Convert WAV to MP3
Shrink an uncompressed WAV recording into an MP3 that is easy to email, upload and play anywhere. The conversion runs in your browser, so your audio stays on your device.
Your file never leaves your device. How?
Your media is processed in your browser and is not uploaded to our servers for conversion. Page assets (including the converter engine) still load over the network.
Select or drop a video or audio file
MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG and more. Converted on your device.
Click, tap, or drop a fileHow to convert WAV to MP3
Choose the WAV file
Drop or select the .wav recording or export.
Pick the bitrate
192 kbps suits most music; 320 kbps for finished masters; 128 kbps for speech.
Convert
The WAV is encoded to MP3 on your device.
Download
Compare the MP3 in the player, then download it.
Why convert WAV to MP3
WAV stores audio uncompressed: CD-quality stereo takes about 10 MB per minute, so a 5-minute song is 50 MB and an hour-long recording is over 600 MB. That is too big for most email attachments, messaging apps and upload forms. The same audio as a 192 kbps MP3 is about 7 MB for 5 minutes.
WAV files come from audio recorders, music software (DAW exports), Windows Sound Recorder, CD rips and sample libraries. Keep the WAV as your master for further editing and share the MP3.
What happens to your WAV
FFmpeg in WebAssembly reads the PCM audio and encodes it with the LAME MP3 encoder at the bitrate you choose. The sample rate is kept, and 24-bit or 32-bit float WAVs work as well as 16-bit.
MP3 is lossy, but at 192 kbps and above most listeners can't tell it from the WAV on ordinary speakers or headphones.
Features
Much smaller files
About 7× smaller at 192 kbps and 11× smaller at 128 kbps.
Studio exports welcome
16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit float WAV, mono or stereo.
Large recordings
Multi-hour field and meeting recordings up to 4 GB on a computer.
Private
Unreleased music and private recordings are never uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs in your browser with a WebAssembly build of FFmpeg. Your file is read from your device and the result is saved back to it; nothing is sent to our servers.
Will the MP3 sound worse than the WAV?
Technically MP3 discards some detail, but at 192 or 320 kbps the difference is inaudible to almost everyone. Keep the WAV if you will edit or remaster the audio later.
How much smaller will the file be?
A CD-quality WAV is 1,411 kbps. At 320 kbps the MP3 is about 4.4× smaller, at 192 kbps about 7× and at 128 kbps about 11×.
Does it work with 24-bit or 96 kHz WAV files?
Yes. High-resolution WAVs are read and encoded to MP3; MP3 itself supports sample rates up to 48 kHz, so higher rates are converted down.
How large a file can I convert?
Files up to 4 GB and 4 hours long on a computer, or 2 GB and 2 hours on a phone. The video is read in pieces rather than loaded into memory, so large recordings work; only the audio file being written has to fit in memory.
Should I use M4A instead?
M4A (AAC) sounds slightly better than MP3 at the same size and plays on Apple devices, Android and browsers. MP3 is the safer choice for older players and upload forms.
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