HEVC compared with other codecs

No codec wins at everything. HEVC compresses well and plays on almost any recent device; AV1 compresses a little more and is royalty-free; H.264 still works everywhere.

Updated 11 October 2026 6 sources cited

Key points

HEVC needs about half the bitrate of H.264 for similar quality.
AV1 compresses a bit more than HEVC and is royalty-free, but encodes more slowly and fewer older devices support it.
VVC is the most efficient, but in 2026 almost nothing plays it yet.
To share with anyone, H.264; to archive or for 4K/HDR on recent devices, HEVC or AV1.

At a glance

H.264 / AVC

Compression: Reference (100)
Licensing: Patent pool; free for free web video
Best for: Sharing with anyone, old devices

HEVC / H.265

Compression: ≈ 50-60 (half of H.264)
Licensing: Several pools, per-device royalties
Best for: 4K, HDR, phones, TVs, Blu-ray, personal archive

AV1

Compression: ≈ 40-45
Licensing: Free (AOMedia), though Sisvel offers its own pool
Best for: Streaming, web, live streaming with a recent GPU

VVC / H.266

Compression: ≈ 30
Licensing: Patent pools, like HEVC
Best for: 8K and future broadcasting; little support yet

Bitrate needed for similar quality (H.264 = 100)

H.264 / AVC 100
VP9 ≈ 65
HEVC / H.265 ≈ 50-60
AV1 ≈ 40-45
VVC / H.266 ≈ 30

Less is better. Average values from published comparisons; actual savings depend on content, resolution and encoder.

How big would your video be with each? Try the bitrate calculator.

HEVC vs H.264

The most useful comparison, because these are the two codecs you will find in almost every file. In the reference study by Ohm, Sullivan et al. (IEEE, 2012), HEVC needed 35 % less bitrate by PSNR and 49 % less in subjective viewer tests. Later JCT-VC/BBC tests averaged 59 %, and 64 % at 4K: the higher the resolution, the bigger the advantage.

The trade-off: H.264 plays on absolutely everything, including browsers and devices from 2010, with no licensing hurdles on Windows. If you send a video without knowing the recipient's device, H.264 is still the safe bet.

HEVC vs AV1

Aspect	HEVC	AV1
Efficiency	Very good	Slightly better (≈ 20-30 % less bitrate in most tests)
Licensing	Several pools, per-device royalties	Royalty-free
Hardware decoding	Since 2015-2016	Since 2020-2021 (RTX 30, Intel 11th gen, RX 6000, Apple M3/A17 Pro)
TVs and Blu-ray	Virtually every 4K TV	Recent TVs
Software encoding speed	Faster (x265)	Slower (SVT-AV1 has improved a lot)
Who uses it	Apple, cameras, 4K Blu-ray, broadcast, satellite	YouTube, Netflix, Twitch, Discord, video calls

VP9 and VVC

VP9 is Google's open codec (2013), AV1's predecessor. It compresses a little less than HEVC and is used mostly on YouTube and Android. VVC (H.266) is HEVC's successor: around 50 % more efficient according to JVET tests, with tools for 8K, 360-degree video and screen content. Device rollout has just begun with some 2025-2026 phone chips.

Which one should you choose?

Depending on what you want to do

Archive your videos

10-bit HEVC with x265 (CRF 20-24)
AV1 if your devices play it

Share with anyone

H.264 in MP4
HEVC if you know it's an iPhone or a recent TV

Live streaming

H.264 for maximum compatibility
AV1 or HEVC with NVENC if the platform accepts it

Plex or Jellyfin server

HEVC: good compression and TV support
Avoid transcoding: pick what your clients play

Made up your mind? Convert video explains how to turn your files into HEVC or HEVC into H.264.

Frequently asked questions

Is HEVC better than H.264?

For compression, yes: at the same quality it needs 35 % to 50 % less bitrate depending on the study. For compatibility H.264 wins; every device from the last fifteen years plays it.

Is AV1 better than HEVC?

AV1 compresses slightly more and is royalty-free, which is why YouTube and Netflix use it. HEVC has wider support in TVs, cameras and Blu-ray, and encodes faster. For your own videos, both are fine if your devices play them.

What is VVC?

VVC or H.266 is HEVC's successor (2020). It compresses around 30-50 % better, but in 2026 almost no consumer device plays it yet.