WebM

Open, royalty-free video container optimized for web delivery with VP9 and AV1.

What is WebM

WebM is an open, royalty-free media container format developed by Google, based on the Matroska (MKV) container. It is designed specifically for web delivery and pairs with royalty-free codecs — VP8, VP9, and AV1 for video; Vorbis and Opus for audio. WebM is natively supported by Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, but not by Safari, which limits its use as a universal delivery format. WebM is the default container for YouTube's VP9 and AV1 encodes, and it is the standard format for WebRTC video in browsers that support VP8/VP9.

When to Choose WebM

Choose WebM when:

• You need a completely royalty-free video stack — WebM + VP9/AV1 + Opus has zero licensing costs.
• Your audience is primarily Chrome, Firefox, and Edge users — WebM has native support on these browsers.
• You are producing short-form or social content for web embedding — WebM with VP9 produces smaller files than MP4 with H.264.

Consider alternatives when:

• You need to reach Safari or iOS users — MP4 with H.264 or AV1 is supported on Apple devices; WebM is not.
• You need adaptive bitrate streaming — HLS or MPEG-DASH with fmp4 segments offers ABR. WebM alone is progressive.
• You need DRM protection — WebM has no DRM support. Use HLS or DASH with CENC encryption.

Transcoding Demo

Source video

Transcoding demo creates a small clip with a watermark. To test transcoding full files, Start your Free Plan for 500 credits.

Select a source video and click “Convert” to see WebM output in action.

Key Characteristics

Browser & Device Support

How Qencode Handles WebM

Qencode produces WebM output with VP8, VP9, or AV1 video codecs and Vorbis or Opus audio. Specify webm as the output format and Qencode handles container packaging, codec configuration, and metadata embedding.

Pair WebM output with Smart Cropping for social-optimized aspect ratios, or use GIF Creation alongside WebM for animated preview content.

{
  "query": {
    "source": "https://your-storage.com/video.mp4",
    "format": [
      {
        "output": "webm",
        "video_codec": "libvpx-vp9",
        "resolution": 2160,
        "quality": 20,
        "audio_codec": "libopus"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Copy this payload and use it with your API key to generate WebM output from any video source.

WebM vs. MP4

What It Costs

For a detailed MP4 breakdown, see MP4.