Convert WAV to MP3
This page opens with MP3 already selected. Drop a file in and convert it straight away. Everything happens inside your browser, so your file is never uploaded.
This looks like a video. To pull the audio out of a video, use the audio extractor.
Reading the file…
This file
Output settings
Choose an audio file to convert it.
Keep this page open. Switching to another app stops the work.
Your file is ready
How much smaller does it get?
WAV stores sound as it is. At CD quality (44.1 kHz, 16-bit, stereo) that is about 10 MB per minute. As a 192 kbps MP3 the same minute takes about 1.4 MB, or about 1 MB at 128 kbps — roughly 7 to 10 times smaller.
That is usually what you need when a file is too big to email, will not fit in your cloud storage, or exceeds an upload limit somewhere.
What happens to the sound
- WAV stores the recording uncompressed, so nothing has been thrown away. MP3 drops the parts you are least likely to hear.
- Once it is an MP3, what was dropped is gone. Converting back to WAV only makes the file big again.
- So keep the original WAV and send the MP3 to other people.
If you want a smaller file with the sound intact, choose FLAC instead of MP3 — about half the size and identical sound for 16-bit and 24-bit WAV files (a 32-bit float WAV is rounded to 16-bit or 24-bit). Just change "Convert to" above.
Choosing a bitrate
- Speech, narration, meeting recordings: 128 kbps. Speech stays perfectly clear.
- Music: 192 kbps is a good default; 256–320 kbps for careful listening.
- Uploading somewhere: follow their requirement if they state one, otherwise 192 kbps is enough.
Questions
Can I turn the MP3 back into the original WAV?
You can convert it back to the WAV format, but the sound will not be restored. Nothing can recover what MP3 discarded, so keep your original file.
Does the sample rate change?
No. The original rate is kept. Only when MP3 cannot store that rate is the nearest supported one used, and the page tells you when that happens.
My WAV is too large to open
Files up to 300 MB are supported — about 30 minutes at CD quality. For a longer recording, split it in your recording software first and convert the parts.
You can change "Convert to" on this page at any time; the full description of the tool is onConvert audio. Coming from an iPhone recording? See Convert M4A to MP3.