WAV to MP3 converter
Convert WAV to MP3 in seconds, free and unlimited. No upload, no sign-up, no watermark: your audio never leaves your device.
Last updated
Quick answer: To convert WAV to MP3, add the WAV file to the iHateFiles WAV to MP3 converter and press Convert. The conversion runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded, and it is free with no sign-up, watermark or size limit. MP3 is the format that plays on everything, including hardware old enough to vote.
How much smaller it gets
CD-quality WAV runs at about 10 MB a minute. MP3 at 128 kbps takes about 1 MB, and at 320 kbps, its highest setting, about 2.4 MB. A 40 MB song fits in an email once it is an MP3.
For music, 192 kbps or above is a safe choice. For speech, 128 kbps is plenty. Keep the WAV if you are going to edit the audio again, because MP3 discards detail that cannot be recovered.
Should you convert WAV to MP3?
Do this to make a lossless recording small enough to share or carry around. Keep the WAV as the master copy.
WAV is lossless and MP3 is not
This is the conversion lossy formats were designed for: from about 10 MB per minute to 1 to 2.4 MB. At 192 kbps or more almost nobody can hear the difference in music. Keep the WAV as your master if you might need to convert again.
Where the MP3 will play
MP3 plays on everything, including car stereos and hardware twenty years old.
WAV and MP3 side by side
| WAV | MP3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the file | uncompressed PCM | MPEG-1 Layer III |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy |
| Carries sound | Yes | Yes |
| One minute of stereo | about 10 MB | 1 to 2.4 MB |
| Plays on | every editor, DAW and operating system | everything, including car stereos and hardware twenty years old |
| Here | Read and write | Read and write |
What usually goes wrong
About the WAV. Converting an MP3 to WAV makes the file ten times larger without recovering anything. The detail the MP3 discarded is gone.
About the MP3. Converting an MP3 to another lossy format compounds the damage, because the second encoder is guessing at audio the first one already threw away.
How to convert WAV to MP3
- Add your WAV file. It is read from your disk and stays there.
- Check the settings. The output format is already set to MP3.
- Press convert and the MP3 file is saved back to your device.
MP3 converter: everything that converts to MP3
Questions
How do I convert WAV to MP3?
Open this page, add your WAV file, and press convert. The file is decoded and re-encoded by your own browser and saved back to your device. Nothing is uploaded.
Is this WAV to MP3 converter free?
Yes, completely. There is no account, no sign-in, no watermark and no daily limit, because there is no server doing the work. Your own device does it.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. There is no upload endpoint. The conversion runs inside this browser tab, so your file never leaves your device. You can open your browser's network panel and watch: nothing carrying your file is sent.
Is there a file size limit?
No fixed limit. Because the work happens on your machine there is no server quota. The only ceiling is your own device's memory, which for video means very large files may be slow.
Will converting to MP3 lose quality?
MP3 is a lossy format, so some detail is discarded. The quality control on this page decides how much. The default is set high enough that most people cannot see the difference.
Can I convert several WAV files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and they are converted one after another, then offered as a single ZIP.