All audio formats
Every format has its purpose. Here is which ones we read, which ones we produce, and when to use them.
| Format | Type | Input | Output | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M4A MPEG-4 Audio | Compressed | ✅ | ✅ | iPhone voice memos, iTunes purchases, GarageBand recordings, Mac Voice Memos |
| MP3 MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer III | Compressed | ✅ | ✅ | podcasts, music, car stereos, portable players, email attachments |
| WAV Waveform Audio File Format | Lossless | ✅ | ✅ | audio editing, studios, transcription, pro software, system sounds |
| FLAC Free Lossless Audio Codec | Lossless | ✅ | ✅ | CD archiving, audiophiles, Bandcamp, Qobuz |
| AAC Advanced Audio Coding | Compressed | ✅ | ✅ | streams extracted from videos, digital recorders, streaming |
| OGG Ogg Vorbis | Compressed | ✅ | ✅ | video games, Linux, Wikipedia, WhatsApp voice messages (.opus/.ogg) |
| OPUS Opus Interactive Audio Codec | Compressed | ✅ | ✅ | WhatsApp/Telegram voice messages, Discord, calls |
| WMA Windows Media Audio | Compressed | ✅ | — | old CDs ripped with Windows Media Player, old voice recorders |
| AIFF Audio Interchange File Format | Lossless | ✅ | ✅ | Logic Pro, GarageBand, mastering |
| WEBM WebM (audio) | Compressed | ✅ | — | browser recordings, screen captures, downloaded YouTube videos |
| MP4 MPEG-4 (video audio track) | Compressed | ✅ | — | smartphone videos, lectures, concerts, online courses |
Convert from M4A
M4A is Apple's audio container, used by iTunes, Apple Music, iPhone voice memos and Mac recordings. It usually holds AAC audio, sometimes ALAC (lossless). Very good quality at a small size, but poorly supported by some car stereos, MP3 players, Windows software and websites.
Convert from MP3
MP3 is the most universal audio format in the world. It plays on absolutely everything: car stereos, phones, TVs, game consoles, MP3 players, browsers, editing software. Its compression is slightly less efficient than AAC, but its total compatibility makes it the safe choice for sharing an audio file.
Convert from WAV
WAV is an uncompressed format: it stores raw audio, exactly like a CD. The quality is perfect but the files are large (about 10 MB per minute at CD quality). It is the reference format for audio editing, music production, transcription and professional software.
Convert from FLAC
FLAC compresses audio with zero loss: the file is 40 to 60% the size of the original WAV but reproduces exactly the same sound. It is the format of choice for audiophiles and music archives. It is free, open, and supports metadata and cover art.
Convert from AAC
AAC is the successor to MP3: at the same bitrate, the sound is better. It is the audio codec of YouTube, Apple Music, digital TV and most MP4 videos. A raw .aac file (without the M4A container) is rarer and less well supported than its .m4a equivalent.
Convert from OGG
OGG Vorbis is a free and open format, a competitor to MP3, widely used in video games, on Wikipedia, Spotify (internally) and on Linux. Good quality, but poor compatibility on Apple devices and many car stereos.
Convert from OPUS
Opus is currently the most efficient audio codec: it delivers the best possible quality at very low bitrates. It is the format of WhatsApp, Telegram and Discord voice messages and of video calls. Excellent, but still poorly recognized by consumer players and car stereos.
Convert from WMA
WMA is Microsoft's old audio format, produced by Windows Media Player and old recorders. It is now abandoned and increasingly hard to play, especially on Mac, iPhone and Android. Converting it to MP3 is the only way to future-proof it.
Convert from AIFF
AIFF is Apple's equivalent of WAV: uncompressed audio, perfect quality, large files. It is produced by Logic Pro, GarageBand and iTunes (CD import as AIFF). Outside the Mac, it often causes playback problems.
Convert from WEBM
WebM is an open web container, used by YouTube, screen recorders and the voice recorders built into browsers. Its audio is Opus or Vorbis. Many desktop applications and devices cannot play it.
Convert from MP4
MP4 is a video file. Extracting its audio track lets you keep only the sound of a lecture, a concert, an interview or a personal video, in a much smaller file you can listen to anywhere.