WAV to MP3 Converter — Free, No Upload, No Signup

Convert WAV to MP3 without uploading your audio file

WAV keeps every detail of a recording, which is why it is the format of studios, and why a few minutes of it can be hundreds of megabytes. MP3 makes the same recording many times smaller and plays on everything. This converter turns a WAV into an MP3 at the bitrate you choose.

How much smaller an MP3 is

CD-quality stereo WAV is about 10.6 MB a minute. An MP3 at 192 kbps is 1.44 MB a minute and at 320 kbps is 2.40 MB, so the MP3 is between about four and seven times smaller. The difference comes from MP3 discarding sound that people are unlikely to hear, which is why it cannot be turned back into the original.

Choosing a bitrate

192 kbps is a good balance for music and is hard to tell from the WAV on ordinary speakers. 320 kbps is the highest quality MP3 allows, for critical listening. 128 kbps is fine for speech, podcasts and voice memos, and mixing down to mono halves the size again for a single voice.

Keep the WAV if you will edit

An MP3 loses a little each time it is encoded, so if you will keep editing the recording, work on the WAV and make the MP3 last. To use only part of a long recording, cut it first with the MP3 cutter, and if it is too quiet, raise it with increase video volume before converting.

How this converter works

The sound is decoded from the WAV file and encoded as MP3 at the bitrate you choose. 192 kbps is a good balance of quality and size, and mixing down to mono halves the data for speech.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert WAV to MP3?

Drop your WAV file into the box above, or click to choose it, pick a bitrate and press Convert to MP3. When it finishes, press Download. The conversion runs in your browser, so the audio file stays on your device.

Is my audio file uploaded when I convert it?

No. The conversion runs inside your browser with a WebAssembly build of FFmpeg, and only the engine itself, about 31 MB, is downloaded, once. Your WAV file never leaves your device, and there is no watermark and no account.

Will converting WAV to MP3 reduce the quality?

A little, as with any MP3 file. MP3 is lossy, so it discards sound you are unlikely to hear to make the file smaller. At 192 kbps or more the difference from the WAV is very hard to hear.

What is a WAV file?

WAV is uncompressed audio from Microsoft and IBM. It keeps every detail of a recording, which is why editors and studios use it, and why the files are large: CD-quality stereo takes about 10.6 MB a minute.

What is MP3?

MP3 is the most widely supported audio format. It is lossy, meaning it discards sound you are unlikely to miss in order to make small files, and it plays on every phone, computer, car stereo and browser.

What bitrate should I use to convert WAV to MP3?

192 kbps for music, 320 kbps for the best quality MP3 can give, and 128 kbps for speech. If the WAV is a voice recording, mixing down to mono as well makes a much smaller file with no loss that you would notice.

Can I turn the MP3 back into a WAV with full quality?

You can make a WAV from the MP3, but it cannot bring back what the MP3 discarded: it will sound the same as the MP3 and be about seven times bigger. Keep the original WAV if you may need it.