WAV to MP3
Turn one or many WAV files into small MP3s at the bitrate you choose. Everything is encoded on your device, so your audio is never uploaded.
No files yet. Add WAV files to get started.
How to use the WAV to MP3
- Add your WAV files: drop them on the box or click to choose. You can add as many as you like.
- Pick the MP3 quality: 192 kbps is a good default, 320 kbps for the best quality, 128 kbps for the smallest files.
- Choose the channels: keep the original, or pick mono for speech and podcasts (with 128 kbps for the smallest files).
- Press Convert to MP3. Each file shows its progress and its new size when it is done.
- Play or download each MP3, or press Download all (ZIP) to save every file at once.
WAV vs MP3: file size per minute
A WAV file stores raw, uncompressed samples, so its size depends only on the sample rate, bit depth and number of channels: size = sample rate × bytes per sample × channels × seconds. CD quality (44.1 kHz, 16-bit, stereo) is 44,100 × 2 × 2 = 176,400 bytes per second, about 10.6 MB per minute (1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes). An MP3 at a constant bitrate uses bitrate ÷ 8 × seconds, whatever the channels or sample rate.
| Format | 1 minute | 4-minute song | 1-hour recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAV 44.1 kHz 16-bit stereo | 10.6 MB | 42.3 MB | 635 MB |
| WAV 48 kHz 24-bit stereo | 17.3 MB | 69.1 MB | 1.04 GB |
| MP3 320 kbps | 2.4 MB | 9.6 MB | 144 MB |
| MP3 256 kbps | 1.9 MB | 7.7 MB | 115 MB |
| MP3 192 kbps | 1.4 MB | 5.8 MB | 86 MB |
| MP3 128 kbps | 0.96 MB | 3.8 MB | 58 MB |
Worked example: a 3 minute 30 second stereo WAV at 44.1 kHz/16-bit is 210 × 176,400 ≈ 37 MB. As a 192 kbps MP3 it is 210 × 192,000 ÷ 8 ≈ 5.0 MB, about 86% smaller.
Picking the right settings
- Music you want to keep: 256 or 320 kbps, stereo, original sample rate.
- Everyday listening, sharing in chats: 192 kbps stereo is a good balance.
- Podcasts, lectures, voice memos: 128 kbps mono. Speech does not benefit from stereo, and mono gives all the bits to one channel, so it sounds cleaner at the same bitrate.
- Studio recordings at 88.2, 96 or 192 kHz: MP3 cannot store these rates, so they are resampled to 44.1 kHz, the standard for music players.
MP3 at sample rates under 32 kHz uses the MPEG-2 format, which allows at most 160 kbps (and 64 kbps under 16 kHz). The converter lowers the bitrate automatically in that case, and shows the bitrate it used next to each file.
Why convert in the browser?
Online converters usually upload your audio to a server, wait in a queue and send the result back. This page uses a JavaScript build of the LAME MP3 encoder, so the conversion happens on your own computer or phone. Large files do not need to travel over the internet, recordings stay private, and you can convert dozens of files in one go without limits.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert WAV to MP3 for free?
Add your WAV files to this page, pick a bitrate such as 192 kbps and press Convert to MP3. The files are encoded in your browser and you can download each MP3 or a ZIP of all of them. There is no sign-up, watermark or upload.
Which MP3 bitrate should I choose?
320 kbps is the highest MP3 quality and is hard to tell apart from the WAV for most music. 192 kbps is a good balance for music, and 128 kbps is fine for speech, podcasts and voice notes, especially in mono.
How much smaller is an MP3 than a WAV?
A CD-quality stereo WAV uses about 10 MB per minute. The same minute as MP3 is about 2.4 MB at 320 kbps, 1.4 MB at 192 kbps and 0.96 MB at 128 kbps, so the MP3 is roughly 4 to 11 times smaller.
Does converting WAV to MP3 lose quality?
Yes, MP3 is a lossy format, so some detail is removed to save space. At 256 or 320 kbps the difference is very hard to hear. Keep your original WAV files if you might want to edit them later.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The WAV files are read and encoded to MP3 by JavaScript running in your browser. Nothing is sent over the internet, which also makes it fast for large files.
Why was my sample rate changed?
MP3 only supports certain sample rates: 8, 11.025, 12, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1 and 48 kHz. A WAV recorded at another rate, such as 96 kHz or 88.2 kHz, is resampled to 44.1 kHz so it plays everywhere.
Can I convert a 24-bit or 32-bit float WAV?
Yes. 8, 16, 24 and 32-bit integer WAV files and 32 or 64-bit floating point WAV files are supported. Other WAV codecs are decoded with your browser's built-in audio decoder when possible.