Subformer
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WAV
MP3

WAV to MP3 Converter

Shrink a WAV file down to MP3 for easier sharing and streaming — free, private, in your browser.

Why convert WAV to MP3?

WAV files are uncompressed, which is great for audio editing but murder on storage and bandwidth — a three-minute song can easily hit 30-40 MB. Converting to MP3 typically cuts the size by 90% while keeping the audio virtually indistinguishable to the human ear. That makes MP3 the right pick for podcast uploads, attaching voice memos to email, or moving music onto a player with limited space.

The encoder we use produces CBR (constant bitrate) MP3 at a high-quality default. There's a quality cost — MP3 is lossy and WAV is not — but at 192 kbps the difference is inaudible in anything but ABX tests. Everything runs locally in your browser; on Chrome and Safari we use the browser's native MP3 encoder, on Firefox we lazily download a small LAME encoder (~100 KB) on first use.

WAV

About WAV

WAV is uncompressed PCM audio — lossless, large, and ideal for editing workflows where every re-encode would add degradation.

MP3

About MP3

MP3 is the most universally compatible lossy audio format — plays on every phone, car stereo, and audio player ever made.

How to convert WAV to MP3

  1. 01

    Drop your WAV file

    Drag a WAV onto the converter above, or click the box to pick one from your device.

  2. 02

    MP3 is already selected

    We've preselected MP3 as the output format. Change it from the dropdown if you want a different target.

  3. 03

    Convert and download

    Click Convert and wait for the progress bar to finish. Download the MP3 when it's ready.

WAV to MP3 FAQ

See all formats →