Convert WAV to MP3
To convert WAV to MP3, drag the .wav file onto this page and click the button; the MP3 downloads once encoding completes. Everything runs locally in your browser through ffmpeg WebAssembly, so even a sensitive recording is never uploaded.
Drop your WAV here
It becomes a MP3 right in your browser, up to 200 MB
Your file never leaves your device
Why convert WAV to MP3?
A WAV is the right format to record and edit in, and the wrong format to share: at roughly 10MB per stereo minute it blows past email attachment limits, chat upload caps and patience. Encoding to MP3 cuts the size by around 90% while keeping quality that is transparent for speech and very good for music, and the result plays on anything manufactured this century. This is the standard last step after editing: master in WAV, distribute in MP3. Interview recordings, podcast exports, voiceovers and meeting audio are the typical travelers through this pair, and they are exactly the kind of files better converted without an upload.
What is WAV?
WAV is uncompressed audio in its plainest form: the 1991 RIFF container holding raw PCM samples, the same data a CD carries. Nothing is lost and nothing is guessed, which makes WAV the standard handoff format for audio editing, mastering, transcription tools and samplers. The price is size: about 10MB per stereo minute, an order of magnitude more than a decent MP3 of the same sound.
What is MP3?
MP3 is the audio format that ate the world in the late 1990s, and it remains the most universally supported way to store sound: lossy compression at roughly a tenth of CD size, playable on literally anything with a speaker. Newer codecs like AAC and Opus beat it on quality per kilobyte, but no format comes close to its compatibility across car stereos, ancient MP3 players, browsers, editing software and upload forms.
Quality and what to expect
This encode is the one lossy step in the WAV's life, performed at a high variable bitrate (around 190kbps) that most listeners cannot distinguish from the source for normal material. Keep the WAV master if you may re-edit, because re-encoding an MP3 later compounds the loss. Unusual sample rates are handled automatically, and mono files stay mono, which halves the size again. Encoding speed on this site is quick: even long recordings encode in well under their own duration, and a progress indicator tracks the work. No metadata is invented; the MP3 starts with a clean tag slate.
WAV to MP3 FAQ
How much smaller will the MP3 be?
Typically about 85-92% smaller than the WAV, depending on content. An hour-long meeting recording drops from roughly 600MB to about 60MB, comfortably shareable through ordinary channels.
Is the quality loss audible?
At the bitrate used here, almost never for speech and rarely for music outside trained listening on good equipment. The honest caveat: it is still a lossy step, so archive the WAV original if the recording is irreplaceable.
Can I convert a confidential interview or meeting recording safely?
That is the point of this site. The encoder runs in your browser; the recording is never transmitted. There is no server that could retain, leak or be subpoenaed for a copy, because none ever receives one.
Does a big WAV work? Mine is 300MB.
Files up to 200MB convert right here in the browser. Above that we currently ask you to split or trim the file; a transparent server option for oversized jobs is coming soon.