Blog codecs
H.264 vs H.265 vs AV1: which codec to use in 2026
Practical comparison of the three codecs that matter in 2026: file size, encoder speed, playback compatibility, and which one to actually pick.
You have three real choices in 2026 for desktop video encoding: H.264, H.265 (HEVC), and AV1. The question every Video Forge user eventually asks is “which one do I pick?” The honest answer is “it depends on what you’re doing with the file” — but that’s unsatisfying, so this post is the actual decision tree.
TL;DR
- Sharing on WhatsApp, Discord, email, embedding on the web: H.264. Universal playback, mature encoders.
- Archiving footage on your own machine, sharing with people you know are on modern hardware: H.265. ~40% smaller files, identical quality.
- Long-term archive you’ll re-touch later, or web delivery where you can control the player: AV1. ~20% smaller still, royalty-free, but slow to encode in software.
Skip VP9 unless you’re specifically targeting old Android or YouTube ingestion. Skip ProRes unless you’re feeding the file into a video editor.
File-size comparison: the actual numbers
Bitmovin published a 2023 encoder benchmark across H.264, H.265, and AV1 at multiple quality targets. The summary, for a 1080p video at “broadcast quality” (PSNR ~42 dB):
| Codec | Relative bitrate to hit the same visual quality |
|---|---|
| H.264 | 100% (baseline) |
| H.265 | ~55% (about 45% smaller) |
| AV1 | ~40% (about 60% smaller) |
These numbers vary wildly with source content. Talking-head footage compresses better than fast-motion sports. Animation compresses better than live action. Grainy 4K HDR compresses worst of all. But the relative ordering is stable across content types.
To make this concrete: a one-minute 1080p clip that’s 25 MB in H.264 will be roughly 14 MB in H.265 and 10 MB in AV1 at the same perceived quality.
Encoder speed
This is where the trade-off bites. Tested on an M2 Pro (10 cores, software encoders, ffmpeg 7.0):
| Codec | Encoder | 1080p 60s clip encode time |
|---|---|---|
| H.264 | libx264 | 12s |
| H.265 | libx265 | 38s |
| AV1 | libsvtav1 | 95s |
| AV1 | libaom-av1 | ~480s (8 minutes) |
libsvtav1 is by far the most practical AV1 encoder; it’s what Video Forge
defaults to. libaom-av1 produces marginally smaller files but takes 5×
longer.
With hardware acceleration, the numbers collapse. Apple Silicon VideoToolbox runs H.264 and H.265 in real-time or faster for most inputs. NVENC on a 30/40-series NVIDIA card hits 200+ fps on 1080p H.265. AV1 hardware encoding exists on NVIDIA RTX 40-series, Intel Arc, and Apple M3+ — if you have it, AV1 stops being slow. The hardware encoder comparison covers what ships where and how to know which backend Video Forge picked.
Playback compatibility
The bit that ruins most “just use AV1” advice:
| Platform | H.264 | H.265 | AV1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone (any) | Yes | Yes (since iPhone 6) | iPhone 15 Pro+ only |
| Android | Yes | Most newer | Pixel 6+ and recent flagships |
| macOS | Yes | Yes (Big Sur+) | Yes (Sonoma+, software decode) |
| Windows | Yes | Yes (built-in) | Yes (Windows 10+) |
| Chrome | Yes | Yes | Yes (since v70) |
| Safari | Yes | Yes (macOS Big Sur+) | Yes (macOS Sonoma+) |
| Firefox | Yes | Yes (since 134) | Yes |
| Slack web | Yes | No | No |
| Discord | Yes | Limited | No |
| Yes (re-encodes others) | Re-encoded down | Re-encoded down |
H.264 plays everywhere. H.265 plays on every consumer device made in the last 7 years and every modern browser. AV1 is supported on every desktop browser and OS but mobile coverage is still patchy.
The decision tree
Is this for chat (WhatsApp, Discord, Slack)?
→ H.264. The platform re-encodes anything else anyway.
Is this for upload to YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram?
→ H.264. They re-encode everything to their internal format. Don't
pre-pay the bitrate tax in AV1 when YouTube's going to redo it.
Is this for archive on your own disk?
→ H.265 in 2026. Save 40% storage at identical quality.
Is this for archive that you might re-encode again later?
→ AV1 if your encoder supports it. Smaller archive, royalty-free, no
re-licensing if the codec landscape changes.
Is this for embedding on your own website with controlled players?
→ AV1 with H.264 fallback (<source> tags). Smaller payload to modern
browsers, fallback for older.
Is this going into Premiere/Resolve/Final Cut as source footage?
→ ProRes 422 HQ or DNxHR HQ. Not H.265 or AV1 — editors hate inter-frame
codecs for scrubbing.The container question
A common mix-up: codec is what compresses the picture and audio; container is the file format that holds them. MP4 is a container, and it can hold H.264, H.265, AV1, or VP9 video. So can MKV and WebM.
- MP4: most compatible container, works in every player. Default choice for sharing.
- MKV: open standard, supports anything, ideal for archive. Doesn’t play in QuickTime without a third-party tool.
- WebM: open standard for web, only supports VP8/VP9/AV1 video and Vorbis/Opus audio. Smaller header than MP4.
- MOV: Apple’s container, basically MP4 with extra metadata. Same compatibility.
The container picks the wrapper. The codec picks the compression. Video Forge lets you set both independently in Manual mode; in destination mode, they’re chosen for you.
A few non-obvious gotchas
- H.265 in MP4 won’t always play in Chrome on a Mac, even though the same file plays fine in Safari. The hardware decoder is there; the browser policy varies. If you’re embedding for web, use H.264 or AV1.
- AV1 in MP4 is technically valid but rare in the wild. Most AV1 content uses MKV or WebM as the container.
- ProRes is huge. A one-minute 4K ProRes 422 HQ clip is 1.5 GB. It’s meant to be an editing intermediate, not a delivery format. If someone sent you ProRes and asked you to “compress it” — they meant convert it to H.264 or H.265.
- VP9 lives almost exclusively inside YouTube and Google’s ecosystem. Outside that, H.264 plays in more places, H.265 compresses better, AV1 is the actual successor. Skip VP9 unless something specifically asks for it.
What Video Forge picks for you
In destination mode, Video Forge picks the codec the destination platform expects:
- WhatsApp, iMessage, Discord, Email, Slack → H.264 (universal compatibility).
- Web Optimized → H.264 at CRF 23 (default), or H.265 if you opt in.
- Archive → H.265 for the size win.
- YouTube → H.264 at high bitrate (YouTube re-encodes; we don’t burn CPU on AV1 it’s going to redo).
In manual mode, you can override and pick AV1, VP9, or ProRes if you have a specific reason.
FAQ
Is H.265 better than H.264? H.265 produces files roughly 45% smaller at the same quality. The catch is encoder time and patchier compatibility on older devices. For modern devices and archive, H.265 wins. For broad sharing, H.264 is still the default.
What is the difference between AV1 and H.265? AV1 is royalty-free and produces files about 25% smaller than H.265 at the same quality. The trade-off is AV1 software encoding is much slower and hardware encoder support is recent (RTX 40-series, Intel Arc, Apple M3+).
Which video codec has the best quality? At unlimited bitrate, all three look identical. The codecs differ in how small they compress while staying near visually-lossless. The order is AV1 > H.265 > H.264.
Is AV1 supported on iPhone? AV1 hardware decoding shipped on iPhone 15 Pro and later. Older iPhones can play AV1 in software but it drains the battery.
Should I encode my YouTube videos in AV1? No. YouTube re-encodes everything to its own internal format. Encoding in AV1 first costs you a lot of CPU and YouTube redoes the work anyway. Upload high-quality H.264 instead.
Want a tool that picks the right codec for each destination automatically? Download Video Forge — 10 free conversions, $5 lifetime after, ffmpeg bundled. For converting between specific codecs (HEVC → H.264 in particular), see the HEVC → H.264 conversion guide or browse all conversion pairs.