About this tool
The WAV to MP3 Converter turns uncompressed WAV recordings into compact MP3 files. Your browser decodes the audio and an MP3 encoder runs on your device, so the file is never uploaded anywhere.
How to convert WAV to MP3
- Choose your WAV file.
- Pick a bitrate. 128 kbps suits speech, 192 kbps suits most music.
- Press Convert to MP3 and wait for the progress bar to finish.
- Play it back to check, then download.
How much smaller will it be?
CD-quality stereo WAV (44.1 kHz, 16-bit) uses about 10 MB per minute. MP3 is far smaller:
| Bitrate | MP3 size per minute | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 128 kbps | about 1.0 MB | Speech, voice notes, podcasts |
| 192 kbps | about 1.4 MB | Everyday music |
| 256 kbps | about 1.9 MB | Higher-quality music |
| 320 kbps | about 2.4 MB | Maximum MP3 quality |
Things to watch out for
- MP3 is lossy. Some audio detail is discarded to save space. Keep your original WAV if you may edit or master the recording later.
- Mono saves more. Voice recordings often sound identical in mono at half the size. Choose Mono if the recording is a single voice.
- Large files use memory. The whole file is decoded before encoding, so very long recordings can fail on phones.
- Other formats work too. If your browser can play the file (such as M4A, OGG or FLAC), it can usually be converted here as well.
Frequently asked questions
No. The file is read and converted in your browser and never leaves your device.
Use 128 kbps for speech and 192 kbps for music. 256 or 320 kbps give larger files with a smaller quality gain.
Slightly. MP3 is a lossy format. At 192 kbps or above most people cannot hear a difference, but you cannot recover the original quality afterwards, so keep the WAV.
Roughly 7 to 10 times smaller for typical music, depending on the bitrate you pick.
Often yes. If your browser can play the file, such as M4A, OGG or FLAC, it can usually be decoded and converted here.