HandBrake
A video converter that turns files and unprotected discs into MP4, MKV or WebM with presets for common devices.
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6 more ways to get HandBrake
Other download sites
Run by third parties, not by The HandBrake Team. Prefer the official page above when it works.
Package managers
- Chocolatey
choco install handbrake - Homebrew
brew install handbrake - Flathub
flatpak install flathub fr.handbrake.ghb
About HandBrake
HandBrake takes video you already have and re-encodes it into a format that plays on a phone, a TV box, a console or a browser. It ships device presets so a first conversion is two clicks, and exposes the full encoder settings underneath for people who want to tune quality against file size.
It is built on FFmpeg, x264, x265 and SVT-AV1, and can write AV1, H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, VP8 and VP9 video with AAC, MP3, FLAC, AC3, E-AC3, Opus or Vorbis audio, plus pass-through for untouched audio tracks. There is a queue for batch jobs and a command line version for scripting.
Strengths
- Built-in device presets get a usable conversion without learning encoder settings
- Writes MP4, MKV and WebM with AV1, H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, VP8 and VP9 encoders
- Optional hardware accelerated encoding, batch scanning and a job queue
- Filters for deinterlacing, decomb, denoise, detelecine and deblock, plus subtitle support
Limitations
- It cannot read discs that carry copy protection
- Every conversion re-encodes, so it costs time and some quality
- The advanced encoder settings are unforgiving until you understand constant quality versus average bitrate
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source; there is no paid edition.
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Developer
- The HandBrake Team
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Shrinking or converting video so it plays on a specific device
- Categories
- Video editing
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Video); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 4 sources on file.
Alternatives to HandBrake
Compare allSoftware that can replace HandBrake for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Shutter Encoder
A professional transcoding and media processing front end for FFmpeg, with batch queues, presets and genuinely lossless operations.
Shutter Encoder is a free GPL-3.0 FFmpeg front end that adds professional codecs like ProRes and DNxHR and lossless remux, but its interface exposes a lot at once.
FFmpeg
The command that converts, cuts, streams and inspects essentially any audio or video file in existence.
FFmpeg handles practically every codec and container and can remux without re-encoding, but it is command line only and has no device presets.
Avidemux
A simple video editor for cutting, filtering and encoding, aimed at trimming and converting rather than full editing.
Avidemux can cut, filter and encode with a job queue and lossless copy mode, but its interface is dated and the last stable release is from 2022.
CloudConvert
An online file converter for more than 200 document, image, audio, video, archive and CAD formats.
CloudConvert converts video and many other formats in the browser with an API for automation, but files are uploaded to a third-party server and it needs an internet connection.
Convertio
A browser-based file converter that handles documents, images, audio, video, ebooks and archives in over 300 formats.
Convertio converts video and over 300 formats in the browser with nothing to install, but uploads files to a third-party server and limits files to 1 GB.
Zamzar
A long-running online file converter supporting over 1100 formats, with no account needed for small files.
Zamzar is an online converter supporting over 1100 formats without an account for small files, but its free tier limits files to 50 MB and uploads them to a server.
HandBrake as an alternative
Listings that name HandBrake as an alternative.
MakeMKV
Turns a DVD or Blu-ray you own into an MKV file, keeping every track and chapter exactly as it was.
HandBrake is free and open source and can convert unprotected discs to smaller MP4, MKV or WebM files, but it cannot read copy-protected discs and always re-encodes.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
LosslessCut
Trims and joins video and audio without re-encoding, so a cut takes seconds instead of an hour.
Shotcut
A free cross-platform video editor with a multi-track timeline that edits most formats without importing them first.
MediaInfo
Tells you exactly what is inside a video or audio file: codecs, bitrates, resolution, frame rate, subtitle and audio tracks.
MKVToolNix
Builds, inspects and edits MKV files: add subtitles, drop a track, fix chapters, all without re-encoding.
