As a video marketer, there’s no cookie-cutter method to crafting participating movies, however you need to at all times make sure you‘re utilizing the most effective video format to your content material, whatever the type of video you’re creating.
There isn’t any one-size-fits-all video format— not each pc, video platform, or web site browser helps each video format.
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Thankfully, we have rounded up the most effective video codecs and listed their professionals and cons so you’ll be able to study which video format to make use of in numerous conditions.
As soon as the most effective format to your movies, take a look at HubSpot’s Clip Creator, our free AI-powered video maker, so you’ll be able to simply make high-quality movies.
Desk of Contents
6 of the Finest Video Codecs for 2025
1. MP4
Most digital units and platforms help MP4, making it essentially the most common video format. MP4 may also retailer video, audio, textual content, and nonetheless photos. Moreover, it could actually retain excessive video high quality whereas sustaining comparatively small file sizes.
Finest for: MP4 codecs are greatest for long-form video codecs as a result of MP4 recordsdata are comparatively small however nonetheless of top of the range.
“For my YouTube channel, I normally use the MP4 video format as a result of a whole lot of the YouTube movies I made had been so long as 20 minutes,” HubSpot Advertising and marketing Supervisor Erica Santiago says.
“MP4s are such small recordsdata that it might make rendering and importing long-form movies so much simpler and extra environment friendly. Plus, MP4s usually solely expertise a slight high quality loss when uploaded to platforms like YouTube or TikTok.”
- Professionals: MP4 recordsdata are pretty small, making them fast to add and straightforward to avoid wasting with out clogging up area in your machine.
- Cons: As a result of MP4 recordsdata are so simple and customary to work with, they’re additionally simple to pirate, which poses a priority for creators.
2. MOV
Developed by Apple, MOV is a video format particularly designed for QuickTime Participant. Nevertheless, since there’s a model of QuickTime Participant for Home windows, MOV can be suitable with Home windows.
The MOV video format can retailer audio, textual content, and video results, however since its high quality is normally so excessive, it’ll take up considerably extra space on folks’s computer systems.
Finest for: The MOV format is greatest for enhancing on Apple units since they’re particularly formatted for QuickTime Participant.
Professionals: MOVs are liked by filmmakers as a result of they include audio, textual content, and video results and could be separated into a number of tracks. Their top quality makes MOVs simple to edit and is the skilled commonplace in video enhancing.
Cons: Not like MP4s, MOV codecs usually are not broadly playable throughout totally different units, and their tremendous top quality additionally results in giant file sizes.
“I hardly ever use MOV formatting for my movies as a result of, for my part, the top quality would not make up for a way a lot file area they eat and the way lengthy they take to add,” Santiago says.
3. WMV
Microsoft developed WMV, so your viewers can play most of these movies on Home windows Media Participant. They will obtain a WMV participant to play WMV movies if they’ve a Mac. Similar to the MOV format, the WMV format boasts excessive video high quality, however it’s on the expense of a small file dimension.
Finest for: WMVs are greatest for creators who wish to guarantee copyright safety for his or her work. The format incorporates copyright and licensing capabilities that verify whether or not makes use of have the proper to make use of them.
Professionals: WMV recordsdata are so small they will even be performed by way of Google Drive.
Cons: “Whereas I just like the small file dimension for enhancing, WMV recordsdata usually lose picture high quality once they’re getting uploaded and compressed, so I keep away from utilizing this format as nicely,” says Santiago.
4. FLV
Particularly designed for Adobe Flash Video Gamers, FLV is likely one of the most versatile and standard video codecs. Each internet browser and video platform helps it.
Finest for: In case your viewers streams many movies on on-line platforms, like YouTube and Google Video, FLV is the video format for you.
Professionals: Their file sizes are normally small, so folks can shortly obtain them.
Cons: The one disadvantage of the video format is that it’s not suitable with iOS units and plenty of different cell units.
5. AVI
One of many oldest video codecs, AVI, was developed by Microsoft in 1992. Since then, it has change into one of the versatile, suitable with Home windows, Mac, and Linux, and supported by most internet browsers.
- Finest for: AVI is greatest for brief movies and tv.
- Professionals: AVIs are suitable with most working techniques and boast glorious audio and video high quality.
- Cons: The AVI video format file dimension is giant, which is extra conducive for folks to retailer on their computer systems than to stream or obtain.
6. AVCHD
Panasonic and Sony developed AVCHD, the highest-quality video format, particularly for digital camcorders, so it is good for many who repeatedly shoot high-end movies.
Powered by H.264/MPEG-4 video compression expertise, the video format permits you to retailer hours of high-quality video utilizing solely a tiny quantity of information.
Moreover, the video format has each commonplace and high-definition variations, and its newest variation, AVCHD 2.0, even helps three-dimensional video.
- Finest for: AVCHD is greatest for creators capturing high-end movies.
- Professionals: AVCHD is small in file dimension and would not expertise a lot loss in information high quality.
- Cons: This format has very restricted compatibility as a result of it is developed to be used with Panasonic and Sony merchandise.
Now that the most effective video format to your content material, you are able to create excellent, participating movies that can attain your viewers.
