing model: Free
Entry plan: Free Forever (GPLv2)
Free plan: Available
Free trial: Not listed
Website: handbrake.fr

The verdict

Our take on HandBrake

HandBrake is the undisputed king of video compression and transcoding, essential on every content creator and developer's machine.

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