M4A to MP3
Convert M4A to MP3 in your browser: iPhone voice memos, iTunes songs, Zoom and GarageBand audio. Free with no limit, nothing uploaded. 128, 192 or 320 kbps.
Drop audio or video here
MP3 · WAV · M4A · MP4 · MOV · WEBM — up to 4 hours. Nothing is uploaded.
How it works
- Drop your M4A onto the box above: a voice memo, a song, a Zoom or GarageBand recording.
- Pick 192 kbps, or 320 for music you'll keep and 128 for the smallest file.
- Download the MP3. It's made on your device; the M4A is never uploaded.
- Sound noisy or too quiet? One click sends the same file to the noise remover or the loudness normalizer.
What's in an M4A
M4A is the sound-only kind of MP4, and Apple's default for audio: Voice Memos on the iPhone, songs bought on iTunes, GarageBand exports and Zoom's audio recordings are all M4A. The sound inside is almost always AAC, which sounds better than MP3 at the same size.
So converting is about where the file has to play, not about quality: some car stereos, older MP3 players, websites and apps only take MP3. The sound is decoded and encoded as MP3 at the bitrate you pick, and the title, artist, album and cover art come along.
Which bitrate
- 192 kbps: the default. Speech and most music sound the same as the M4A.
- 320 kbps: for music you'll keep, such as a 256 kbps iTunes song.
- 128 kbps: the smallest file, about 1 MB a minute, for voice memos, lectures and podcasts.
- A higher bitrate can't add quality: a 320 kbps MP3 of a 128 kbps M4A is a bigger file, not a better one.
Questions
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside your browser, on your own device. Your file never leaves it, so there's no upload to wait for and nothing stored on a server.
Is it really free?
Yes. Converting is free with no limit, no account and no watermark. AudioRinse earns from its cleaning tools; the converters are here because a recording often needs both.
How do I get a voice memo off my iPhone?
In the Voice Memos app, share the recording: AirDrop it to a Mac, or Save to Files and copy it to your computer. Then drop it here.
Is the MP3 lower quality than the M4A?
In principle a little, since the sound is encoded a second time; at 192 kbps or more it's hard to hear. If your player takes M4A, keeping it is the better choice.
Does it work on Apple Lossless (ALAC) M4As?
No, not yet: Apple Lossless can't be decoded in the browser here, and the page says so when you drop one. AAC M4As, the usual kind, all work.
How long can the file be?
Up to 4 hours. It converts many times faster than it plays: an hour of audio takes a few minutes.
The sound is noisy or too quiet. Can I fix it?
Yes. After converting, one click sends the same file to the background noise remover, the loudness normalizer or the buzz and hum remover. Cleaning is free to try; the free plan includes 3 downloads a month.
Other tools
- WAV to MP3WAV to MP3 at a fraction of the size.
- MP3 to WAVMP3 to uncompressed WAV, for editing.
- M4A to WAVVoice memos and M4A to uncompressed WAV.
- OGG to MP3Ogg Vorbis, Opus and voice messages to MP3.
- FLAC to MP3Lossless FLAC to MP3, tags and cover kept.
- Remove background noise from audioFans, traffic, hiss and room noise out of a voice recording.
- Remove background noise from videoClean a video's soundtrack. The picture is kept untouched.
- Voice isolatorKeep only the voice; everything else goes.
- Audio enhancerNoise removal + voice EQ + loudness, in one step.
- Voice enhancerClearer, fuller, evenly loud voice.
- Remove reverb from audioLess room, more voice: for recordings made in echoey rooms.
- Remove echo from audioFix the hollow, echoey sound of a big or empty room.
- Remove buzz and hum from audioElectrical buzz and hum out; the voice or music around it untouched.
- Remove silence from audioDead air out: every long pause cut to a set length.
- De-esserHarsh S sounds softened; the voice keeps its brightness.
- Fix clipped audioFlattened, crackly peaks from recording too loud, rebuilt.
- Mouth click removerLip smacks and tongue clicks out of a voice-over.
- Normalize audioPodcast, YouTube or broadcast loudness, true-peak safe.
- Remove vocals from a songThe vocals out of a song: a clean instrumental, and the acapella too.
- Split a song into stemsVocals, drums, bass and the rest, each on its own track.
- Remove music from a videoBackground music out of a video; the voices stay.
- Make a karaoke version of a songAny song as a karaoke track: the vocals out, the band left.
- Extract the vocals from a songThe vocals alone from any song: an acapella for remixes and covers.
- Make an instrumental of a songThe instrumental version of any song, the vocals taken out.
- Remove the drums from a songThe drums out of a song, for drummers to play along.
- Find the BPM of a songThe tempo of any song, with its key and Camelot code.
- Find the key of a songThe key of any song, with its Camelot code and tuning.
- BPM and key finderTempo, key and Camelot for a whole folder of songs, as a CSV.
- Tap tempoTap along on each beat and read the BPM.
- Camelot wheelWhich keys mix: pick one, or drop your songs onto the wheel.
- Audio to sheet musicA piano recording written out as a two-hand score.
- MP3 to sheet musicAn MP3 of piano music, written out as a printable score.
- Piano transcriptionPiano playing written out, both hands, in seconds.
- Video to MP3The sound of any video as an MP3. Free, no limit.
- MP4 to MP3Any MP4's sound as an MP3, in seconds.
- Video to audioAny video to MP3, M4A or WAV. Free, no limit.
- MOV to MP3iPhone and QuickTime videos to MP3.
- MP4 to WAVUncompressed WAV from any MP4, for editing.
- WebM to MP3WebM video or audio to MP3.
- MKV to MP3OBS recordings and MKV films to MP3.
- Extract audio from videoA video's sound track as a file, in its original quality.
- Transcribe audio to textAny recording to text, transcribed on your computer.
- Convert audio to textSpeech in any audio file, converted to text on your device.
- Convert MP3 to textAn MP3's speech as text, with timestamps.
- Transcribe a video to textWhat's said in a video, as a timestamped transcript.
- Convert video to textSpeech in any video, converted to text on your device.
- Add subtitles to a videoAuto subtitles, edited in place, burned in or as SRT.
- Auto captions for your videoCaptions for reels and videos, styled and burned in.
- Generate subtitles automaticallyTimed SRT and VTT subtitles from any video.
- Interview transcriptionSpeaker-labelled transcripts, made on your computer.
- Transcription for qualitative researchInterviews and focus groups, ready for NVivo and MAXQDA.