WAV to MP3

About converting WAV to MP3

A WAV file is uncompressed audio. It keeps every detail, and it is huge: about 10 MB for every minute of stereo sound.

That is fine inside a recording studio. It is a problem everywhere else. A WAV is too big to email, it fills a phone fast, and some players and websites do not accept it at all.

An MP3 of the same sound is about a tenth of the size, and almost nobody can hear the difference at a good bitrate. A 50 MB WAV becomes a 5 MB MP3 that plays in every car, phone, music app and website.

Everything happens on your device

Most converter sites make you upload the WAV first. With a big file that is a long wait — and the recording leaves your hands.

This converter is a real audio engine (ffmpeg) compiled to WebAssembly and run inside your browser:

• Private — a voice note, an interview or an unreleased song stays on your device
• No upload wait — a 500 MB WAV starts at once, because nothing is sent
• No queue, no sign-up, no watermark

The engine is about 30 MB and downloads once, the first time you use it. Your browser keeps it, so the next conversion starts straight away.

It runs in a background worker, so you can switch to another tab while a long file converts. Just keep this tab open.

Choosing the bitrate

The bitrate decides how much detail the MP3 keeps, and how big it is:

• 320 kbps — best quality. Use it for music. One minute is about 2.4 MB.
• 192 kbps — the default, and good for almost everything. About 1.4 MB a minute.
• 128 kbps — plenty for speech: a podcast, a lecture, a voice memo. About 1 MB a minute.

MP3 cannot be better than the WAV it came from. A higher bitrate only keeps more of what is already there.

When to keep the WAV

MP3 throws away a little detail to save space, and that cannot be undone. Keep your original WAV if you will edit, mix or master the audio later. Convert a copy to MP3 for sharing and listening.

If you need a smaller file that is still perfect quality, choose FLAC instead. It is lossless, like WAV, but about half the size.

What people use it for

• Making a recording small enough to email or send in a chat
• Putting music from a home studio onto a phone or a USB stick for the car
• Uploading a song or a voice-over to a site that only accepts MP3
• Shrinking a voice recorder's WAV files before storing them
• Sending a podcast episode to an editor or host

Good to know

• It also converts AIFF, FLAC, OGG, M4A and most other audio — the result is still an MP3
• A 24-bit or 32-bit WAV converts fine; MP3 has no bit depth, so nothing breaks
• Very long files (several hours) work, but use a lot of memory; a phone may struggle where a computer will not
• To keep only part of the recording, cut it with Audio Trim first

Frequently asked questions

Is it free, and is there a watermark?

It is free, there is no sign-up, and nothing is added to your audio.

Is my file uploaded?

No. The conversion runs on your own device, inside this page. The file never reaches a server.

Will the MP3 sound worse than the WAV?

At 192 or 320 kbps, almost nobody can hear a difference on normal speakers or headphones. At 128 kbps music can lose a little sparkle; speech still sounds clear.

Why does the first conversion take longer?

The converter downloads once (about 30 MB). After that, your browser keeps it.

How to use it

• Click Click to upload, or drag your WAV file onto the box
• Leave MP3 selected as the format
• Pick the quality — 192 kbps is a good default, 320 for music, 128 for speech
• Press Convert to MP3 — the first run downloads the converter
• Play the result, then click Download MP3

Related tools

• M4A to MP3 — for iPhone voice memos and iTunes files
• Audio Converter — any format to MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG or FLAC
• Audio Trim — cut the MP3 down to the part you need
• Change Audio Volume — make a quiet recording louder
• Remove Background Noise — clean up hiss and hum
• MP3 Tag Editor — set the title, artist and cover art