Audio and video converter
Pull the sound out of a video, change audio formats, make GIFs and fix iPhone videos, without uploading anything.
All converters here
- MP4→MP3MP4 to MP3Sound from MP4 videos
- Video→GIFVideo to GIFClips to looping GIFs
- MOV→MP4MOV to MP4iPhone videos to MP4
- Video→MP3Video to MP3Any video file to MP3
- M4A→MP3M4A to MP3Voice memos and songs to MP3
- WAV→MP3WAV to MP3Big WAVs to small MP3s
- MP3→MP4MP3 to MP4Audio plus picture as video
- MP3→WAVMP3 to WAVMP3 to uncompressed PCM
- MOV→MP3MOV to MP3Audio from iPhone videos
- MP4→M4AExtract audioMP4 to M4A, original quality
- GIF→MP4GIF to MP4Animated GIFs to video
- MP4→GIFMP4 to GIFScreen recordings to GIF
- FLAC→MP3FLAC to MP3Lossless albums to MP3
- M4A→WAVM4A to WAVRecordings to uncompressed WAV
- OGG→MP3OGG to MP3Vorbis and Opus to MP3
- MOV→GIFMOV to GIFiPhone and Mac videos to GIF
Which audio or video format should you use?
Video files are big, which makes uploading them to a converter slow and often capped. On KiteConvert the work happens in your browser, so a 500 MB screen recording costs no upload time at all. These tools cover four jobs.
Audio out of a video. MP4 to MP3, MOV to MP3 and Video to MP3 save the sound track as an MP3 at the bitrate you choose (192 kbps by default), with optional trimming and mono. MP4 to M4A copies the original AAC sound into an M4A file without re-encoding: no quality loss, and it takes seconds.
Audio formats. M4A, WAV, FLAC and OGG to MP3, and MP3 or M4A to WAV.
GIFs. Video to GIF, MP4 to GIF and MOV to GIF let you choose the part of the clip, the width and the frame rate, and show the expected size before encoding. GIF to MP4 turns a heavy GIF into a far smaller video.
Video fixes. MOV to MP4 copies an iPhone video into an MP4 container in seconds, with an option to re-encode to H.264 so older devices and editors play it. MP3 to MP4 turns a song or podcast into a video with a still picture, for platforms that only accept video.
How to choose an audio format
- MP3 plays everywhere: cars, old players, every app. 128 kbps is fine for speech, 192 kbps for music, 320 kbps if you want the most out of it.
- M4A (AAC) sounds as good as MP3 at a lower bitrate and is what phones record and stream. Pick it when you just want the sound from a phone video with no loss.
- WAV is uncompressed: about 10 MB per stereo minute. Use it for editing and for tools that ask for it.
- FLAC is lossless but compressed to about half of WAV; convert it to MP3 for devices that cannot play it.
What your browser can decode matters here: MP4 and MOV from phones work everywhere, while MKV, WEBM or AVI files work if your browser can read the codec inside. If it cannot, the converter tells you which browser to try.
The formats at a glance
| Full name | MP3 | M4A | WAV | MP4 | GIF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | MPEG-1 Audio Layer III | MPEG-4 Audio | Waveform Audio File Format | MPEG-4 Part 14 | Graphics Interchange Format |
| Introduced | 1993 | 2003 | 1991 | 2003 | 1987 |
| Defined by | MPEG · ISO/IEC 11172-3 | MPEG · ISO/IEC 14496-14 + 14496-3 (AAC) | Microsoft & IBM · RIFF WAVE | MPEG · ISO/IEC 14496-14 | CompuServe · GIF89a |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy or lossless | Lossless | Lossy or lossless | Lossless |
| Transparency | — | — | — | — | Yes |
| Animation | — | — | — | — | Yes |
| Largest size | — | — | — | — | 65,535 × 65,535 px |
| Chrome / Edge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Safari | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Firefox | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone / iPad | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Typical use | Music, podcasts, voice recordings and any audio that has to play on every device. | iPhone Voice Memos, music from Apple apps, and audio extracted from MP4 video. | Recording, editing and mastering audio, sound effects, and apps that need uncompressed sound. | Phone videos, screen recordings, downloads from cameras and video for sharing. | Short silent animations, reactions, memes and simple animated graphics. |
MP3 MP3 is the lossy audio format standardised by MPEG in ISO/IEC 11172-3 (1993). Its patents have expired, and practically every player, car stereo, phone and editing app plays it. At 192 kbps most listeners cannot tell it from the original on typical speakers or headphones.
M4A M4A is an MP4 file that contains only sound, nearly always AAC (sometimes Apple Lossless). AAC sounds better than MP3 at the same bitrate. Apple devices use it for voice memos and music, but some older players, car stereos and websites accept only MP3.
WAV WAV is the RIFF audio format Microsoft and IBM introduced in 1991. It almost always stores uncompressed PCM samples, so nothing is lost, but one minute of CD-quality stereo takes about 10 MB. A single WAV file can’t be larger than 4 GB.
MP4 MP4 is a container defined in ISO/IEC 14496-14. It usually holds H.264 or HEVC video and AAC audio, plus chapters and metadata. It is the most widely supported video file: phones, browsers, TVs and social apps all play it.
GIF GIF dates from 1987 (CompuServe); the 1989 version added animation timing and transparency. Each frame is limited to 256 colours from a palette, which is why video turned into GIF looks grainy and gets large. It still plays everywhere without a player.
Sources for this table
- www.iso.org/standard/22412.html
- www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3003
- caniuse.com/mp3
- developer.android.com/media/platform/supported-formats
- www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4337
- www.iso.org/standard/76383.html
- caniuse.com/aac
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/xaudio2/resource-interchange-file-format--riff-
- www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2361
- www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000001.shtml
- caniuse.com/wav
- www.iso.org/standard/79110.html
- caniuse.com/mpeg4
- developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Guides/Formats/Containers
- www.w3.org/Graphics/GIF/spec-gif89a.txt
- www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000133.shtml
- developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Guides/Formats/Image_types
Browser support data: caniuse.com, CC BY 4.0.
Questions and answers
How do I convert MP4 to MP3 without uploading the video?
Open MP4 to MP3, choose the video and press Convert. The page reads the sound track from the file on your device, encodes it as MP3 in your browser and gives you the download. Nothing leaves your device, so even a large video starts immediately. Set the bitrate (192 kbps default) or trim the start and end first if you only need part of it.
Is MP3 or M4A better for audio from a video?
If the video came from a phone, its sound is almost always AAC, and MP4 to M4A copies it out with zero loss in a few seconds. Choose that when the file will play on a phone, a Mac or in a modern app. Choose MP3 when you need it to play anywhere, including car stereos and older players; it is re-encoded, which at 192 kbps or more is not audible for most material.
Why is my GIF so big?
GIF is a 1980s format: 256 colours per frame and weak compression, so a few seconds of video can make a GIF ten times larger than the MP4. Size grows with width × height × frames. To shrink it, cut the clip shorter, lower the width (480 px is plenty for most chats) and drop the frame rate to 10–12 fps. The converter shows the estimated size before it starts.
Which video files can I use?
MP4 and MOV from phones and cameras work in all current browsers. MKV, WEBM, AVI and other files work when your browser can decode the video and audio codecs inside them; Chrome and Edge on a computer read the widest range. If a file cannot be read, the converter names the codec and suggests what to try, rather than failing silently.