Explainers · 3 min read
MP4 vs. MOV vs. MKV: Which Format Should You Choose?
Three letters, very different levels of compatibility. Here's the practical difference.
MP4: the safe default
MP4 is the most widely supported video format across phones, browsers, and media players, which is why nearly every social platform serves downloads in this format by default.
MOV: Apple's format
MOV was developed by Apple and remains common in iPhone recordings and professional editing software, but isn't always as universally supported outside the Apple ecosystem as MP4.
MKV: flexible but less universal
MKV can hold multiple audio tracks, subtitles, and higher-quality streams in one file, popular for archiving, but not every device or app plays it natively the way they do MP4.