What video format is best for YouTube uploads?

MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio is the safe answer — it's YouTube's recommended container/codec pair, uploads process quickly, and every editor and device handles it. For resolution, upload at the resolution you edited (1080p for most creators); YouTube re-encodes everything on their side anyway.

What actually protects quality is avoiding double compression: export once from your editor at a healthy bitrate and upload that file directly, rather than exporting, re-saving through another tool, and uploading a third-generation copy. EseCut exports YouTube-ready H.264 MP4s that match your preview frame-for-frame, so the file you upload is exactly the video you approved.

Related questions

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Browse all video editing questions, or see how EseCut compares to other editors.