What is MP3?
A plain-English definition, and the tools that work with it.
MP3 is the most universal audio format. It uses lossy compression to shrink sound files to a fraction of their original size with little audible difference, which is why it plays on virtually every device, player and phone.
- MP3 is lossy: great for portability, but keep a WAV/FLAC original if you need perfect quality for editing or archiving.
- Bitrate controls the quality/size trade-off: 256–320 kbps for music, ~128 kbps is fine for speech.
- When an audio file won't play or upload, converting it to MP3 is the most reliable fix.
Tools for MP3
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MP3 Converter
Convert any audio to MP3 in your browser, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, FLAC and more to a clean, universally-playable MP3 with a bitrate you choose. Preview the waveform, encode locally with lamejs, then download. Nothing is uploaded.
Audio to MP3
Turn any audio file into an MP3, right in your browser. Drop a recording or track, listen to it, choose how good you want the MP3 to sound, and download. No upload, no account, nothing leaves your device.
Extract Audio from Video
Pull the audio track out of any video and save it as MP3, WAV, AAC, M4A or OGG, right in your browser. Drop an MP4, MOV or WEBM, pick a format, preview and download. Nothing is uploaded.
Audio Compressor
Compress audio and reduce file size in your browser, lower the MP3 bitrate and sample rate to shrink a WAV, MP3, M4A, FLAC or OGG down to a fraction of its size. See the exact before/after weight, preview the waveform, then download. Nothing is uploaded.
MP3 problems we solve
Hit one of these? Here's the fix.
- I need to convert an audio file to MP3Got a WAV, M4A or OGG that won't play or upload? Convert it to MP3. The format that works everywhere.
- I want to get the audio (MP3) out of a videoKeep only the sound (a lecture, a song, a podcast segment) as a clean MP3 you can play anywhere.
- I want to make a ringtone from a songGrab the best 30 seconds of a track, smooth the edges, and export a ringtone-ready clip.
Frequently asked questions
Related terms
- BitrateBitrate is how much data is used per second of audio or video, measured in kbps or Mbps. A higher bitrate means more detail and a larger file. A lower bitrate means a smaller file with more compression. It's the main dial for the quality-versus-size trade-off.
- MP4MP4 is the most widely supported video format, a container that holds video and audio together. Because virtually every device, editor, browser and platform plays MP4, it's the safe default for sharing, uploading and playing video anywhere.
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