H.265 vs AV1: Which Codec to Choose, Measured
Choose H.265 when files must play everywhere and encode quickly on the graphics card you have. Choose AV1 when the smallest file matters and you can wait, or when your graphics card encodes AV1. On an iPad video, AV1 at the Maximum Savings setting came out 42 % smaller than H.265 at about the same quality, and took 15 times as long on a PC without an AV1 encoder.
Measured in September 2026 with VideoRecompress 2026.2.18 on a Ryzen 9 3900X with an RTX 3080. AV1 used the Maximum Savings settings (CRF 35) on the CPU; H.265 used the default setting on the GPU.
When to choose which
- Files must play on the TVs, phones and editors you already own
- A large batch has to finish soon: on an RTX 3080, H.265 encoded 8–17× faster than on the CPU
- Your graphics card has no AV1 encoder
- The smallest file matters most, for a long-term archive
- You have an NVIDIA RTX 40, Intel Arc or AMD Radeon RX 7000 card, which encode AV1 in hardware
- The files will play in a browser or on newer devices
Which devices play HEVC
| H.264 | H.265 (HEVC) | AV1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 and 11 | Yes | With the HEVC Video Extensions (Microsoft Store) | With the free AV1 Video Extension |
| iPhone and iPad | Yes | Yes, since iOS 11 | iPhone 15 Pro and newer |
| Android phones | Yes | Most phones | Newer phones |
| Smart TVs | Yes | Most 4K TVs | Newer models |
| Web browsers | Yes | Depends on the browser and the GPU | Chrome, Edge and Firefox |
| Plex | Plays directly | Plays directly where the app supports it; otherwise the server converts it | Plays directly where the app supports it; otherwise the server converts it |
Related
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