3GP VS MP4
The ultimate comparison guide. Understanding the technical differences between 3GPP Multimedia and MPEG-4 Part 14.
3GP
3gpLightweight container for early 3G phones prioritizing tiny file sizes.
Pros
- Extremely small files
- Optimized for low bandwidth
- Easy MMS sharing
Cons
- Low resolution
- Poor audio fidelity
- Outdated on modern hardware
MP4
mp4The most compatible digital multimedia container for video and audio.
Pros
- Universal compatibility
- Good compression/quality balance
- Streaming support
Cons
- Compression is lossy
- Editing requires re-encoding
When 3GP wins
Stay with 3GP when you need legacy mobile devices or feature phone archives. Its strengths center on extremely small files and a feature set native to 3rd Generation Partnership Project.
When MP4 wins
Choose MP4 when your workflow prioritizes web video or social media. It delivers universal compatibility plus modern compression perks.
Technical Specifications
| Feature | 3GP | MP4 |
|---|---|---|
| MIME Type | video/3gpp | video/mp4 |
| Developer | 3rd Generation Partnership Project | MPEG |
| Release Year | 2001 | 2001 |
| Best For | Legacy mobile devices, Feature phone archives | Web video, Social media, General storage |
Need to switch?
Where 3GP still wins
Keep 3GP when you need extremely small files and workflows depend on legacy mobile devices / feature phone archives. Link those teams directly to the converter above so they can ship MP4 deliverables without leaving their browser.
- • Reference the .3gp glossary from this page.
- • Embed the conversion CTA in docs, wikis, and onboarding runbooks.
- • Use MP4 for web video while archiving originals as 3GP.
Keep crawlers in the conversion hub
Link this comparison to the relevant tool, glossary, and documentation pages so every crawl discovers a monetizable route.