Why convert WAV to MP3
WAV files store audio uncompressed, exactly as it was recorded. That’s ideal for editing and archiving, but the files are large: an album can take 500 MB or more. MP3 compresses the same audio to a fraction of the size, small enough to email, upload, stream or fit thousands of songs on a phone, and every device, car stereo and app can play it.
Typical reasons:
- sending a recording, podcast or voice note by email or chat
- uploading audio to a website, course platform or podcast host with a size limit
- making a mix, demo or rehearsal recording easy to share
- saving space on your phone or computer
Choosing the MP3 quality
The bitrate sets how many kilobits are used per second of audio:
| Bitrate | Size per minute | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 128 kbps | about 1 MB | Speech, podcasts, voice notes |
| 192 kbps | about 1.4 MB | Music for everyday listening (default) |
| 256 kbps | about 1.9 MB | Music on good headphones |
| 320 kbps | about 2.4 MB | Maximum MP3 quality |
Going above 320 kbps isn’t possible in MP3. If you need every detail kept, keep the WAV or use a lossless format such as FLAC.
How to use it
- Choose the MP3 quality.
- Choose your WAV files or drop them on the box above.
- Download each MP3, or all of them as a ZIP.
What happens to the audio
- Sample rate becomes 44.1 kHz, the CD standard every player supports. High-resolution recordings at 48, 96 or 192 kHz are resampled.
- Channels: mono stays mono and stereo stays stereo. Surround recordings keep only the front left and right channels.
- Length stays exactly the same.
- Tags and markers stored in the WAV are not copied.
Keep the WAV for editing
Each time audio is saved as MP3 it loses a little more detail. If you’ll edit, master or re-export the recording later, keep the original WAV as your master copy and make MP3s from it when you need to share.
Privacy
Recordings are often personal: interviews, meetings, voice notes, unreleased music. The conversion runs entirely in your browser using the LAME MP3 encoder, so the audio never leaves your device.
Questions
How much smaller will the MP3 be?
A minute of CD-quality stereo WAV takes about 10 MB. At 192 kbps the same minute is about 1.4 MB as MP3, roughly 85% smaller. At 128 kbps it is about 1 MB.
Will the MP3 sound worse than the WAV?
MP3 is lossy, so some detail is removed, mostly sounds people can't hear. At 192 kbps and above most listeners can't tell the difference on everyday headphones and speakers.
Can I convert a long recording?
Yes. Recordings of an hour or more work on a computer. On phones, very long files may run out of memory because the whole recording is decoded at once.
Are song titles and artist tags kept?
No. Tags inside the WAV aren't copied, so add titles in your music app after converting if you need them.
Last reviewed 31 October 2026