How to extract the audio
- Drop your video into the box above, or click it to browse. The tool reads the file and shows its length and the codecs inside.
- Choose the format to save as. MP3 is the safe default; pick M4A to keep the original sound untouched when the video carries AAC audio.
- For MP3 or OGG, choose a quality, then press the convert button.
- When the download button appears, save the file. You can play it on the page first to check it.
Which format to choose
The right format depends on what you will do with the sound next.
- MP3
- Plays on every device and app. Best for sharing, listening and uploading.
- M4A (AAC)
- Copied as it is when the video's sound is AAC, which most phone and camera MP4 and MOV files use. No quality loss, done in seconds.
- WAV
- Uncompressed. Use it for editing in an audio app or a DAW, where you want to avoid a second round of lossy compression.
- FLAC
- Lossless like WAV but smaller. Good for archiving.
- OGG (Vorbis)
- An open format that some games, Linux apps and web players prefer.
Converting a lossy soundtrack to WAV or FLAC does not restore detail the video's encoder removed; it only stops further loss. The AAC vs MP3 comparison explains the trade-offs between the lossy options.
What actually happens to your file
A video file is a container holding a picture stream and one or more sound streams. Extraction ignores the picture and works on the first sound stream. When you choose M4A and the sound is AAC, the stream is copied byte for byte into a new file. Every other choice decodes the sound and encodes it again in the format you picked, which takes a little longer.
If your video has several audio tracks, such as two languages, the first track is the one extracted. For a different track, or to do the job with desktop software, the step-by-step guide to extracting audio covers VLC, Audacity and ffmpeg.
Want the words, not just the sound?
If you are extracting audio to get a transcript, you can skip this step: mydubly's video to text tool reads the speech straight from MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM and M4V files and returns a timestamped transcript with SRT and VTT subtitles. If you need the audio in another language, the audio translator takes the extracted file and returns it with a translated voice.
How the free converter works
The converter is ffmpeg, the open-source media toolkit, compiled to WebAssembly so it runs inside your browser tab. Your file is read straight from your disk by that engine; it is never uploaded to mydubly or anywhere else, and no account is needed.
- The engine is about 30 MB and downloads the first time you convert something. After that your browser normally keeps it.
- Large inputs are fine because the file is read in place, but the result is built in memory, so outputs are capped at about 1.5 GB.
- Speed depends on your device. Copying streams takes seconds; re-encoding video is the slow case.
- Keep the tab open until the download button appears. Closing it stops the conversion.
More free tools
Turn the file into text
Frequently asked questions
Does extracting audio reduce the quality?
Not if you choose M4A and the video's sound is AAC: the stream is copied without re-encoding. MP3 and OGG re-encode the sound, which is hard to hear at 192 kbps. WAV and FLAC add no further loss.
Is there a file size limit?
There is no limit on the video you open, because it is read from your disk in place. The extracted audio has to fit in your browser's memory, so very large WAV outputs are refused; MP3 or M4A fit easily.
Can I extract audio from a video on my phone?
Yes. The tool works in current mobile browsers. Phones are slower than laptops and have less memory, so very long videos are better handled on a computer.
Will the audio stay in sync if I put it back into the video later?
Yes. The extracted file starts at the same moment as the video's sound and keeps its timing, so an editor will line it up again at the start.