FormatFoxVideo conversion
No MP4, MOV or MKV handling of any kind. If you need to convert or compress video, this is not the app.
Best file converter app for iPhone: how to choose one
The App Store has hundreds of them and the listings all read the same. Six questions separate the ones that work from the ones that ask for a card on the second tap.
Six questions, and FormatFox answering them
| Ask | Why it matters | FormatFox |
|---|---|---|
| Does the file leave the phone? | Decides whether you can use it for a document with your name on it | No. Conversion finishes in Airplane Mode |
| Is it a subscription? | A weekly plan for an occasional task costs more than the app is worth | No. One non consumable unlock, base price 4.99 EUR |
| Is the free tier metered? | Many converters stop at one file and hide the plan behind Save | No file counter. Image conversion, resize and photos to PDF are free |
| Does it need an account? | An account is a copy of you somewhere else | No sign up, no login, no profile |
| Does it tell you the result size? | Without it you cannot tell whether the conversion helped | Exact bytes before and after, per file and in total |
| Does it work from the share sheet? | Opening an app to convert one photo is most of the friction | Yes, for images. Free converts the first shared image, Pro converts all of them |
Where FormatFox is the wrong answer
A recommendation is worth nothing without the other half of it. Install something else if you are here for any of these.
Documents and archives
No Word, Excel, PowerPoint, EPUB, ZIP or RAR. The only document output is a PDF built out of photographs.
MP3 output
MP3 can be read but not written, because iOS has no MP3 encoder. M4A is the on device substitute. The reasoning is on the audio converter page.
Taking a PDF apart
Photos go into a PDF. An existing PDF cannot be split, merged with another or turned back into images.
Hundreds of format pairs
The whole list is on the home page and it is short on purpose. Everything on it runs locally, which is the trade being made.
A completely ad free free tier
One banner ad pays for the free side. The Pro unlock removes it, and with it the only network traffic the app makes.
A five minute test for any converter you install
- Airplane Mode on. Convert a photo. If it fails or hangs, your files were going to a server.
- Convert two files. Many free tiers stop at one and only tell you at the save step.
- Look for the size. A converter that will not show you the result size is asking you to take its word for it.
- Check the purchase type. The App Store listing names each in app purchase. Look for a one time unlock rather than a weekly plan.
- Look at what it claims. A single iPhone app that offers video, documents, archives and MP3 output is doing the work somewhere else.
Questions people ask
What should a file converter app for iPhone cost?
Either nothing or one payment. Conversion is a task you do occasionally, so a weekly or monthly subscription is badly matched to how the app is used. FormatFox is free for image conversion, resizing and photos to PDF, and the Pro unlock is a single non consumable purchase with a base price of 4.99 EUR.
Is a free converter app safe to use?
It depends entirely on where the conversion happens. A free app that uploads your files is paying for servers somehow. A free app that converts on the device has no per file cost to recover. Test it by turning on Airplane Mode and converting something.
How many formats do I actually need?
Fewer than the marketing suggests. Most people need HEIC to JPG, images to PDF, a resize and occasionally an audio container change. A catalogue of three hundred conversions is impressive and largely unused, and it is often the sign of a server doing the work.
Does FormatFox convert video or Word documents?
No. It handles images, images to PDF, and audio. Video, Office documents, ebooks and archives are outside what it does, and a converter that covers all of those on an iPhone is almost certainly sending your files somewhere.
Keep reading
- CloudConvert alternative for iPhoneA fair comparison with browser based converters. They win on breadth, FormatFox wins on where the file goes.
- Convert HEIC to JPG on iPhoneWhy iPhone photos arrive as HEIC, the four built in ways to get a JPG, and where each one runs out of road.
- Combine photos into one PDF on iPhoneTurn a stack of photographed pages into a single PDF, one page per image, without a scanner subscription.
Try it against that list