MOV to MP3 converter
Your files are converted on your device. They are never uploaded.
or drop them here
.mov.mp4.m4v
- Files stay on your device
- Batch + ZIP
- No sign-up, no limits
This converter runs in your browser and needs JavaScript. Turn it on to convert; the steps below explain everything.
Settings
Turn the sound of iPhone and Mac MOV videos into MP3, even on a PC that can’t play the video.
MOV is how an iPhone saves video when you AirDrop or copy it to a computer, and how QuickTime and many cameras record. Windows and Android often refuse to play these files because the picture is HEVC, yet the sound inside is ordinary AAC. This converter ignores the picture entirely: it pulls out the audio track, decodes it and writes an MP3. So a birthday song, a voice message filmed on an iPhone or a Mac screen recording becomes a small MP3 that any player, car stereo or messenger accepts, with nothing uploaded.
How to convert MOV to MP3
- Add the MOV files (copied from an iPhone, a Mac, or a camera’s memory card).
- Keep 192 kbps, or 128 kbps for speech; choose Mono for a single voice, and set start and end times if you need just one part.
- Convert and download each MP3, or the batch as a ZIP.
What happens to quality, size and metadata
Because only the sound is decoded, the video codec doesn’t matter: HEVC, H.264 and ProRes MOVs all work, as long as the audio is in a format the browser reads (AAC from iPhones and Macs, or uncompressed PCM from cameras). The audio is re-encoded once as constant-bitrate MP3 with LAME; at 192 kbps the difference from the original AAC is hard to hear. Sample rate stays as recorded (iPhones use 44.1 or 48 kHz). Spatial or 4-channel audio from newer iPhones is mixed down to stereo. Location, date and camera metadata of the MOV are not copied into the MP3.
- Test files
- 1
- Average input
- 379 KB
- Average output
- 122 KB
- Size change
- 68% smaller
- Time per file
- 211 ms
MOV vs MP3
| Full name | MOV | MP3 |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | QuickTime File Format | MPEG-1 Audio Layer III |
| Introduced | 1991 | 1993 |
| Defined by | Apple · QuickTime File Format | MPEG · ISO/IEC 11172-3 |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless | Lossy |
| Chrome / Edge | Partly | Yes |
| Safari | Yes | Yes |
| Firefox | Partly | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| iPhone / iPad | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Typical use | iPhone and Mac video recordings, screen recordings and video editing exports. | Music, podcasts, voice recordings and any audio that has to play on every device. |
MOV MOV is Apple’s QuickTime container, introduced in 1991; MP4 was later based on it, so both are built the same way. iPhones record MOV files with HEVC or H.264 video and AAC sound. Windows and Android players and many web forms handle MP4 more reliably than MOV.
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.
Sources for this table
- developer.apple.com/documentation/quicktime-file-format
- www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000052.shtml
- developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Guides/Formats/Containers
- www.iso.org/standard/22412.html
- www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3003
- caniuse.com/mp3
- developer.android.com/media/platform/supported-formats
Browser support data: caniuse.com, CC BY 4.0.
Without this site
Mac: QuickTime Player can save a MOV’s sound with File › Export As › Audio Only, which creates an M4A (AAC) file; Music can then make an MP3 with File › Convert › Create MP3 Version after you set the MP3 encoder in Music › Settings › Files › Import Settings. iPhone: Shortcuts › “Encode Media” with “Audio Only” gives M4A. Windows has no built-in MOV to MP3 option; VLC’s Media › Convert / Save does it.
Troubleshooting
- The MOV won’t play on Windows. That is the HEVC picture; the sound is still convertible here. Use MOV to MP4 if you also want a playable video.
- Two audio tracks. Some camera and editing MOVs hold more than one sound track. The main track is converted; export the other one from your editor if you need it.
- Cinematic or spatial audio. Extra channels are mixed to stereo. The voice stays centred, but the surround effect is gone.
- A Live Photo isn’t a MOV here. Export it from Photos as video first (Share › Save as Video).
Questions and answers
How do I convert a MOV file to MP3?
Add the MOV here, pick a bitrate (192 kbps is a good default) and press Convert. The converter extracts only the sound and encodes it as MP3 in your browser, so it works even when your computer can’t play the MOV’s picture. Download the MP3 when it’s done.
Can I convert iPhone videos to MP3 on Windows?
Yes. Copy the MOV files from the iPhone to the PC, open this page in Edge or Chrome and add them. The HEVC picture that Windows often can’t play doesn’t matter, because only the AAC sound is read and converted. Nothing is uploaded; the files stay on your PC.
How do I get the audio from a video on my iPhone?
Open this page in Safari on the iPhone, tap “Add files”, choose Photo Library and select the video. Safari hands it to the page as a MOV or MP4, the audio is converted on the phone and the MP3 is saved to Downloads in Files. See also our guide to extracting audio on a phone.
Is MOV to MP3 the same as MP4 to MP3?
Almost. MOV and MP4 are sibling containers and both usually hold AAC sound, so the result is the same kind of MP3. MOV files from iPhones more often have HEVC pictures and multi-channel audio, which this page handles by ignoring the picture and mixing audio to stereo.