Convert YouTube to MP4: the format that plays everywhere
Paste a YouTube link above, pick a resolution from 144p to 1080p Full HD, and you get an MP4 with the sound already merged in. Inside that MP4 is H.264 video and AAC audio, the combination iPhones, Android phones, Windows and Mac computers, most smart TVs and the mainstream editing apps open without an extra codec. When you download the whole video, the video and audio streams are joined into the MP4 as they are, without being encoded a second time.
Why H.264 inside MP4, and not WebM, VP9 or AV1
YouTube keeps several copies of most videos. Alongside H.264 it stores newer VP9 and AV1 encodes, often in WebM, and those are what its own player usually streams because they are smaller. A converter that grabs the smallest stream and names it .mp4 hands you a file that looks right and then will not play on an iPhone or an older TV.
We ask for the H.264 encode instead. The cost is file size: on our Big Buck Bunny test video, the 1080p AV1 stream came to about 128 MB, while the 1080p H.264 file we deliver is about 256 MB. Twice the size, in exchange for a file that opens everywhere. The sizes shown in the converter are calculated from the H.264 stream, so the number you see is the file you get.
Where the MP4 plays without converting
- iPhone and iPad. Download in Safari and the file appears in the Files app; Share, then Save Video, puts it in Photos.
- Android. It lands in Downloads and shows up in the gallery.
- Windows and Mac. It opens in the built-in players: Media Player or Photos on Windows, QuickTime on a Mac.
- Smart TVs and consoles. Most read H.264 MP4 straight from a USB stick, no app needed.
- Slides and editors. PowerPoint, iMovie, Premiere Pro and CapCut import it directly, and Google Slides plays it once it is in your Drive.
If a file plays without sound, our troubleshooting guide covers the usual causes.
Which resolution suits which screen
| Where you will watch | Resolution | Why |
|---|
| Phone | 720p | Sharp at phone size, and about 40 percent smaller than 1080p in our tests. |
| Laptop or tablet | 720p or 1080p | 1080p shows its extra detail on a larger screen; 720p is lighter. |
| TV or monitor | 1080p | The highest option here, and the one that holds up on a big screen. |
| Sharing in a chat | 480p | A much smaller file that still looks fine in a message. |
| Talks and lectures | 360p | When the voice matters more than the picture. |
For the measured size of every resolution, and why a 1080p request can come back as 720p on some uploads, see the YouTube video downloader, which covers both in detail.
Editing versus watching
For simple playback any of these files is fine. If you are cutting the footage into a project, take the highest option offered: editors re-encode on export anyway, and starting from the cleanest source avoids stacking compression twice. H.264 also scrubs smoothly on ordinary laptops, which is not always true of AV1.
Please download only videos you own, have permission to use, or that are public domain / Creative Commons licensed. This educational tool is not affiliated with YouTube.
