An NCH Prism Alternative That Handles Every File Type

The short version

Pricing checked in August 2026. NCH Software runs promotions, so check their page before you buy anything.

Do not read that format row as a score. Every vendor counts differently: some count formats they can open, some count formats they can write, and some count both as one number. NCH Prism Video Converter's figure is its own claim in its own units. The row worth comparing is the one above it, because Prism's list is video containers, and it stops at the edge of video.

What NCH Prism Video Converter is

NCH Prism Video Converter from NCH Software handles video conversion. It runs on Windows and Mac. It is around $39.99 for personal use on Windows, and $79.99 for Prism Plus on the Mac App Store. NCH runs frequent promotions and prices commercial use separately, so check the vendor page for the live figure.

For format coverage it advertises mp4, avi, mkv, wmv, mpeg, mov, vob, flv and more.

Where NCH Prism Video Converter is the better buy

Prism is straightforward and does video conversion without fuss. NCH's approach of one focused app per job suits some people better than an all-in-one.

Why people go looking for something else

The usual reason is that you want one app for every file type instead of a separate NCH product per media type.

How to Convert (I built this one)

How to Convert does 5,438 conversion pairs across 124 file types, covering audio, video, images, documents, ebooks and email. It costs $29 once. There is no subscription, no renewal, and no separate licence for each operating system. One purchase covers Mac, Windows and Linux on up to 5 devices.

Everything runs on your own machine. Files are never uploaded to a server, which matters more than it used to: in March 2025 the FBI's Denver field office warned that free online converters were being used to deliver malware and to scrape uploaded files for passwords and financial details.

Converting as many files as you like in one go

This is the job most converters make you do one file at a time. Select as many files as you want, drag them in, pick the output format once, and walk away. There is no queue limit and no per-file confirmation, and because it runs on your own machine the speed depends on your CPU rather than someone else's upload queue.

Where it wins against NCH Prism Video Converter

• One app covers video and audio, instead of buying Prism and Switch separately.
• It runs on Linux, which Prism does not.
• 5,438 conversion pairs across 124 file types, so whatever you need to convert next is probably already covered.
• Nothing is uploaded, so private documents, client work and personal photos never leave your computer.

What NCH Prism Video Converter cannot do

NCH Prism Video Converter handles video conversion, and advertises mp4, avi, mkv, wmv, mpeg, mov, vob, flv and more. This does 5,438 conversion pairs across 124 file types, so the gap is not a slightly longer list, it is whole categories of file. All of the below runs in the same app, on the same one-time licence.

Email files, which almost nothing else converts

Outlook .msg and standard .eml files are genuinely awkward. They hold the message, formatting and attachments in one container, so most converters skip them entirely and most people end up forwarding mail to themselves as a workaround. Here they convert like any other file, attachments included, without the contents passing through a server.

Markdown straight to EPUB

Writers, note-takers and anyone with a folder of Markdown usually reach for Pandoc and a command line for this. Chapters, headings and the table of contents come across without touching a terminal, which matters if you are producing something readable on an e-reader rather than just changing a file extension.

Where it does not win

It does not edit video on a timeline or author discs. If either is what you actually need, a dedicated editor is the answer rather than any converter, including this one.

Should you switch?

Switch if you convert more than one type of file, work across more than one operating system, or object to paying again for something you use occasionally. At $29 for every file type against around $39.99 for video alone, one app replaces the several you would otherwise buy.

Stay with NCH Prism Video Converter if the specific thing it does better is the thing you bought it for. Prism is straightforward and does video conversion without fuss. NCH's approach of one focused app per job suits some people better than an all-in-one.

You can try most conversions in the browser first, free, before buying anything. Drag a file onto the converter on the home page and see whether it handles your files properly.