Format comparison
MOV vs FLV
How do MOV and FLVcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
.mov
Full guide →QuickTime Movie
MOV is Apple's video format, native to macOS and iOS. iPhones record video in MOV format by default. It supports high quality and professional features but works best within the Apple ecosystem.
.flv
Full guide →Flash Video
FLV was the dominant web video format during the Flash era. While Flash is dead, FLV files still exist in archives and legacy systems. Converting FLV to MP4 is one of the most common conversion needs.
| Specification | MOV | FLV |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | QuickTime Movie | Flash Video |
| Extension | .mov | .flv |
| MIME type | video/quicktime | video/x-flv |
| Category | Video | Video |
| Developer | Apple | Adobe (Macromedia) |
| Year introduced | 1991 | 2003 |
MOV advantages
- High quality video support
- Native Apple ecosystem format
- Professional-grade features
- Supports ProRes codec
MOV limitations
- Large file sizes
- Less compatible outside Apple
- Requires QuickTime on Windows
- Not ideal for web streaming
FLV advantages
- Very small file sizes
- Fast to decode
- Was the web video standard
- Simple container format
FLV limitations
- Flash Player is discontinued
- Limited browser support
- Outdated codec support
- No modern features
Which should you use?
MOV and FLV target different use cases. MOV is ideal for iphone and ipad video recording, while FLV works best for converting old web videos.
Best uses for MOV
iPhone and iPad video recording
Final Cut Pro editing
Professional video production
Apple-based workflows
Best uses for FLV
Converting old web videos
Legacy content archives
Flash game recordings
Historical web content preservation
Convert between MOV and FLV
Need to switch formats? Convert for free with SquishConvert.