MP3 vs WAV vs FLAC: which audio format should you use?
Lossy vs lossless explained in plain English — and how to convert between MP3, WAV and FLAC for free.
Audio formats fall into two camps: lossy (smaller, throws away detail you probably can't hear) and lossless (bigger, keeps everything). Picking the right one is about the trade-off between file size and quality for what you're doing.
MP3 — small and universal
MP3 is lossy. At 192–320 kbps it sounds great to almost everyone, and it plays on literally everything. Use it for sharing music, podcasts, and anything going on the web. A typical song is 3–5MB.
WAV — uncompressed and huge
WAV is raw, uncompressed audio — perfect quality, but a song can be 30–50MB. It's the right choice as an editing master or when a tool specifically asks for uncompressed audio, but it's overkill for listening or sharing.
FLAC — lossless but compressed
FLAC gives you the exact quality of WAV at roughly half the size, because it compresses without discarding anything. It's ideal for archiving a music library where you want perfect quality but not enormous files. Downside: fewer devices play it than MP3.
Quick recommendation
- Sharing or web: MP3 at 192–256 kbps
- Editing master: WAV
- Archiving with perfect quality: FLAC
- Podcast episode: MP3 at 128 kbps mono is plenty
How to convert between them
The Convert Audio tool switches between MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG and FLAC in your browser, with control over bitrate and sample rate.
Convert AudioConvert between MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG and FLAC.If your goal is just a smaller file rather than a format change, Compress Audio lowers the bitrate to MP3 or AAC and shows the size saved.