An online audio converter that never uploads your files
Most online audio converters send your file to a server, convert it there and send it back. That costs time, needs a decent connection and means a copy of your recording sits on someone else's machine. AudioDrop works differently. The audio converter runs inside the browser tab, so the file is read from your disk, converted in memory and handed straight back to you.
That makes it a good fit for anything private: interview recordings, unreleased mixes, voice memos, client audio. It also means there is no queue and no daily limit. The speed depends on your device, not on a busy server.
Supported formats
You can convert audio between all the common formats, and pull the sound out of most video files. When you drop a video, the converter keeps the primary audio track and discards the picture.
- Audio inputs: MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG (Vorbis or Opus), Opus, AIFF and AIF.
- Video inputs: MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV. The audio track is extracted and the video is dropped.
| Output | Type | What you get | Browser support |
|---|---|---|---|
| MP3 | Lossy | LAME-based encoder, 128, 192, 256 or 320 kbps (192 by default) | All modern browsers |
| WAV | Lossless | 16-bit PCM at the source sample rate | All modern browsers |
| M4A | Lossy | AAC using the browser's own encoder | Chrome, Edge, Safari (Firefox may not support it) |
| FLAC | Lossless | 16-bit FLAC from AudioDrop's own encoder | All modern browsers |
| OGG | Lossy | Opus codec at 48 kHz | Chrome, Edge, Firefox |
| AIFF | Lossless | 16-bit PCM, the Apple-friendly uncompressed format | All modern browsers |
Which format should you convert to?
The right output depends on what happens to the file next. A quick rule: if you will edit it again, keep it lossless. If you will only listen to it or share it, a good lossy format saves a lot of space.
- MP3 for sharing, podcasts, car stereos and anything that must play everywhere.
- WAV for editing in a DAW, video editors, samplers and broadcast delivery.
- FLAC for archiving music without loss at roughly half the size of WAV.
- M4A for Apple devices, iTunes and Apple Music libraries.
- OGG (Opus) for web playback, games and small files that still sound clean.
- AIFF for Logic Pro, GarageBand and other Mac audio tools that prefer it.
File sizes at a glance
Size per minute is a useful way to compare formats. These are typical figures for stereo audio.
| Format and setting | Approx. size per minute | Lossless? |
|---|---|---|
| WAV or AIFF, 16-bit / 44.1 kHz | 10.1 MB | Yes |
| WAV, 24-bit / 48 kHz | 16.5 MB | Yes |
| FLAC, 16-bit / 44.1 kHz | about 5 to 7 MB | Yes |
| MP3, 320 kbps | 2.4 MB | No |
| MP3, 192 kbps | 1.44 MB | No |
| MP3, 128 kbps | 0.96 MB | No |
What conversion can and cannot do to quality
Converting from a lossless format such as WAV, FLAC or AIFF to another lossless format is exact at the sample level. AudioDrop writes 16-bit lossless files, so a 24-bit source is reduced to 16-bit, which is still CD quality and inaudible for listening.
Converting lossless to lossy throws some detail away by design. Pick a bitrate that suits the job: 320 kbps MP3 for music you care about, 192 kbps for general use, 128 kbps for speech.
Going the other way does not bring anything back. Converting an MP3 to WAV gives you a bigger file with exactly the same sound. And converting one lossy format to another, such as M4A to MP3, adds a second round of loss, so use 192 kbps or higher to keep it clean.
How the in-browser audio converter works
When you drop a file, the browser reads it locally. AudioDrop decodes it with the browser's WebCodecs support, falling back to other built-in decoders where needed, then encodes the result with WebCodecs and WebAssembly encoders. The finished file is created in memory and offered as a download.
- Files never leave your device, and there is no account or watermark.
- Once the page has loaded, conversion keeps working offline.
- Batch conversion runs several files in parallel, and each one downloads on its own.
- There is no fixed file size cap. Very long files are limited only by your device's memory.
- Tags and cover art may not all be carried across, so check them after converting if they matter.