How to convert MP4 to MOV, free and without losing quality

Convert MOV to MP4 · 3 min read

An editing template, a client or an upload form wants a .MOV, and you have an MP4. Here's how to convert a video from MP4 to MOV usually in a few seconds, without re-encoding it and without uploading it to a website.

MP4 and MOV are close relatives

MOV is Apple's QuickTime container, and MP4 was built on top of it. Both are "boxes" that hold the same kinds of video and audio, most often H.264 or HEVC video with AAC audio. That's good news: converting MP4 to MOV usually doesn't need a real conversion at all. The video can be moved from one box into the other as it is, which is fast and keeps every frame exactly as it was.

Many converters don't do that. They decode and re-encode the whole video, which takes longer and softens the picture a little each time.

Method 1: convert MP4 to MOV in your browser

Convert MOV to MP4 is a free Chrome extension that works in both directions. It runs on your own computer, on Windows or Mac, and the video is never uploaded.

1. Add the extension to Chrome and click its icon.
2. Drop in your MP4, or several at once. The extension sees it's an MP4 and makes a MOV, there's nothing to switch.
3. Download the MOV. The original MP4 stays untouched.

When the video is H.264, which is the case for most MP4 files, it is rewrapped rather than re-encoded: the clip is done in seconds and the quality is identical to the original. Other codecs, such as HEVC, are converted to H.264 on your computer, which takes longer.

Method 2: QuickTime Player on a Mac

If you're on a Mac and have only a file or two, QuickTime Player can do it.

1. Open the MP4 in QuickTime Player.
2. Go to File → Export As and pick a resolution.
3. Save. QuickTime writes a .mov file.

The catch: Export As re-encodes the video, so it takes longer and the result isn't a bit-for-bit copy of the original. There's no QuickTime Player for current Windows, so on a PC use Method 1.

What about HandBrake or renaming the file?

HandBrake, the popular free converter, can't help: it saves MP4, MKV and WebM, but not MOV.

Renaming .mp4 to .mov often opens fine in a player, because the formats are so close. But the file inside is still an MP4, and software that checks the actual format, such as some editors and upload forms, can reject it. Rewrapping produces a genuine MOV.

Going the other way

Most people need the opposite: an iPhone .MOV that won't play on Windows. Our guide on how to convert MOV to MP4 explains why that happens and how to fix it, with the same extension.