WAV to MP3 converter
Your files are converted on your device. They are never uploaded.
or drop them here
.wav
- 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.
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Turn big WAV recordings into small MP3s you can email, upload or play anywhere.
WAV files are uncompressed: about 10 MB for every minute of CD-quality stereo. That is great for recording and editing, and impractical for email, messengers, podcast hosts and phones. Converting to MP3 shrinks a file roughly 5 to 10 times depending on the bitrate. This page reads 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit float WAVs at any sample rate, encodes MP3 with LAME, and can trim the start and end on the way. Recordings from interfaces, field recorders, Audacity exports and game sound effects all work, and nothing is uploaded.
How to convert WAV to MP3
- Add the WAV files (a whole folder works on a computer).
- Pick the bitrate: 320 kbps for mixes you send for review, 192 kbps for general listening, 128 kbps or Mono for speech; set start and end to cut silence.
- Convert and download the MP3s, or all as a ZIP.
What happens to quality, size and metadata
This is the one conversion where the source is perfect, so the MP3 encoder alone decides the quality. At 320 kbps it is very hard to tell from the WAV in blind tests; 192 kbps is transparent for most listeners on most material. The size is predictable: a 192 kbps MP3 uses 1.44 MB per minute, about 7 times less than 44.1 kHz 16-bit stereo WAV. 24-bit and 32-bit float detail is reduced to what MP3 can carry. Sample rates MP3 doesn’t support (88.2 or 96 kHz) are resampled to 44.1 or 48 kHz and noted. Broadcast WAV metadata (BEXT, cue points) is not carried over.
- Test files
- 3
- Average input
- 2.1 MB
- Average output
- 290 KB
- Size change
- 86% smaller
- Time per file
- 400 ms
WAV vs MP3
| Full name | WAV | MP3 |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Waveform Audio File Format | MPEG-1 Audio Layer III |
| Introduced | 1991 | 1993 |
| Defined by | Microsoft & IBM · RIFF WAVE | MPEG · ISO/IEC 11172-3 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy |
| Chrome / Edge | Yes | Yes |
| Safari | Yes | Yes |
| Firefox | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone / iPad | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Typical use | Recording, editing and mastering audio, sound effects, and apps that need uncompressed sound. | Music, podcasts, voice recordings and any audio that has to play on every device. |
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.
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
- 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
- developer.android.com/media/platform/supported-formats
- www.iso.org/standard/22412.html
- www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3003
- caniuse.com/mp3
Browser support data: caniuse.com, CC BY 4.0.
Without this site
Mac: the Music app converts with File › Convert › Create MP3 Version after you select “MP3 Encoder” in Music › Settings › Files › Import Settings. Windows: there is no built-in WAV to MP3 converter; the free Audacity opens WAV directly and saves MP3 with File › Export Audio, choosing MP3 as the format. iPhone and Android have no built-in option.
Troubleshooting
- Very long recordings. Multi-hour WAVs work, but use a computer; phones have little memory for one browser tab.
- Sample rate changed. MP3 has no 96 kHz mode, so high-resolution WAVs come out at 48 kHz (or 44.1 kHz). This is audible to no one, but the result line says so.
- Multichannel WAV. Recordings with more than two channels are mixed down to stereo. Export the channel you need separately if that matters.
- Clicks at the edges. If you trim mid-sound, start and end are hard cuts. Leave a fraction of a second of silence.
Questions and answers
How do I convert a WAV file to MP3?
Add the WAV on this page, choose a bitrate (192 kbps is a sensible default, 320 kbps for the best quality) and press Convert. The MP3 is created in your browser and downloads straight away. Nothing needs installing and no audio is sent anywhere.
How much smaller is MP3 than WAV?
CD-quality stereo WAV is 1411 kbps. MP3 at 320 kbps is about 4.4 times smaller, at 192 kbps about 7 times, at 128 kbps about 11 times. A 4-minute song goes from roughly 40 MB as WAV to about 6 MB as a 192 kbps MP3.
Is 320 kbps MP3 as good as WAV?
Technically no: MP3 always discards some information. In practice, listeners rarely tell a 320 kbps MP3 from the WAV in blind tests. Keep the WAV for editing and mastering, because every new edit and re-encode of an MP3 adds loss; share the MP3.
Can I convert WAV to MP3 without software?
Yes, with a browser-based converter like this one. Unlike most online converters, it doesn’t upload your recording: the MP3 encoder is downloaded to your browser once and runs there, so it also works offline after the page has loaded. That suits unreleased songs and private recordings.