Free tool

WAV to MP3 Converter

A WAV file is big because nothing in it is compressed. Converting to MP3 cuts it to a fraction of the size while keeping it pleasant to listen to, which makes it practical to email, upload or store. Your WAV is processed in the browser, not on a server.

01 — Your file

Choose a file

02 — Result

Your converted file

Choose a file and press Convert to MP3. The conversion runs in this tab, so even large files never leave your computer or phone.

Steps

  1. Choose a WAV file above.
  2. Pick 320 kbps for finished music, 192 kbps as a general default, or 128 kbps for speech.
  3. Convert and download the MP3.

How much smaller the MP3 is

CD-quality WAV (44.1 kHz, 16-bit, stereo) runs at about 1,411 kbps. The MP3 bitrate you choose sets the new size:

320 kbps
about a quarter of the WAV's size
192 kbps
about a seventh
128 kbps
about an eleventh

Higher-resolution WAVs from a DAW or field recorder, such as 48 kHz 24-bit, shrink even more. A 60 MB song becomes about 14 MB at 320 kbps, and an hour of 128 kbps speech takes about 58 MB.

Music or speech

For music you care about, 320 kbps keeps an MP3 very close to the WAV for most listeners, and 192 kbps is a reasonable compromise. Speech has far less going on, so 128 kbps sounds the same as 320 kbps for a podcast, interview or lecture. If the recording is a single voice, consider the audio compressor, which goes down to 32 kbps and can mix to mono so a low bitrate still sounds clear.

Keep the WAV

MP3 is a delivery format. If you may want to edit, remix or master the recording later, keep the original WAV and work from that, because editing an MP3 and saving it again adds another round of loss. A sensible archive is the WAV, or a FLAC copy that is smaller but just as exact, plus MP3s for sharing.

Transcripts from WAV recordings

Field recorders and podcast setups often produce long WAV files that are slow to upload. mydubly's WAV to text tool accepts WAV, but converting to MP3 first makes the upload far smaller and transcribes just as accurately.

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 converting WAV to MP3 lose quality?

Yes, MP3 is lossy. At 320 kbps the difference is very hard to hear for most people; at 128 kbps it is fine for speech.

What bitrate should I use for WAV to MP3?

320 kbps for finished music, 192 kbps as a general default, 128 kbps for voice recordings.

Can it convert 24-bit or 32-bit float WAV files?

Yes. High-resolution and floating-point WAVs are decoded and encoded to MP3 like any other.

Is my WAV uploaded?

No. It is read and converted inside your browser, which also means large WAVs don't have to wait for an upload.