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MP4 to AVI Converter — Free, Fast, No Upload

Convert MP4 to AVI for legacy video editors, DVD authoring software, and older devices that only accept AVI input.

Free · no signup2 free files a day100% in-browser · no uploadPopular converter

Tap to select MP4 files

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2 free files per day (2 left today) · Up to 10 MB each · Upgrade for more

✓ Files never uploaded✓ 100% browser-based✓ No account required
Need the reverse?AVI → MP4

How to convert MP4 to AVI online

  1. 1

    Drop your MP4 file

    Drag your MPEG-4 Part 14 file onto the box above, or click it to pick a file.

  2. 2

    Wait while it converts

    Conversion starts on its own and runs on your device, not on a server. Video takes roughly as long as the clip plays, so keep the tab open.

  3. 3

    Download your AVI

    Click Download to save the Audio Video Interleave file.

MP4 vs AVI: format overview

MP4

MPEG-4 Part 14

Moving Picture Experts Group · 2001

Compression
lossy
Transparency
No
  • ✓ Universal compatibility across all platforms
  • ✓ Excellent compression with H.264/H.265
  • ✗ H.264 has royalty implications
AVI

Audio Video Interleave

Microsoft · 1992

Compression
lossy
Transparency
No
  • ✓ Universal Windows compatibility
  • ✓ Simple container format — widely supported

MP4 magic bytes: 00 00 00 xx 66 74 79 70

AVI magic bytes: 52 49 46 46 xx xx xx xx 41 56 49 20

Why convert MP4 to AVI?

The demand for AVI in 2024 is narrow but real. Certain legacy professional tools — older versions of Sony Vegas, Avisynth-based encoding pipelines, specific industrial video analysis software, and some DVD authoring workflows using older versions of DVD Flick or Nero — require AVI input and will error on MP4 files. Older security camera DVR systems that accept uploaded footage for archiving sometimes also require AVI. If a specific tool in your workflow produces an error when you feed it an MP4, requires a specific container format for batch processing, or generates export templates based on AVI codec settings, conversion is the path forward.

Converting MP4 to AVI repackages the video into the older container that the target software expects. The video and audio streams inside can remain the same codecs — H.264 video and AAC or MP3 audio inside an AVI container — which preserves quality while satisfying the container requirement. DVD authoring tools may require MPEG-2 video inside AVI, which requires re-encoding the video stream; that is handled automatically during conversion.

AVI files will typically be larger than the source MP4 because AVI cannot take advantage of modern container-level compression optimisations. This is a format-compatibility conversion, not a quality improvement. If the downstream tool is flexible, check whether it accepts MP4 with a different codec first. Only convert to AVI when the target software specifically requires it.

Quality & file size: MP4 to AVI

Typical sizes (1 minute 1080p): MP4 100–300 MB → AVI 200–600 MB.

Frequently asked questions

How large can my video files be?
Free accounts support files up to 10 MB — enough for short clips and GIFs. Pro raises that to 500 MB per file. For files over 1 GB, a desktop app like HandBrake will be faster.

Your MP4 file never leaves this tab — FormatDrop has no endpoint that receives file data. How it works