FFmpeg vs Leawo Video Converter

FFmpeg is free, open-source software for recording, converting, and streaming audio and video on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its command-line tool converts media files between formats, supports local recording, and lists AVI among its output formats. Output protocols include HLS, RTMP, RTMPS, RTP, RTSP, SRT, and UDP. Hardware acceleration is available for encoding and decoding. Decoding support includes Vulkan, VAAPI, and OpenHarmony, and Vulkan codecs can work on implementations of Vulkan 1.3. The Vulkan compute approach supports FFv1 encoding and decoding and ProRes RAW decoding, but only for codecs designed for parallel decoding. FFmpeg’s transcoding components run in parallel, which can improve throughput and CPU use; gains may be limited when one component dominates the processing. The project accepts contributions through its Forgejo instance and offers mailing lists, IRC, forums, bug reports, a wiki, and conferences. Version 8.1 Hoare was announced as available for download on March 16, 2026.

Leawo Video Converter is a paid Windows and macOS application for converting video and audio, downloading online video, and preparing media for listed devices. It supports batch conversion, hardware acceleration, audio extraction, and output up to 4K. Video outputs include MP4, H.265 MP4, AVI, MKV, H.265 MKV, MOV, WMV, WebM, and other listed formats; audio outputs include AAC, AC3, WAV, MP3, WMA, FLAC, M4A, and OGG. Online downloads are supported from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Dailymotion, TED, and more than 100 other video-sharing sites, with batch downloads. Device targets include Windows and macOS computers, iPhone, iPad, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, PSP, Wii, and other portable media players. Additional tools include chapter handling, subtitles, DVD output, and dual-layer DVD support. The Basic Plan is $29.95 a year, auto-renewing and cancellable anytime, for one license on one PC for one year. The Professional Plan is $39.95 a month as a one-time payment for a lifetime license on one PC. Leawo was founded in 2006.