Audio Converter | Convert audio or pull the sound out of a video

Convert audio between MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG and Opus, or upload a video and get just the audio track. Choose your own bitrate, hear the result before downloading, and nothing is kept on our server.


MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, AAC, OGG, OPUS, WMA, AIFF, or a video like MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV or AVI. Up to 50 MB.
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Higher keeps more detail and makes a bigger file. 192 kbps is a good default for music.
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Conversion happens on our server, so this works with JavaScript turned off.

Which format to choose

MP3 plays on absolutely everything and is the safe choice when you do not know where the file is going. M4A, which is AAC in an MP4 container, sounds better than MP3 at the same bitrate and is what Apple devices and YouTube use. Opus is the most efficient of all and holds up remarkably well at low bitrates, though older hardware players may not read it. FLAC is lossless and compresses to roughly half the size of the original with nothing discarded, which makes it right for archiving. WAV is raw uncompressed audio, large but universally editable, which is why studios use it.

What bitrate actually means

Bitrate is how much data is spent on each second of sound, and it is the main lever on both quality and file size. For MP3, 128 kbps is acceptable for speech and podcasts, 192 kbps is comfortable for music, and 320 kbps is the practical ceiling where further increases stop being audible. AAC and Opus reach the same perceived quality at lower numbers, so an Opus file at 128 kbps is roughly comparable to an MP3 at 192.

Why converting between lossy formats loses quality

MP3, AAC, OGG and Opus all work by discarding sound the ear is unlikely to notice. That decision cannot be undone, so converting an MP3 into another lossy format means a second round of discarding applied to audio that has already lost information. The result is always slightly worse than the original, no matter how high you set the bitrate. Whenever you can, convert from the original lossless source. Converting to FLAC or WAV from an MP3 will not restore anything either, it simply stops any further loss.

Extracting audio from video

If you upload a video file, the audio track is pulled out and converted, and the video is discarded. This is the usual way to get the soundtrack out of a recording, a lecture or a screen capture. Only upload material you have the right to use, since extracting audio does not change who owns it.

Worth knowing

  • Converting from a lossy file to a lossless one does not recover quality. It only prevents further loss.
  • For speech and podcasts, 96 to 128 kbps is usually plenty and halves the file size against music settings.
  • Opus at 128 kbps sounds roughly like MP3 at 192, so it is worth using where compatibility allows.
  • FLAC is the right choice for archiving, since it is lossless and still about half the size of WAV.
  • Your upload and the converted file are removed from our server automatically within 12 hours.

Frequently asked questions

Upload the video, choose MP3 as the output and press convert. The audio track is extracted and the video is thrown away, leaving an MP3 you can download. MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV and AVI all work, and there is nothing to install.

Upload the M4A, select MP3 and convert. Bear in mind that both are lossy, so this is a second round of compression and the result will be very slightly worse than the source. Choose 192 kbps or higher to keep that difference inaudible.

FLAC and WAV, since both are lossless and discard nothing. Between the two, FLAC is the better pick because it is roughly half the size for identical audio. Among lossy formats, Opus is the most efficient, followed by AAC, with MP3 behind both but supported by more devices.

Use 192 kbps for music, which most people cannot distinguish from the source in normal listening. Use 128 kbps or lower for speech and podcasts, where the extra data buys nothing. 320 kbps is the highest MP3 goes and is worth it only if the file will be edited or re-encoded later.

Converting into a lossy format does, always, because information is discarded to make the file smaller. Converting into FLAC or WAV does not lose anything further, but it cannot recover what an earlier lossy encode already removed. The best result always comes from converting the original file rather than a copy that has been through this before.

Files up to 50 MB and 60 minutes long are accepted, which covers most music, podcasts and recordings. If your file is larger, converting to a lower bitrate or trimming it first will usually bring it under the limit.

OGG here means Vorbis, an older open format roughly comparable to a good MP3. Opus is its successor, is markedly more efficient, especially below 128 kbps, and is now the standard for streaming and voice calls. Choose Opus unless you specifically need Vorbis for an older player.

No. Files are written to a temporary folder only so the conversion and download can happen, and that folder is cleared automatically within 12 hours. Nothing is listened to, copied or reused, and no account or email address is required.

How do you convert an audio file?

Upload an audio or video file, choose MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG or Opus, pick a bitrate and convert. If you upload a video, the audio is extracted automatically and the video discarded. Everything runs on our server, so nothing is installed, and files are deleted within 12 hours.