Want to Convert AVI to MOV (QuickTime)?

Seven solid options for converting AVI to MOV: Movavi Video Converter, VLC, FFmpeg, Online Video Converter, CloudConvert, Zamzar, and FreeConvert.

Each has its role: Movavi Video Converter is quick and easy, VLC can convert to many other formats, FFmpeg is designed for Linux, and CloudConvert includes a lot of editing features.

Pick by workflow: Zamzar is ideal if you only have a few files you want to convert, while Movavi Video Converter offers batch processing of files of any number or size.

Basic vs. advanced: Movavi’s Online Video Converter is a great tool for basic conversions, while FFmpeg includes advanced settings.

Quick tip: some of these video converters are slower than others, so keep in mind how much time you need to complete your project when choosing one.

Audio Video Interleave (AVI) files were first developed way back in 1992 by Microsoft as the standard video format for Windows. AVI files are still popular today thanks to their high quality and minimal compression. However, as an iPhone and iPad user, I haven’t been able to play these pesky AVI files since iOS-based devices don’t natively support this format.

The best way I’ve found to get around this is to change AVI to MOV, a format developed by Apple as part of their QuickTime framework. There are lots of AVI to MOV converters out there that will have your AVI files ready to play on your Apple devices in a flash. I decided to test several video converters to see which ones were fast, easy to use, and/or included other features like editing and personalization.

It can be frustrating not being able to play any video file on any device, but I was able to track down many solutions to this problem. I’ve collected my favorites here, along with the pros and cons of each, for your convenience.

Best overall: Movavi Video Converter

Movavi Video Converter came in way above the other converters I tested thanks to its speed, lack of quality loss, and editing features.

Best open-source software: FFmpeg

Though it has a steep learning curve, FFmpeg supports a wide range of media formats and was able to record my screen.

Best for basic conversions: Online Video Converter

Movavi’s Online Video Converter tool was great for basic stuff like converting and watching short video clips since it’s extremely simple to use and supports a ton of formats.

Best for advanced projects: FreeConvert

This video converter includes advanced settings that allowed me to adjust video dimensions, resize the video, add subtitles, and more.

Best cross-platform software: VLC

This media player works great on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, and didn’t require me to download anything.

Converting .avi to .mov can be easy and free with some programs and online tools. Below, you'll find reviews of the best freeware and online services with which you can make conversions for free. It's as simple as uploading your AVI, converting, and downloading the converted MOV version. Seven of the free AVI-to-MOV converter programs and online tools are listed below.

Operating system: Windows and Mac

Why I picked it: the process of converting AVI to MOV was quick and easy with practically no quality loss using this fantastic video converter.

Movavi Video Converter is a desktop program for Windows and Mac users who want to convert AVI to MOV fast, easily, and with close to no quality loss. Movavi Video Converter supports more than 180 media formats and offers ready-to-use device-oriented conversion presets and simple editing tools to help you tweak your clips before you transcode them. Its rich functionality makes it one of the best AVI-to-QuickTime converters on the market. The latest program update fixed an issue with DVD conversion, ensuring smoother and more accurate conversion of DVD content to digital formats.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Download and install Movavi Video Converter. Then open the file and install it into the software.
2. Next, open your AVI video that you need to convert.
3. Run the Movavi converter and click Add Media.
4. Next, click on Add video so you can add your AVI files to the software.
5. Choose your predefined output for the video format at the bottom in the converted window.
6. Start conversion by clicking on the folder to specify where you want the files to be saved and then click on Convert.

All you need to transfer AVI to MOV is good conversion software like Movavi Video Converter – a simple yet powerful app that supports over 180 different formats and includes presets for almost every device you can think of.

Download our AVI-to-MOV converter for Windows PC or Mac and start converting AVI files into MOV easily and quickly by following the instructions below.

Operating system: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android

Why I picked it: I appreciated that this media player is open-source and works across multiple platforms.

There are many programs to convert AVI to MP4 on a Mac or PC; and VLC does it quite well. VLC is a free, open-source, cross-platform media player for playing multimedia files, streaming protocols, and converting AVI files to MOV. It's a popular program you can find on most PCs. You don't need to download anything if you have this application installed on your PC. VLC 3.0.21 “Vetinari” offered improved playback of numerous formats, including rendering of certain subtitles, and many updates of third-party libraries. Below, we will explain how you can convert .avi to .mov for free quickly and easily. Pay attention to the explanation of how to convert AVI to MOV on Windows and Linux.

How to convert AVI to MOV with VLC:

1. Go to the official website of the AVI-to-MOV converter to download the latest version of VLC Media Player.
2. Double-click on the installation file downloaded.
3. Then, follow the instructions on the setup that appear on the screen. Agree to the terms of use and launch VLC Media Player.
4. Click on the Media menu in the upper left corner of the VLC window and select the Convert / Save option.
5. Now, click on the Add button in the Open Media window.
6. Click Convert/Save to open the Convert window.
7. Navigate to the MOV entry from the dropdown menu, set the location where you want to store your file, and click Save.

Click Start, and your file will begin to convert.

Operating system: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Why I picked it: FFmpeg is 100% free and supports a wide range of media formats.

FFmpeg is a popular collection of free software programs, unsurpassed for processing video and audio. FFmpeg is developed for the GNU/Linux operating system, but it can be used ideally in Windows to convert AVI to MOV for free. The program is open-source command-line software for video and audio conversion. FFmpeg makes use of various video and audio codec libraries. The free AVI-to-MOV converter supports a lot of formats for audio and video. FFmpeg supports both Audio Video Interweave (AVI) and QuickTime multimedia files (MOV). FFmpeg 8.0 "Huffman" was released in August 2025 and included native decoders and VVC decoder improvements.

How to convert .avi to .mov with FFmpeg:

1. Go to your Linux distribution command line terminal.
2. Type the following without the quotes FFmpeg- i path / video1.avi path / movie2.mov. Next, change path / video1.avi with your preferred filename and the location of your MOV file.
3. Change path / movie2.mov into your preferred destination path as well as your MOV file name.

Click on Return or Enter so you can begin the conversion. The video conversion may take some time. This depends on the length, specification, and quality of the computer's video.

Why I picked it: this quick and easy alternative to the Movavi Video Converter is perfect for smaller files.

Movavi’s tool is an online video conversion service you can use for free. The conversion service makes conversions of files less than 100 megabytes. All you need is to go to the website of the AVI-to-MOV converter online, add your media, and convert. In the instructions below, we will explain how to do this.

Instructions

Go to the Online Video Converter website. Add the AVI media file, which must be in your Dropbox or computer. Choose the MOV format from the drop-down list. Convert your file by clicking on Convert.

Why I picked it: I really appreciated that I didn’t have to download a program to use this video converter, which is also jam-packed with great editing features.

CloudConvert is a service with a free version to convert AVI to MOV online. It works just like Online Video Converter. You can convert to and from AVI, MOV, and dozens of other media formats. However, the difference with the latter is that you can edit the resolution, aspect ratio, constant quality, video codec, preset, tune, profile, and video level. An August 2024 update offered GPU-based video encoding for H264, HEVC, and AV1 formats.

Step-by-step instructions

Go to the landing page of CloudConvert. Select the media formats you are converting from and converting to. You'll find two drop-down boxes on the right side of the convert text on the upper part of the page.

1. Select AVI from the list in the first box and MOV in the second box.
2. Then select the file by clicking on the red rectangular box with the Select File tab.
3. You can select files from your computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and even URL. You can convert more than one file. All you need to do is click on Add More Files.
4. To convert, just click on the red Convert file.

Why I picked it: this simple file converter allowed me to convert files fast and easily.

Zamzar is a free online file converter that supports a wide range of file types. I didn’t have to download any software, and it was quick and easy to convert an AVI file to a MOV file. Email support was also very responsive. A recent program update included new online video-splitter and audio-splitter tools.

Instructions

To use the service, go to the AVI to MOV page, click Choose Files, and choose the file that you want to convert. Select MOV as the format you want to convert your AVI file to. Then just click Convert to convert your file.

Why I picked it: I really liked that I didn’t have to install any additional software to convert my files.

FreeConvert, as its name suggests, is a service that has a specialized tool for AVI-to-MOV conversion. It’s an online file converter, but it is also available as an app on Google Marketplace. You can drop files of up to 1 gigabyte into the converter. It even has advanced settings that enabled me to edit and personalize my videos. In an April 2025 update, FreeConvert introduced GPU H.264, H.265, and AV1 to their Video Converter and Video Compress tools.

Instructions

To convert with FreeConvert, go to the AVI-to-MOV page. Choose a file from your computer or mobile device by clicking on the Choose Files tab, which is in blue. Click the Convert to MOV button to start the conversion.

Choosing the best AVI to MOV converter is all about paying attention to your specific situation. Do you want to be able to view AVI files across all your different devices? VLC might be a good solution for you since it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. Or maybe you want to be able to edit your files. If so, CloudConvert has a ton of great editing features. If you’re working on a complicated project where you need to convert AVI to MOV, FreeConvert’s advanced settings will help you out.

Most of the selected video converters for .avi to .mov format are popular among desktop device users, particularly Movavi Video Converter, VLC, and FFmpeg. These programs are free to use, or at least have free trials and versions, and some, including VLC and FFmpeg, are open-source. However, there could be more supportive features for Mac. Meanwhile, they can convert files to virtually most of the leading media formats with minimal video quality loss.

Online converter services are the best tools for converting AVI to MOV. You don't have to download and install programs. You can choose files available in the cloud. They support most of the operating systems. There are no significant downsides to using these services. These are generally AVI-to-MOV converters that work on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android operating systems.

Hopefully, the tests I’ve conducted and the results shared here will help you to find the AVI to MOV converter that will work best for you. No matter which program you choose, with the lightning-fast speed of most of these video converters, you’ll be converting your AVI files to MOV files in no time.

If you compare MOV vs. AVI, they would seem pretty similar: both are media containers developed with a specific OS in mind. The main difference between them is the file size: AVI files are bigger than MOV files of the same quality. For a more detailed AVI vs. MOV comparison, take a look at the table below.