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FFmpeg vs Bento4: catalog facts
FFmpeg	Bento4
Free Free and open source. The codebase is mainly LGPL 2.1 with some components under the GPL…	Free Free and open source under the GPL 2.0, with a separate proprietary licence available.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Handles practically every container and codec there is Remuxes without re-encoding, so a container change is instant and lossless	Dedicated tools for MP4 inspection, editing and fragmenting Packages DASH, HLS and CMAF from the same files
Command line only, with syntax that punishes guessing Argument order matters in ways that are not obvious	Command-line tools with no graphical interface Assumes familiarity with streaming formats
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: LGPL-2.1	License: GPL-2.0-only
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.