WAV to MP3 converter
FileReshape's WAV to MP3 converter encodes an uncompressed WAV file as an MP3 at 128 to 320 kbit/s with the LAME encoder, running FFmpeg inside your browser. The WAV is not uploaded. The MP3 is roughly a tenth of the size. 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit float WAV files work; the MP3 keeps mono or stereo as in the original.
Did a file not convert correctly? E-mail [email protected], ideally with a small sample file, and it will be fixed.
Key facts
- Input: WAV (.wav). Output: MP3 (.mp3).
- Your files are not uploaded: the work is done in your browser, on your own device.
- File size: up to 2 GB per file (the limit of the browser's WebAssembly memory).
- Needs a current browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) on a computer, tablet or phone; nothing to install.
- Free to use, with no sign-up.
WAV to MP3: why convert
WAV files come out of audio recorders, digital mixing desks, Audacity and other editors, music production software and some dictation devices. They sound exactly as recorded, but a three-minute song is about 30 MB and an hour-long interview about 600 MB, too much for email, a podcast host's upload form or a phone with little space. This converter reads the WAV in your browser and encodes it with LAME, the encoder behind almost every MP3 made since the early 2000s, at the bit rate you choose. At 192 kbit/s music is very hard to tell apart from the WAV, and 128 kbit/s is plenty for speech. Because the file never leaves your computer, a long recording does not have to be uploaded first, and unreleased music or confidential interviews stay private.
How to convert WAV to MP3
- Drop the WAV file in the box, or click to choose it.
- Check the duration and sound details shown, and choose the MP3 quality.
- Click Convert to MP3 and save the MP3 file.
What changes when you convert
Keep the WAV for editing
MP3 leaves out sound that people hardly hear, and that detail is gone for good. Keep the original WAV if you may want to mix, master or edit the recording later, and make a new MP3 from it each time instead of converting an MP3 again.
24-bit and high sample rates
Studio WAV files are often 24-bit or 32-bit float at 48, 96 or 192 kHz. MP3 cannot store more than 48 kHz, so FFmpeg picks the nearest rate the MP3 format supports. Nothing audible is lost for listening, but the MP3 is not a high-resolution file.
Mono recordings
A mono WAV gives a mono MP3, which needs only half the bit rate for the same quality. For a mono voice recording, 128 kbit/s is more than enough and often 96 kbit/s would do.
Tags
WAV files rarely carry a title or artist. When they do (an INFO chunk from an editor), the tags are copied into the MP3. Otherwise add them afterwards in your music player or a tag editor.
About the formats
WAV
WAV is the uncompressed audio format of Windows, introduced by Microsoft and IBM in 1991. It stores the sound exactly as it was recorded, which is why studios, audio editors, samplers and many radio and telephone systems ask for WAV files. The price is size: about 10 MB per minute of CD-quality stereo.
- CD quality is 16-bit, 44,100 Hz, stereo: 1,411 kbit/s, about ten times an MP3 at 128 kbit/s.
- Video and broadcast work usually uses 48,000 Hz instead of 44,100 Hz.
- Converting an MP3 to WAV does not bring back what MP3 compression removed; it only makes the file easy to edit.
- A WAV file can be at most 4 GB, which is about 6.7 hours of CD-quality stereo.
MP3
MP3 is the most widely supported audio format. It was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany and standardised in 1993, and it plays on every phone, computer, car stereo and website. MP3 makes music about a tenth of its CD size by leaving out sounds people hardly hear.
- 128 kbit/s is fine for speech and podcasts; 192–320 kbit/s is used for music.
- The last MP3 patents expired in 2017, so the format is free to use everywhere.
- Title, artist, album and cover art are stored in ID3 tags at the start of the file.
- MP3 is lossy: every new encode loses a little more, so convert from the original when you can.
Frequently asked questions
Is my WAV file uploaded?
No. FFmpeg runs as WebAssembly in your browser tab and encodes the file on your own device. Only the engine itself is downloaded the first time.
How much smaller will the MP3 be?
CD-quality stereo WAV uses 1,411 kbit/s, so an MP3 at 192 kbit/s is about seven times smaller and one at 128 kbit/s about eleven times smaller. A 60 MB WAV becomes roughly 8 MB at 192 kbit/s.
Which bit rate should I choose?
192 kbit/s for music you want to listen to, 256 or 320 kbit/s if you are picky or will play it on good speakers, and 128 kbit/s for speech, lectures and voice notes.
Can I convert several WAV files at once?
The page converts one file at a time. Each conversion of a song-length WAV takes only a few seconds once the engine is loaded, so a handful of files is quick to do one after another.