Video Codec Comparison — H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1, and Beyond

Choosing a video codec used to be simple: you used H.264 and moved on. Now there's H.265, VP9, AV1, VVC, and more on the horizon. Each claims to be "50% more efficient" than its predecessor, but the real picture is more nuanced. Here's the breakdown.

The Comparison Table

Codec	Released	Compression vs H.264	Encoding Speed	Hardware Decode Support	Royalty Status
H.264 (AVC)	2003	Baseline	Fast	Universal	Licensed (MPEG LA)
H.265 (HEVC)	2013	~40% better	2-5x slower	Most modern devices	Complex licensing
VP9	2013	~30-40% better	3-6x slower	Chrome, Android, most smart TVs	Royalty-free (Google)
AV1	2018	~50% better	5-20x slower	Growing rapidly (2024+ devices)	Royalty-free (Alliance for Open Media)
VVC (H.266)	2020	~50-60% better	Very slow	Almost none yet	Licensed

These efficiency numbers are approximate and depend heavily on the content type, resolution, and encoder settings.

H.264: The Universal Default

H.264 is everywhere. Every phone, every browser, every smart TV, every streaming box decodes it. If you need maximum compatibility and don't want to think about codec support, H.264 is still the safe choice.

The downside: at 4K and above, file sizes get large. For 1080p content, H.264 remains perfectly practical.

H.265 (HEVC): Better Compression, Messy Licensing

H.265 delivers genuinely better compression — roughly 40% smaller files at the same visual quality compared to H.264. Apple adopted it aggressively; iPhones have recorded in HEVC since 2017.

The problem is licensing. Multiple patent pools claim rights, creating legal uncertainty for smaller companies. This licensing mess is exactly why Google and others pushed for royalty-free alternatives.

Browser support: Safari yes, Chrome and Firefox no (they refuse due to licensing). This alone limits H.265 for web delivery.

VP9: Google's Answer

Google developed VP9 specifically for YouTube. Every video on YouTube is encoded in VP9 (and increasingly AV1). It's royalty-free and supported in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Android.

VP9 compression is comparable to H.265 — some tests show it slightly behind, others slightly ahead, depending on content. For web delivery, VP9 is a strong choice because browser support is excellent.

AV1: The Future (That's Arriving Now)

AV1 is the big one. Developed by the Alliance for Open Media (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Meta, Amazon, and others), it's royalty-free and delivers approximately 50% better compression than H.264.

The catch has always been encoding speed. Early AV1 encoders were painfully slow — 100x slower than H.264 for comparable quality. Modern encoders like SVT-AV1 have closed that gap significantly, and hardware encoding is arriving in 2024-2026 GPUs from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel.

Netflix uses AV1 for most of its catalog. YouTube encodes popular videos in AV1. The transition is happening.

Which Codec Should You Use?

Uploading to YouTube/social media: It doesn't matter — the platform re-encodes everything. Upload at the highest quality you have (H.264 or ProRes) and let the platform handle delivery codecs. Streaming/web delivery: VP9 for broad compatibility today. AV1 if your audience is on modern browsers and you can afford the encoding time. Local storage/archival: H.265 for the best balance of compression and compatibility with local players. AV1 if your devices support it. Maximum compatibility: H.264 in an MP4 container. Works literally everywhere.

Containers vs Codecs

Quick clarification: MP4, MKV, and WebM are containers (boxes that hold video and audio). H.264, VP9, AV1 are codecs (how the video data is compressed). You can put H.264 in an MP4 or MKV container. AV1 typically goes in MP4 or WebM.

The container affects compatibility too. MP4 is the safest container for broad device support.

Converting Between Codecs

Need to convert a video from one codec to another? MyPDF's video converter supports all major codecs and containers. Upload your file, choose the output format, and download.

Related Tools

• Video Converter — Convert between H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1, and more
• Compress Video — Reduce video file sizes
• Video to Audio — Extract audio tracks from video files