Audio: tools and formats
Everything we can do with Audio files. Most of it right in your browser, with nothing uploaded.
Tools
- Audio converterConvert audio between MP3, AAC, OPUS, FLAC, WAV and OGG. Pick a bitrate, drop it to mono, change the sample rate.
- Extract audio from videoPull the soundtrack out of a video file. When the track can be lifted as is, nothing is re-encoded and nothing is lost.
- Trim audioCut a fragment out of a recording by timecodes. By default the stream is copied, so the cut costs no quality.
- Normalize loudnessEven out loudness to the EBU R128 broadcast standard, in two passes — so the recording does not breathe.
- Merge audioJoin several recordings into one, in the order you picked. Matching files are joined without re-encoding — instantly and with no quality lost.
- Trim silenceCut the silence at the start and the end of a recording. Pauses inside are left alone — in speech they carry meaning.
- Edit audio tagsChange the title, artist and album. The audio itself is copied untouched, so nothing is lost and it takes no time.
Formats, and when each one fits
- MP3since 1993
- — It has to open for anyone, on anything
- — A podcast, an audiobook, a recorded lecture
- — The file goes to a person, not into further processing
- WAVsince 1991
- — Editing or processing is coming and quality must not drop
- — A short fragment: an interface sound, a sample
- — The file is for a program, not for a listener
- FLACsince 2001
- — A home collection you do not want to re-encode
- — An archive of recordings — a master for later
- — You need the original quality with tags
- AACsince 1997
- — Listening on a phone without wasting quality
- — A voice memo, or a track pulled out of a video
- — You want a balance between size and sound
- Ogg Vorbissince 2000
- — Sound in a game or an app where we choose the format
- — Freedom from licensing fees matters
- — You want an MP3 replacement without losing quality
- Opussince 2012
- — Voice: a podcast, an interview, a voice message
- — You need the smallest size that still sounds clear
- — The file is listened to in a browser or a messenger
Common conversions
Each page compares the formats by facts and shows compression figures we measured ourselves, not generalities.