Permute 4
A native macOS media converter from Charlie Monroe Software that turns drag-and-drop queues into transcoded video, audio, images, PDFs, and text files without opening a separate FFmpeg terminal workflow.
Typical Mac workflow
You drop files onto the queue, pick a preset such as MP4, HEVC, ProRes, WebM, AV1, MP3, FLAC, HEIC, or WebP, and start conversion. The 4.0 interface shows thumbnails in the queue, lets you trim audio with a waveform view, crop video or images with pixel rulers, and adjust speed, volume, subtitles, and audio tracks before export. Batch groups handle many files at once; drop zones can auto-run a preset when new files land in a folder.
Beyond simple format swaps, Permute 4 merges or splits media, extracts tracks, burns or replaces subtitles, runs OCR on images, generates text-to-speech audio, builds slideshow videos, exports video frames, and converts PDF pages to images. An Advanced Custom preset exposes raw FFmpeg commands for power users, while hardware-accelerated HEVC, MP4, and ProRes paths aim to use Apple Silicon efficiently. Metadata editing, HLS stream output, IP-camera file repair, and options to trash or move originals after conversion round out professional-style tasks in a single app.
Requirements, licensing, and version 4.0.5
Permute 4 requires macOS 26 or later and an Apple Silicon Mac; Intel Macs and older macOS versions should stay on Permute 3. A permanent license costs about $14.99 from the developer, with a free trial, up to three activations, and discounted upgrades for existing Permute 3 customers. Setapp subscribers receive Permute 4 through that service. Version 4.0.5, released 24 June 2026, is a maintenance build that improves subtitle warnings, volume slider behavior, and preset-management UI rather than adding major new formats.
