MP3 vs WAV: which should you use?
WAV is the exact, uncompressed recording; MP3 is the small copy that plays everywhere. Here is how big the difference is, measured on the same minute of music.
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Quick answer: A WAV keeps every sample and is big: one minute of stereo music was 10.58 MB as WAV, 2.40 MB as 320 kbps MP3 and 0.96 MB as 128 kbps MP3. Use WAV for recording, editing, mastering and CDs; use MP3 for listening, sharing and uploading. At 192–320 kbps most people hear no difference, and converting an MP3 back to WAV does not restore what MP3 removed.
Updated
Choose WAV when
- You record, edit or master: no quality is lost when you save.
- A studio, label, distributor, sampler or CD burner asks for WAV.
- It is the master you will make every other copy from.
Choose MP3 when
- You listen, share, email or upload it.
- It must fit a size limit: a 4-minute song is about 9.6 MB at 320 kbps instead of 42 MB.
- It has to play on anything, including old car stereos.
The same minute of music, measured
| Format | Size | Compared with WAV |
|---|---|---|
| WAV (16-bit, 44.1 kHz) | 10.58 MB | — |
| MP3 320 kbps | 2.40 MB | 4.4 times smaller |
| MP3 192 kbps | 1.44 MB | 7.3 times smaller |
| MP3 128 kbps | 0.96 MB | 11 times smaller |
One minute of the Sintel trailer soundtrack (stereo, 44.1 kHz), made with standard free software on 20 October 2026. Sintel © Blender Foundation, CC BY 3.0.
How it works
- Drop your audio fileM4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG and more, any length. It stays on your computer.
- Pick the quality"Very good" suits speech and most music; "Best" for music you care about.
- Download the MP3Plays on every phone, computer, car stereo and audio editor.
What MP3 throws away
MP3 leaves out sound that is masked by louder sound nearby, which is most of what makes a WAV big. At 320 kbps what is left is very close to the original; at 128 kbps cymbals and reverb can sound a little swishy on good headphones.
Converting WAV to MP3
For music, choose "Best" (320 kbps) or "Very good" (192 kbps). For speech, "Speech" is plenty. Keep the WAV as your master: you can always make another MP3 from it, never the other way round. Several files at once work too, with a ZIP at the end.
Measured, not promised
From our tests in Chrome on a 2019 Intel MacBook, October 2026. See all results.
Why your audio never leaves your computer
Online converters upload your file to their servers, convert it there and send it back. That is slow for long recordings, so free plans cap the length or the number of files, and your recording sits on someone else's computer.
Here your own computer does the work, inside this tab. Nothing is uploaded, so there is nothing to cap: no length limit, no daily limit and no sign-up.
Questions
Is WAV better quality than MP3?
Yes, a WAV is exact. Whether you can hear the difference depends on the MP3 bitrate: at 320 kbps most people cannot.
Does converting MP3 to WAV make it lossless?
No. The WAV sounds exactly like the MP3. It is only bigger, and easier to edit in some programs.
Why do distributors ask for WAV?
They make their own lossy copies for each store. Starting from an exact file avoids converting one lossy file into another.
Can I convert several files at once?
Yes. Choose or drop several files together. They are converted one after another with the same settings, and you can download each one or all of them in one ZIP.
Is it really free?
Yes. Your computer does the work, so a file costs us nothing to convert. No account and no limits.
Is my file uploaded?
No. It is converted inside this browser tab and saved straight back to your computer.
Which browsers work?
Recent Chrome, Edge and Safari on a computer.
Can I use a video file?
Yes. Drop a video and you get its sound.