--- title: Handbrake Reviews meta_title: 'Handbrake Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 155 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Handbrake works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.7 review_count: 155 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-07-17' parent_category: name: Video url: https://www.g2.com/categories/video --- # Handbrake Reviews **Vendor:** Handbrake **Category:** [Other Video Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/other-video) **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 155 ## About Handbrake HandBrake is a free, open-source video transcoder that enables users to convert multimedia files and unprotected DVD or Blu-ray sources into modern, widely supported formats. Compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux, HandBrake simplifies the process of making videos playable on various devices, including mobile phones, tablets, TVs, and gaming consoles. Key Features and Functionality: - Built-in Device Presets: Offers optimized profiles for various devices, facilitating quick and efficient conversions. - Supported Input Sources: Processes most common multimedia files and any unprotected DVD or Blu-ray sources. - Output Formats: - File Containers: MP4, MKV, and WebM. - Video Encoders: AV1, H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, VP8, and VP9. - Audio Encoders: AAC, HE-AAC, MP3, FLAC, AC3, E-AC3, Opus, and Vorbis. - Audio Pass-through: Supports AC-3, E-AC3, FLAC, DTS, DTS-HD, TrueHD, AAC, Opus, MP3, and MP2 tracks. - Additional Features: - Title, chapter, and range selection. - Batch scanning and queueing of encodes. - Chapter markers. - Subtitle support (VobSub, Closed Captions CEA-608, SSA, SRT). - Constant quality or average bitrate video encoding. - Support for variable and constant frame rates. - Video filters including deinterlacing, decomb, denoise, detelecine, deblock, grayscale, color space adjustments, cropping, and scaling. - Live static and video preview. - HDR pass-through. HandBrake's primary value lies in its ability to convert videos from nearly any format into widely supported codecs, ensuring compatibility across a broad range of devices. By providing a user-friendly interface with powerful features, it addresses the need for efficient, high-quality video conversion without the cost associated with proprietary software. ## Handbrake Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users love the **extensive file compatibility** of Handbrake, making video conversion effortless and versatile. (4 reviews) - Users highlight the **fast conversion speed** of HandBrake, efficiently compressing large videos into smaller files. (3 reviews) - Users love the **free services** of Handbrake, enabling easy and versatile file conversion and transcoding. (3 reviews) - Users praise the **outstanding video quality** delivered by Handbrake, ensuring impressive results with every conversion. (3 reviews) - Users find Handbrake to be **intuitive and easy to use** , delivering amazing results for video transcoding needs. (2 reviews) - Format Support (2 reviews) - Tool Versatility (2 reviews) - Compatibility (1 reviews) - Users love the **great customization** options in Handbrake, allowing specific transcoding tailored to their needs. (1 reviews) - Easy Creation (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find the **user interface overwhelming** , making it challenging for beginners to navigate and utilize effectively. (2 reviews) - Users wish for **automated batch processing** in Handbrake to streamline multiple transcodes without manual selection. (1 reviews) - Users find the **learning difficulty** of Handbrake challenging, as its UI is not user-friendly and navigation is complicated. (1 reviews) - Users find the **limited compatibility** of Handbrake frustrating, particularly with encrypted DVDs and Blu-rays. (1 reviews) - Users find the **poor interface design** of Handbrake frustrating, making navigation and usability quite challenging. (1 reviews) - Users experience **slow uploads** due to the large file sizes, affecting their video compression time significantly. (1 reviews) ## Handbrake Reviews ### 1. Great for Video Compression **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in E-Learning | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 16, 2022 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** At the click of a button you can compress your video to almost any size. It's absolutely a wonderful tool to have in your toolbox. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** It's hard to say what i dislike about Handbrake, but i guess the user interface could use a bit of updating, it could make it easier to navigate and set up settings. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Benefits are that we are able to compress giant video files to small manageable file sizes that our network can handle. ### 2. Video converter for everyone **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Huseyin D. | System Specialist, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 02, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** This program is ideal for video editors. You can use it easily with ready-to-use options. It supports almost all file types. Also, it has some presets that would be useful for you. It allows you to compress and lower the size of videos, too. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** It has really not the best user interface. If you are a starter for video editing, it is not easy to use for you. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** If you need an advanced level video converter application, the best and free application for you. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are using it for converting videos. ### 3. Easy and fast **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ana Cybele S. | Social Media Strategist, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 07, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** It takes a few minutes to complete a compressing process with just a couple of clicks. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I had some experiences with videos compressed upside down, but it seems that they were already fixed. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** It is really handy to help us make our work more efficient and save some space and time. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I can share and upload videos more easily after being compressed. ### 4. An open-source Versatile Video Convertor **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 20, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake is by far the best video converter that you will ever find. It's available for both mac and windows. the best thing about handbrake is it's advanced video compression algorithms, the UI of the software is also very user friendly, it comes with built in presets for various web platforms and devices. Another best feature of handbrake is it's batch video conversion feature which allows you to convert multiple videos at once. It's is also very optimized with CPU to get converisons faster. Also there is a sepearte section for audio, video, subtitles etc. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Sometimes it messes up with the GPU. also introduces some artefacts in the output file. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Unusual Crashes due to GPU Fix Output settings Optimizing the performance with CPU ### 5. The best software to compress video files **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Leisure, Travel & Tourism | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 06, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake is probably the best software I've ever used to compress video files. The result is surprising and, depending on the options used, there is a minor loss of video quality. Handbrake has tools to crop the video, rotate, remove and add audio, and several other essential functions that allow me not to use different video editing software. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Some badly needed functions, like cut a video per time, are hidden within the app. However, with a bit of patience, it is possible to use all the features provided by this software. I haven't found any issues that undermine my assessment of Handbrake. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Handbrake is an incredible software that compresses video files to unbelievable sizes. Of course, it's something else you have to do before sending a video to a contributor, but make sure they're pleased to be able to download the video file much faster. More than that, handbrake can replace video editors for basic editing and does everything more quickly than professional video editing software. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is often necessary to show problems and solutions through videos when working with a software development team. Recording the screen for several minutes can generate large files that make it difficult to share with team members with inferior hardware or limited internet connections. More than that, it's possible to edit the video quickly in Handbrake itself. ### 6. An Ultimate Video Compressor! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rahul G. | Program Anlayst, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 20, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** It ability to highly compress the video file without actually affecting the video quality. The range of options it gives ranging from the predefined video resolutions and, at the same time to set custom size dimensions. The encoding level is also well organized into options. Handbrake is my one-stop destination for all my video conversion, cutting & cropping needs. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Sometimes it takes too much time to generate the output video file when another video editor is busy rendering my video outputs. The process becomes extremely slow when other software is using my GPU. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** I would totally recommend it! If you want a free and efficient video compressor to cut down on loads of GBs from your final video file. Plus, the ease of use it comes with is phenomenal. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Video Compressing, Video Cropping, Video Cutouts, Creating Chapters in the video, Burning Subtitles into the video file & Changing the audio track. What I like the most is it a freeware, plus it's a multipurpose tool. ### 7. Handbrake Rocks **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Financial Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 09, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Very intuitive for the most part, but best of all, it has worked with all the video formats I have come across. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The name - "Handbrake." Really? What does that have to do with its functionality? But whatever - it is memorable and hard to forget, so I guess it does the trick. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Watch YouTube Videos to learn the basics, and then get a trial copy. It is easy to use, and you quickly become familiar with it. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Able to fix issues with video formats - like compatibility. I especially LOVE that you can quickly correct video orientation taken with iPhone or iPad videos. ### 8. Great utility for digitizing DVDs **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tyler T. | IT Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 19, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake makes it easy to take my old DVDs and convert the movies to mp4 or mkv format. I like the fact that if your film has multiple language formats or subtitles, you can capture those too. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The process takes a long time. Some movies take hours to convert. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I can set Handbrake to create one mp4 with the English language and automatically record another mp4 in another language on the disk with subtitles. ### 9. Used for 15+ Years - Best Free Transcoder **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Drayton K. | Information Technology Director, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Pros: *Simple User Interface *Tons of features and options supported *Quick/efficient -- supports hardware well **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Cons: *Although I like the interface, maybe it could use an update? *It's difficult to think of dislikes, honestly. Can this be considered a con? **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** I'm unsure what I should add to this section. Use it faster? It's a great tool. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use Handbrake for: *Ripping movies and television shows from purchased collections. *Transcoding files to different formats depending on need. ### 10. Great video converter/encoder that supports virtually any type of video format **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Utilities | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake is an excellent, free, open-source video converter with support for many video files and formats. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** With all the features included, Handbrake can be somewhat challenging for new users to learn to navigate. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Handbrake is an excellent, cross-platform, efficient video converter with support for many different file types, as well as many presets to convert video to any format you need. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have used Handbrake to convert videos to smaller file sizes and resolutions for easier sharing and streaming. ### 11. Great to convert DVDs/Bluray to digital file **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Very easy to use. Great for converting any DVD/Blu-ray to your digital library for use on iTunes, DLNA, websites, etc. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** It takes time for upgrades for new encryption types that may prevent you from digitizing your library. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Handbrake to convert older advertising discs to a digital file format. It can be used to convert any video DVD/Bluray to a digital file format you can use for other purposes ### 12. Fantastic open source software for converting video to different formats **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Consumer Electronics | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 27, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Very light software with easy to select options and use. Quick and high-quality video format conversions **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I have had no issues using this so far. Perhaps for a novice, you would like information about the best options for formats and settings but really there's not much to complain about Handbrake. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Videos from different sources come with different settings/formats and Handbrake makes it easy to convert these to match ### 13. Easy video converting **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Chris C. | Worship and Children's Pastor, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 04, 2017 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Reads many different video types and can convert to most popular types. It works very fast, and can be used in the background for large conversions. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** It is missing some features and has a very clunky interface. Importing can be a little tricky as well. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** The interface is difficult to get used to, but will be easier as you gain experience. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are able to convert video types to be used on smart TVs, eliminating the need for computer pass-through. ### 14. Compresses Videos at the best **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Eliezer M. | Project Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 22, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** We receive videos that do not fit it, which is why we need to compress them. Handbrake comes in handy as the best tool for this. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I have no dislikes for this as it is the most convenient tool we use. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are using this tool to compress most of the videos we receive from clients, which seem not to be proper. Easy and simple way to get it done. ### 15. If it fits, it shrinks! **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Drew D. | Media Specialist, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 02, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** My primary use case for Handbrake is shrinking down files to smaller size for web delivery, or uploading over slow internet. I'm not exactly sure what all the sliders do, but the program always seems to do an excellent job of keeping quality while meeting an extremely efficient file size. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The queueing function seems like it's pretty outdated at this point. I wish I could just add a whole folder at once with the same preset. In this way it struggles like Adobe Media Encoder does. I also have to guess & check a lot as far as what settings will work best. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** It's completely free! That's reason enough to keep it around. Client also will appreciate that you deliver smaller files, as they often work on overstuffed computers with slow connections. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm often on the road, in airports, or in coffee shops, and trying to upload video files; on slower connections, smaller files will always win. Handbrake is an essential part of my workflow for shrinking files to size to still be able to do my job regardless of location. ### 16. Best all purpose Video Encoder and Converter **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Marketing and Advertising | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake gives you tons of options for controlling every aspect of converting and exporting a video. Handbrake also has command line integration so you can automate multiple outputs from Bash or Zsh. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** At first glance, all the options are intimidating until you play around with it and get to know the settings. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Whenever I get a PROrez video i need downsized, Handbrake can solve that easily and quickly, downgrading video quickly. ### 17. Handbrake - The tool I use to optimize videos **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mário F. | Freelance Graphic & Web Designer, Design, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 14, 2020 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** I like prettty almost everything about HandBrake, It's a free software (what's not to like), very light-weight and has a easy to get user interface. It allows you to pick a renderend animation or video from other software and reduce its size to a more manageable file size. It is packed with many features and has a ton of presets for the web, devices productions, etc that will speed up your workflow and allows you to create your specific presets if you need to make tweaks to the existing ones. HabdBrake also packs some video filters that we can experiment with, chapter markers, support for some types of subtitles and preview, a neat tool in my arsenal. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** For a newbie all those presets can be a bit overwhelming, and I think that the grouping should be re-organized. I know it's not meant to be an editing tool but If the video preview could have a slider it would much better in order mark chpaters or to add the soundtracks exactly the way we want to. Also some geneal Presets for website development would be great. You can have good results without changing anything but to really optimize yout video you need to watch some tutorials first. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** If you're using it for the first times, get to know all the litle tweaks you can do inside. Sometimes those simple tweaks can make a big difference. Always have a lot of RAM available in your machine, but that goes also for the Video and Animation Software you're probably using. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** If it wasn't for HandBrake I didn't know how to reduce the file sizes in order to export for the web or to send via email, to place in a facebook add, etc... For me, it solved a major issue with videos and animations - it's size, whitout it I could have sent or uploaded big sized videos or animations. It really was a life saver when I found this piece of software on-line, and you can't beat the price. ### 18. Versatile and flexible program **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Motion Pictures and Film | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** The sheer number of input/output options is unmatched for any other free program. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The UI can take a little getting used to, and some of the features take a lot time. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I usually use HB to convert between media types in preparation for work in another video application (often FCPX). ### 19. Great, easy to use video compression tool **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Straightforward interface, easy for anyone to use. The options are clear, and comprehensive. But if all you want to do is compress a video, you don't have to change any settings, and it just works. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** If you need to trim the length of a video, it can be hard - "seconds" don't always trim "seconds." **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Compress videos for easy sharing. Remove sound from videos. Don't have to purchase expensive "name-brand" video compression software. ### 20. Review Handbrake **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Government Administration | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** I like the User interface and easy customizations **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I do not dislike anything. It has worked for me for all my needs **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am solving media conversion problems in our case ### 21. The most effective video transcoder available **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Bruna V. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 03, 2020 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake is extremely effective as a video transcoder, processing is fast and file optimization brings great results. For the average user, there are several pre-settings that meet the vast majority of usage needs, while it is also possible to customize every detail for those who want to have less loss of quality or compress video files to the maximum. In fact, the Handbrake's ability to compress videos without loss of quality surprised me the first few times I used the software, often exceeding the market's leading professional video editing software tools. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The video clipping system could be more intuitive. By default, the video is divided into chapters and can only be cut if this option is modified. Although this problem has a workaround, it can be difficult to use for less experienced users. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Handbrake is an open source project and is accessible to everyone. This video transcoder is as efficient as the workarounds that are available in professional video editing programs. So, if your editing needs are basic or you just need to compress a video file, Handbrake is really worth testing. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Screencasts with several minutes result in large files as the recording resolution is high. Handbrake allows you to compress the video with little or no loss of quality while substantially reducing file sizes. This allows you to save storage space and make it possible to share files faster or play them over slower internet connections. ### 22. Convert MP3 files **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sandro A. | Italy Country Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 14, 2020 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Due to a need to convert many files from youtube to MP3, I was looking for a solution able to support it. It is easy to install and usage is very simple. It supports different kinds of format. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I used the basic function so many features are available only with the PRO version. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Convert many files from Youtube to MP3 format. The major benefits are: do it in a very simple and fast way, no limitations about the number of conversions available, and the update of the product to the newest version is very easy. ### 23. Absolutely Love It! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Motion Pictures and Film | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 09, 2021 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Love the fact that this is a free program, everything I need and I don’t have to pay a cent! **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** HandBrake is amazing. If I had to think of a downside, it would be the design is a little basic. It could be more colorful. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I shoot video for clients in 2K/4K, but my video editor doesn’t handle the big files well, so I downgrade the footage to 1080p with HandBrake, allowing me to retain some quality but edit quickly. ### 24. Handbrake reduces the size of video files in an agile and efficient way. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pedro M. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 06, 2020 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** It is surprising how quickly it can transform a hundreds of megabyte video into a few megabyte files without requiring a lot of computer resources. Although I am not an advanced user, Handbrake is software with many features and allows you to use dozens of video formats to meet your needs between quality and file size. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Not all functions are intuitive and clearly visible in the application's interface. I had to look, for example, how to cut a video using Handbrake because it was not explicit in the software how I could do this. I understand that the focus of the application is not video editing but video compression, even so this could be improved. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** There are similar browser-based solutions, but in addition to the obvious security breach, these alternatives also tend to cause a lot of loss of quality in the videos. Handbrake allows you to configure everything to find a balanced option between quality and compression. It is also important to say that it is multiplatform so it can be shared on Windows, Mac and Linux users. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is often necessary to report a bug or some other type of problem on video, what contributes to the understanding and speeds up the correction of these problems. However, screencast programs generate very large files, which is not necessary in the vast majority of the cases. Therefore, Handbrake helps to reduce the size of these files and allows them to be attached, shared and displayed more quickly. ### 25. Handbrake Makes Creating Compact Videos Easier **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Amelia K. | Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 25, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** The Handbrake software is so easy to use. I have no training in audio applications or video formats, yet I can quickly reformat my videos to meet my needs. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I would like to better understand which settings to change to get the best video quality possible while still reducing the size, but the learning curve is strictly due to my lack of audit and video knowledge. There are plenty of methods to receive assistance. I just need to take the time and learn. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Handbrake is an easy to use software for changing the format of a video or change the file size. It works great for collaborating with team members. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Handbrake to reduce a file size when I need to email a file to a coworker. This allows us to collaborate together on a project without using an outside service to hold the video or without the need to copy the video to a corporate file share location. ### 26. A superb open source tool for quick video editing and re-encoding needs **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mridul K. | Business Manager, Marketing and Advertising, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 10, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** It has a super-simple interface and the open-source nature makes it a great free tool for making quick edits to videos. It also has a portable version which doesn't require an install, which has been a godsend when I urgently needed to edit a video on my work laptop that doesn't allow installation of an app without Admin access and credentials. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Nothing. It is not a super powerful tool like a number of paid and enterprise tools but it meets my specific need very well! Working in media, I release a lot of videos to publishers for running as digital ads and often a video file provided by the client will have a higher file size than the vendor supports. When there is a sensitive timeline where the client's team will take significant time to re-share the file in the right size, Handbrake has allowed me to make changes at my end, get a quick sign-off from client and take the activity live. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** If you need a quick video re-encoding or slicing job, Handbrake is the tool to pick. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** The key problem is of the video not being in the right file format or having a file size that is significantly higher than supported. Handbrake lets me change the file format or compress the video while achieving an acceptable video quality, without requiring me to have extensive video editing knowledge. ### 27. Best Conversion Software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jeremy N. | Videographer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 01, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** There as so many options, and it just works. No fooling around with silly extra stuff. It gets the job done. If you need to change a media file type, it'll do it. I like that its your fault if it doesn't turn out like you want. The program will do whatever you ask it to. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Sometimes it can be a bit confusing to get your desired outcome. I would like it to include an "estimated size" portion before rendering. I use it mostly for compressing files and that would be very helpful. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Its not fancy in its GUI design, but it gets the job done. There are a lot of parameters to consider, but it has built in profiles that are useful. Others you may have to look up, but there is a large community of handbrake users online that will help you out. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use it a lot to make files smaller. This allows me to fit large video files onto drives for looping displays that are usually smaller. And it makes it easier for others to handle the files. Plus I can convert them to whatever file types I need if programs are being picky about what they will play back. ### 28. Handbrake: from a good video to a better one **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stefano T. | Mr Tamiotti, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 08, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** The thing that I like best is the great amount of settings that Handbrake offers you in order to change your video, increasing quality and deleting elements that you don't want. I always use the cropping function to delete the black bars that always are on movies imported from DVD's or BluRay Disk, so that I can see a film without any disturbance. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The only thing that I don't like about Handbrake is time. Because of its high potential, Handbrake requires an high performance computer or a lot of time to perform a video transformation. However, this is the price that we have to pay with every video editing software. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** If you are searching a powerful video editor, that lets you change video format, shrink your video size without losing quality and an easy tool to crop your video, then Handbrake is the software for you. Just a few steps and you will be able to change your video, without quality loss. Also, if you are more expert, there are advanced settings to improve your video quality and choose a method to get this work done. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** With Handbrake I was able to have a complete video archive without blackbars, with videos on High Definition, in the format that I prefer. I was also able to shrink the video dimension, so that, without losing quality, I was able to have a large amount of videos, using less space on my HDD. ### 29. Handbrake is excellent for easy editing **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Broadcast Media | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** I am not a professional editor, and yet I can use Handbrake without any issues to edit video and audio files. For me, this is just a godsend. For small edits and video conversions, Handbrake works wonders. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I don't really dislike anything about Handbrake, per se. There is a lot of functionality in this program, and it consequently might be a little difficult for the average person to use at first glance. There's a learning curve there. But it's not especially steep. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Just make sure that you're comfortable with software like this, as it might be a little tricky for a novice. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I often have to edit video files in the office, and relying on an in-house editor for small edits was a problem. Downloading Handbrake solved it rather easily. ### 30. The best compression tools ever **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ryhan R. | Motion Graphics Designer II, Animation, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 18, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Hands down (no pun intended), Handbreak is some of the best and highest quality compression software in the industry. It can take a variety of sizes and formats and kick out really great, much smaller size, videos that perform great on any system. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I’d honestly say that the roughest part of liking Handbreak is it’s compression speeds - quality and size take a good deal of time to compress - but it’s worth it! **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I’ve compressed all sorts of videos with different resolutions, all with the purpose of showing off great content and keeping transfer rates low and playback speeds as accurate as possible. ### 31. Perfect for compressing larger files **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Writing and Editing | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 06, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake is ideal for compressing particularly long files which otherwise would not compress down as much using compression programs such as compressor. It's also easily customisable which makes changing settings incredibly easy and very convenient for the end user. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** For particularly large files Handbrake can be quite slow on occasion. By tailoring the settings you can find a means of making this faster but it is a learning curve. With faster machines this issue also will be reduced and simply requires some trial and error between your own computers memory settings. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** It's great for improving your workflow. A fast computer is necessary to really get the benefits from Handbrake but don't let that put you off. Explore with the customizable settings and the settings which work best with your own desktop computer. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I've been able to downsize large videos such as tutorials or interviews to a more convenient length instead of the large files they were rendering out as. I would highly recommend people to try it out and find out how it can benefit their own workflow. ### 32. Make any file any other file **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jeremy N. | Owner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 22, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** So far it has ingested and exported any file I have thrown at it. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The interface could be updated a bit. It feels very old but still works. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I can compress any video files I want. ### 33. Video encoding tool, full of features. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Sports | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 01, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** The most helpful feature about Handbrake is its flexibilty in converting videos to and from a large number of formats. It is quiete easy ti use it and even quick in converting large files. It also allows me to convert videos in a format that can be read on Apple devices, without needing ti download any app. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Though it supports lots of formats, I found out that it doesn’t support a specific format for devices like Sony PSP. Sometimes the quality of the converted video is a bit lower that the original one. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Handbrake solved many problems, especially the ones about the compatibility of videos on devices like iPad and iPhone, products that can’t read different formats. ### 34. Simple and powerful **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rodrigo M. | Designer gráfico, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 15, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Plenty of options that Handbrake provides is just great. Command line feature provides a lot of flexibility and allows to queue up tasks. The interface has many information for each option that is extremely helpful for newcomers. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I wish there was more presets really. The default presets should have some easy to understand presets like max compression or highest quality. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Must be the best free encoder right now. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Reencoding big files from my DSLR to share on social media. ### 35. A great tool to transcode a video **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Marketing and Advertising | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 26, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Its easy to convert any video to MP4. I can resize a video and ad subtitles so i can forget the srt files **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I cant create a dvd disc or mix 2 or more videos in one **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** If you are looking to a tool that hdlp you to transcode a video in easy way, handbrake is the solution **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Take out the srt files. The subtitles are embeded in the video. ### 36. Free and Open Source Lifesaver **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Courtney B. | Senior Publications Specialist, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 16, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** HandBrake is the easiest way I've experienced to change video file codecs or pull files from DVDs. It's simple to set up, simple to use, and very customizable. I'm pleased to be able to implement more Free & Open Source software into my workflow, and this is one of the most reliable programs we've used. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** HandBrake doesn't always make it obvious which setting you'll want to use for videos, so it may take a bit of trial and error to find your perfect file fit. It's not a real issue to me. The design holds over from older design sensibilities and could definitely be freshened up. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** It's free *and* Free & Open Source, so it's silly to not at least give it a try if you are looking for a video processing software. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** HandBrake solves all of our video issues with embedding video into digital guides. We're able to customize the video quality and file type for perfect fits into Adobe Digital Publishing. The Queue feature saves time to make a large batch of multiple files instead of having to process one at a time as well! ### 37. Video Compression **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Retail | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 26, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Often when videos are sent from suppliers they are very large and not suitable for web or email. Handbrake makes cutting the video size down a breeze. Easy to use and not CPU intensive at all **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Visually these days its a bit lacking, looks very "95". Guides online are helpful but a novice would struggle **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** There is no other choice really ,its free, fast and awsome **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Shrinking the size of videos down, or converting them into a format that is suitable for webpages or emails. ### 38. Amazing open-source software for video conversion **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Eric Eduardo W. | Editor, Media Production, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 12, 2017 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake is a great utility for converting or reducing the size of videos, and since it is open-source based it is available for free and constantly updating with new features. Once you learn how to use it properly, it really can save a lot of time and space, which is often a problem when working with videos mostly on the cloud. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The offering of options and tools for converting video can be confusing for someone not used to the software, and since some of the official documentation can be outdated it can give you problems learning to use it by yourself. Also, the interface for batch video conversion could be better as it is outdated by today's standards, but other than that I'm satisfied with the software. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** It can take some time to properly learn to use Handbrake, but the reduced frustration and saved time make it worth it mostly considering it is available for free. In fact, it is better than some paid alternatives I tried when looking for a software, which often have troubles with common codecs or fail to reduce the file size. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have been using Handbrake to reduce the file size of videos, which is often convenient when uploading a video to social media. Its variety of options makes it frustration-free to upload big videos without wasting time, mostly since most of the time converting the video is faster than the upload process. ### 39. An incredibly versatile, brilliantly useful video tool **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tom S. | Founder, Co-Director, Managing & Creative Producer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 27, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Handbrake is an exceptional video file tool. It is a great product to turn to because its so versatile, you can achieve so many different end results with it. It is incredibly reliable, and works very quickly. The progress bar and messages along the way of a file conversation are fun and user friendly too. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** There's very little to dislike. Its like a swiss army knife for video file handling. I'd love for it to be easier to edit/shorten file lengths, but it is still possible with Handbrake. Along with so much more. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** The conversion of video file types, and the editing of video file lengths, to be compatible with several different social media platforms and their respective requirements for compatibility. ### 40. Great dependable video converter. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** ben B. | Designer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 15, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** It works fast and doesn't compromise quality **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** There isn't anything that I can think of that I would change. Maybe adding a small rollover explanation of what the different settings options do. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have clients that send me files that are way too large to use with other software. ### 41. Handbrakes as my starter tool for encoding videos and stayed with me as I learnt more about encoding **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Parth S. | Product Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 05, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** The sheer number of options that Handbrake provides is amazing. the command line feature provides a lot of flexibility and allows to queue up tasks. The GUI has a lot of information for each option that is extremely helpful for newbies starting out. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** the lack of presets for handbrake is annoying. The default presets should have some easy to understand presets like max compression or highest quality. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Handbrake allows me to reencode videos into a smaller size and facilitate easier distribution. I could help my customers to get smaller sized videos without a major loss in quality which made the videos more portable. ### 42. Excellent Video Conversion Tool **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 19, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Software is very simple to use - very automated process that requires minimal attention or experience. Quickly converts file formats and compresses large video formats to manageable sizes suitable for emailing without compromising quality. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I haven't found anything I dislike yet... **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** I'd say there are a lot of formatting and extensions that if you are unfamiliar with, can be challenging and confusing to use. But tutorials are provided so it's not a big deal. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Compressing videos, archiving files and converting formats. ### 43. Cheap and Simple **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Entertainment | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 21, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** I mainly use this to compress files and when I have to convert Iphone footage to use in a editing program. It is great when compressing files into small limit sites such as under 2gb. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** That there is a seperate window for the queue and I wish some of the outputs were more customizable such as .mov or other file formats. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Adobe Media Encoder **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** When receiving iphone footage I have to convert the bit rate for the audio using this software. I have also used this on unkown file sources to standardize my files when editing. ### 44. Gets the Job Done! **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rebecca C. | Office Assitant , Higher Education, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 23, 2018 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** The best feature of the software is the ease of usability. It looks complex at first but is very easy to get the hang of, and once you press 'start', the job is done. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The program has a older aesthetic. If you aren't familiar with the 2000's style windows desktop OS, it's designed with the same style in mind. Updating the program's visual likability would also increase usability further. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** You'll still need to pair the software with a transcription program, but is an amazing encoder. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm using it for webinar transcription, and have realized that it's a great program! ### 45. Free, easy to use, great app! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 18, 2019 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** I have lots of video conversions to do either from class, or my lab - Handbrake is great for this! Flexible conversions from one codec to another, pretty fast, user friendly **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** Nothing - it is great. Queue for multiple automatic or batch conversions could be better. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** Training videos created in one software of available in on particular codec aren't always viewable on all platforms, websites and share points. Handbrake is a cost effective way to make sure everyone can view your media. ### 46. Useful, but not always reliable **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stephen S. | Multimedia Producer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 13, 2018 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** I love the ability to pull content from a DVD. My organization uses this feature all the time to pull old game footage off of DVDs that we keep in our tape room. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I dislike the consistency and reliability of the program. And by that I mean that there are often times when I choose a specific output format and when it's done encoding, the file isn't in the format I chose and requires me to do further conversion. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Temper your expectations when using HandBrake. It's probably the easiest program to use for DVD ripping and is free, which is nice. However, you sometimes get what you pay for - in other words, it's convenient, but the results don't always end up being exactly what you had first hoped for. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** We primarily use HandBrake for pulling old game footage from archive DVDs. ### 47. a tool that any modern video editor can not miss!! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Marcos G. | Production and Content Director, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2018 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** Its simplicity and its results.... with only 3 or 4 clicks you can reduce the size of any video file to half or better (in most cases)... You just have to select your source video... select the output folder and hit "start" thats it... By default it auto transcodes your video into an HD .mp4 file... but if you want to get all pro, you can edit the advanced settings... **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** It has a lot of options that I have never ever used, and some (way too) pro for me, but probably somebody likes them **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** Gei it!! Its free... To give you an idea, theres is no video created by us and uploaded to the web thas HASN'T pass trough handbrake before... **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** We create a lot of educational content for the web. Some of those videos turn out to be quite heavy, wich makes it difficult to upload, store and play them online... But thanks to Handbrake we can convert them to .mp4 and loose much of that weight without loosing any quality on our videos... Reduce a couple hundred Mb into just a few... ### 48. Good free tool for your video **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mirella C. | Designer grafico, Graphic Design, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 08, 2018 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** One of the best thing is that Handbrake it's free to download. You can use it as it is or use all the advanced controls that the interface provides you. It is also useful if you want to work on blurays. The presets for the different devices and formats are always good if you do not know how to move in the interface. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** The interface is really difficult. I had to watch many tutorials online to understand how to move the first steps. Also the graphic composition of the interface is really confusing. I've also to underline the fact that sometimes to convert files will take sooooo long. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** It is the only software I've ever used to manage my conversions. So I really do not know if out there you can find something better. For me and my work it does what I need. Test it. It's free. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Handbrake because it allows me to share different videos on different devices. In a click I can create a version for the different devices so I can have previews of videos for clients. ### 49. Useful little tool for reducing video file size **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Fernando Héctor M. | Software Developer, Computer Games, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 22, 2017 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** I like how effective it is reducing the file size of videos as how fast it can be when you need to quickly convert them to use in social media. The variety of tools make it easy to work with, and you can easily use presets to make the process faster. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** I dislike the extremely outdated interface, which makes the batch conversion a pain to work with. Other than that I'm pretty happy with the software as it is available for free. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** This is a nice software when you quickly want to reduce the file size of videos without highly compromising the image quality, and it is better than some paid software despite of being free. I only wish the interface was better as it is highly outdated, but it is still easy to use. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have been using Handbrake to re-encode videos as it allows to further compress videos giving a lower file size while keeping the image quality in overall, making it faster to upload online. I also use this software to encode videos for Twitter, as the site can be a little picky for the videos when uploaded. ### 50. Great option for easily compressing videos **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mario C. | Internship Trainee, Banking, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 21, 2017 **What do you like best about Handbrake?** I like the different optimization features when exporting videos, the ease of using presets and the availability of options. While compressed videos are hard to further reduce the file size, it is highly effective when it comes to projects that need to be uploaded. **What do you dislike about Handbrake?** When it comes to Handbrake, one of the biggest issues I disliked is the outdated interface, making the batch options annoying to use and annoying to make new presets. The rendering options can be a little slow sometimes, but I guess that is to expect from a software that is still in development. **Recommendations to others considering Handbrake:** When it comes to compressing video files, Handbrake is one of the most complete options available for free. While it does lack some features compared to paid solutions, it does bring content to the table which is often lacking. Even if it is something simple like uploading a video to a website, this is a highly useful tool that will often save a headache in the process. **What problems is Handbrake solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have been able to compress the file size of videos which help me sending projects and drafts to client faster, reducing the time not of the upload process from our side but also the download from their side. ## Handbrake Discussions - [What is Handbrake used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-handbrake-used-for) - 2 comments - [Is handbrake good software?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-handbrake-good-software) - 1 comment - [What is handbrake software used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-handbrake-software-used-for) - 2 comments - [View Handbrake pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/handbrake/reviews?page=2§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-07-17+05%3A01%3A40+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=f4e5aacd-bb0b-4778-bd1f-dbf018fd89fd&secure%5Btoken%5D=97d86f59f7b878157e7d8186dbc27ff2f1d45e00832d8b90385191061fc0ad39&format=llm_user) ## Handbrake Integrations - [Adobe Premiere Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-premiere-pro/reviews) ## Top Handbrake Alternatives - [VideoLan](https://www.g2.com/products/videolan/reviews) - 4.7/5.0 (624 reviews) - [Compressor](https://www.g2.com/products/compressor/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (48 reviews) - [Wondershare UniConverter](https://www.g2.com/products/wondershare-uniconverter/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (41 reviews)