HandBrake transcodes video between containers and codecs with sane presets for phones, web, and archive, and it has been the reliable answer to 'why is this file 4GB' for fifteen years. Queueing a folder of files and walking away works exactly as expected.
Who it is for
Anyone who needs to shrink a 4 GB screen recording to something that uploads.
Key features
- Presets for phones, web, and archive
- Batch queue for multiple files
- H.264, H.265, and AV1 encoding
- Subtitle burn-in and passthrough
- Cropping, scaling, and filters
- No editing or timeline features
Where it falls short
It does not edit anything - no trimming, no titles - and the presets hide settings that materially change quality and size, so the default output is rarely the best one.
Pricing
Free and open source with no paid tier, account, or watermark; hardware encoding uses your GPU at no cost.
Prices move; the tier structure is the part that stays true. Check current pricing on HandBrake.
Alternatives to HandBrake
Frequently asked
Is HandBrake free?
Yes. Free and open source with no paid tier, account, or watermark; hardware encoding uses your GPU at no cost.
What is HandBrake best for?
Anyone who needs to shrink a 4 GB screen recording to something that uploads.
What are the best alternatives to HandBrake?
The closest substitutes we list are Kdenlive and DaVinci Resolve. They sit in a similar price bracket but make a different trade-off, so read the weaknesses section of each review before switching.
Which platforms does HandBrake run on?
HandBrake is available on macOS, Windows and Linux.