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H.265 vs AV1: Which Codec to Choose, Measured

Updated September 26, 2026

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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.

−42 %smaller than H.265 at the same VMAF (iPad video: 17.4 vs 30.0 MB)
−33 %smaller than H.265 on the CPU for the lecture (6.1 vs 9.2 MB), VMAF 95.9 vs 96.3
15×longer to encode than H.265 on the GPU (69 s vs 4.6 s): the RTX 3080 has no AV1 encoder, so AV1 ran on the CPU

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.

One clip, three codec generations

The same 30 seconds of iPhone video (30.8 MB), each codec set to about the same picture quality.

  1. H.2642003 20.6 MBVMAF 94.1 · CRF 23
  2. H.2652013 13.7 MB −34 %VMAF 93.5 · CRF 23
  3. AV12018 10.5 MB −23 %VMAF 94.3 · CRF 32
H.265 wrote 34 % less than H.264, and AV1 wrote 23 % less than H.265: 49 % less than H.264 in total. Newer codecs need newer players, so check where the file will be played.

VideoRecompress Studio 2026.2.21 command line on a Ryzen 9 3900X, CPU encoders x264, x265 and SVT-AV1 at preset medium. For each codec, the CRF is the one whose VMAF (from --measure-quality) came closest to 94.

When to choose which

Choose H.265
  • 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
Choose AV1
  • 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.264H.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

HEVC vs H.264: how much space you really save (measured) The Complete Guide to Video Compression in 2026

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