Is FFmpeg Batch AV Converter Free to Use?

Updated

Yes. FFmpeg Batch AV Converter is described on its own site as "a free universal audio and video encoder." There are no paid tiers, license keys, or subscription options listed on the page. The only money-related links are voluntary: a PayPal donation link, a "Buy me a coffee" link, and a Patreon page specifically for supporting translations into other languages.

What "free" means here

The site frames donations as optional support for keeping the project alive, not as a requirement to use it. The wording is "If you consider this work useful, please support keeping it alive with a donation" — a request, not a condition of download or use.

Item Cost Notes
Windows installer (v3.2.9, 64-bit) Free MD5: b2031d333c65b0188ded515459d25460
Windows portable (v3.2.9, 64-bit) Free MD5: a076ddb9a494c8826ab8abffab4da5bd
Linux via Wine (v3.1.2, 64-bit) Free Older release line
32-bit builds (v2.7.7 installer and portable) Free Older release line
Donations (PayPal, Buy Me a Coffee) Optional Voluntary support
Patreon Optional Tied to translation support

The page reports 500,000+ downloads since 2018, which is context for the donation appeal rather than a pricing signal.

What you actually need to run it

Free to download does not mean zero setup. The listed system requirements are:

  • Windows 7 / 8 / 10 (32- or 64-bit)
  • .NET runtime libraries 4.6.1 or higher
  • Visual C++ redistributable 2010

Linux users run it through Wine; the page points to a readme for Ubuntu + Wine5 and lists v2.3.1 as "Linux compatible via Wine."

Practical implications

  • No feature gating is described. The feature list — h264/h265/NVENC/QuickSync/ProRes/AV1/Theora video encoding, MP3/AAC/AC3/FLAC/WAV/Opus audio encoding, multi-file batch encoding, stream mapping, subtitle batching, trimming, concatenation, screen recording, M3U8 and YouTube URL capture — is presented as part of the application, with no indication that any of it sits behind a payment.
  • Donating is not a license purchase. Nothing on the page suggests donors get extra features, priority, or a different build.
  • The Patreon link is narrow in scope. It is tied to getting the app translated into your language, not to unlocking functionality.

If your question is simply whether you can download and use it without paying, the answer is yes, with the caveat that you should meet the Windows and runtime requirements above. If you want to support the developer, the donation and Patreon links are the listed routes.