H.265/HEVC Video Codec
H.265 (HEVC for 'High Efficiency Video Coding') typically achieves 25–50% better compression than H.264 at equivalent quality, making it useful for reducing storage and bandwidth costs — particularly at higher resolutions.
H.265 encoding is priced differently from H.264. See the Encoding pricing page for details.
Licensing Considerations
H.265 has a fragmented patent landscape: multiple independent groups hold patents on the codec, each with their own royalty terms. This is manageable on Apple platforms, where H.265 support is built in and Apple handles licensing as part of their hardware and software ecosystem. Outside of Apple — for example, targeting Android devices, smart TVs, or desktop browsers — the picture is less clear, and you may face royalty obligations that vary by platform, distribution volume, and jurisdiction.
If you plan to deliver H.265 content beyond Apple devices, it is worth checking with your legal team before committing to it at scale.