How to convert MOV to MP4 on Mac

Updated 12 November 2026.

Drop the MOV into Cutaway's Convert tab and click Convert. MP4 with H.264 is chosen for you, which plays on nearly every device, player and upload form.

Download for MacNo account. macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon.

Steps

Add the file. Open the Convert tab and drop in the MOV, or a whole batch of them.
Check the format. Cutaway suggests MP4 · H.264 for MOV files. Choose MP4 · HEVC for a smaller file at the same quality, if everything that will play it supports HEVC.
Pick a quality. Smaller, Balanced or Best. Smaller sets a tighter bitrate for files you need to send.
Click Convert. The MP4 is saved next to the MOV unless you choose another folder. The row shows how much smaller it got.

H.264 or HEVC

H.264 is the safe choice. Every browser, phone, television and editor made in the last decade plays it.
HEVC makes a smaller file for the same picture and handles 4K well. Recent Apple devices play it, but some older computers, web tools and client review platforms do not.

Where the conversion happens

On your Mac. Cutaway uses the video encoders built into Apple silicon and falls back to a bundled copy of FFmpeg for files macOS can't read. Nothing is uploaded, so a client's footage stays where it is.

Screen recordings and iPhone clips

Screen recordings from macOS and clips from an iPhone are both MOV files. Converting them to MP4 is the usual fix when an upload form or a messaging app refuses the file, or when the recording is too large to send.

Questions

Is the sound kept?

Yes. The audio is carried into the MP4 along with the picture.

Can I convert several MOV files at once?

Yes. Drop them in together and use Set all to… if you want one format for the whole batch.

Can I go the other way, MP4 to MOV?

Yes. Cutaway converts MP4 to a ProRes MOV for editing. See the guide to converting MP4 to ProRes.

Can I get just the audio out of a MOV?

Yes. Choose an audio format such as M4A, MP3 or WAV as the output.

Related guides

Get Cutaway

Cutaway is a Mac app that downloads, trims and converts the media around your edit. It runs on your Mac, with no account and no analytics.

Download for MacNo account. macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon.