1. HandBrake (free, desktop): the standard. Presets for every platform, batch queues, constant quality encoding. 2. VLC (free, desktop and mobile): Media, Convert/Save. Ugly, effective, everywhere. 3. FFmpeg (free, command line): converts anything to anything. The engine inside half the tools on this list. 4. Shutter Encoder (free, desktop): FFmpeg with a real interface. Rewrap, transcode, and broadcast codecs. 5. CloudConvert (web, 25 free conversions daily): for the occasional file when you are not at your machine. Sources: FFmpeg, HandBrake Skip mobile converter apps. Most are ad-ridden, watermark exports, or charge subscriptions for what HandBrake does free. Do conversions on desktop, keep masters archived, and standardize your ingest formats once so you stop converting the same codecs forever. The best converter is the one you never need because your pipeline is consistent.
