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M4A to MP3 Converter

Turn M4A files from your iPhone, iTunes or a podcast app into MP3s that play on every phone, car stereo and editor. Several at once, converted on your device.

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MP3 bitrate
Sample rate

Converted on your device; nothing is uploaded. M4A files are usually AAC, which is already compressed, so converting adds a little loss; at 192 kbps or more it is very hard to hear. Apple Lossless (ALAC) M4A files don't open in Chrome or Edge.

How to convert M4A to MP3

  1. Choose one or more M4A files (up to 20 at a time). Voice memos, iTunes songs, .m4b audiobooks and other audio files all work.
  2. Keep MP3 and pick a bitrate: 192 kbps for music, 128 kbps for speech, 320 kbps for the largest, highest-quality MP3. Tick Mono for a single voice.
  3. Press Convert, listen to each MP3 and download it, or download them all as a ZIP.

What is an M4A file?

M4A is an MPEG-4 audio file, the format Apple uses for iTunes Store songs, GarageBand exports and iPhone voice memos, and many podcast and recorder apps use it too. The sound inside is almost always AAC, a newer compressed codec than MP3, so the files are small. The catch is that some older car stereos and MP3 players, and some apps and upload forms, accept only MP3. Converting gives you a copy that works everywhere; keep the M4A as your original.

Bitrate and file size

The MP3s are constant bitrate, so the size is the bitrate ÷ 8 bytes a second. A 3-minute song from the iTunes Store (256 kbps AAC) is about 256,000 ÷ 8 × 180 = 5,760,000 bytes, 5.49 MB. As an MP3 at 192 kbps it becomes 192,000 ÷ 8 × 180 = 4,320,000 bytes, which the tool shows as 4.12 MB; at 320 kbps it is 6.87 MB. A 10-minute voice memo saved as a mono MP3 at 64 kbps is 4,800,000 bytes, 4.58 MB, which is small enough to email. The encoder adds a frame or two of padding, so real files are a fraction larger.

Example: an audiobook

A 3-hour .m4b audiobook at 64 kbps: 64,000 ÷ 8 × 10,800 seconds = 86,400,000 bytes (82.40 MB) as an MP3 at 64 kbps. Because it is longer than 45 minutes, the converter reads the sound a block at a time and feeds each block to the MP3 encoder, instead of decoding three hours of audio into memory at once (this uses the browser's WebCodecs audio decoder, in Chrome, Edge, Firefox on a computer and Safari 26). Chapters are not split; use the Audio cutter to cut out a part.

Tips

  • Need WAV, FLAC or OGG instead? The Audio converter is the same engine with every format. For the sound of an MP4 video, use MP4 to MP3.
  • Only convert audio you own or have permission to use.

MP3 files are encoded with LAME (lamejs 1.2.1, licensed under the LGPL-3.0), which is loaded unmodified as a separate file. Licence and source code.

Video files are read and written with Mediabunny 1.61.3 (Mozilla Public License 2.0), loaded unmodified as a separate file, and coded by your browser's own video and audio encoders (WebCodecs). Mediabunny reads the M4A's tags and cover art and, for long files, hands the sound over a piece at a time. Licence and source code.

Frequently asked questions

Are my M4A files uploaded?

No. Each file is decoded and turned into an MP3 inside your browser, so voice memos, interviews and unreleased music never leave your device.

Will converting M4A to MP3 lose quality?

A little, because both are compressed formats: the AAC sound in the M4A is decoded and compressed again as MP3. At 192 kbps or more the difference is very hard to hear. Choosing a higher bitrate than the M4A had (songs from the iTunes Store are 256 kbps) makes a bigger file but doesn't add detail.

Does it keep the song title, artist and album art?

Yes. With MP3 selected, the title, artist, album, track number, year, genre and front cover are copied into the MP3's ID3 tag, which music players, phones and car stereos read. Untick "Keep the title, artist, album and cover art" to leave them out, for example when a voice memo is named after the place it was recorded.

Can I convert iPhone voice memos?

Yes. Share the memo from the Voice Memos app (Save to Files, AirDrop or email), then choose it here. Memos recorded with the Lossless audio quality setting are Apple Lossless (ALAC), which Chrome and Edge can't decode; the list tells you when a file is one of those.

Can it convert long audiobooks and podcasts?

Yes, including .m4b audiobooks. In Chrome, Edge, Firefox on a computer and Safari 26, anything over 45 minutes or 300 MB is converted to MP3 a piece at a time, so files up to 2 GB fit in memory; the MP3 keeps the file's own sample rate. Other browsers, such as Firefox for Android, decode the whole file at once instead: up to 3 hours and 300 MB, as far as the device's memory allows.

Why won't some M4A files convert?

Copy-protected songs bought before DRM-free iTunes Plus (.m4p files) can't be decoded by any browser, Apple Lossless needs a browser that decodes ALAC, and a damaged or half-downloaded file has no complete sound to read. Everything else that plays in your browser converts.

More video and audio tools

Audio CutterTrim MP3, WAV or M4A by dragging on the waveform, keep or remove a part, add fades and save as MP3 or WAV.Audio JoinerMerge MP3, WAV and M4A files into one track with a silence gap or a crossfade, as MP3, WAV or FLAC.Video to AudioExtract the sound from an MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV video as MP3, WAV or FLAC, in your browser.Audio to WAV ConverterConvert MP3, M4A, OGG or FLAC to WAV at 48, 44.1, 22.05, 16 or 8 kHz, in 16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit float.Audio Speed ChangerSpeed up or slow down audio from 0.25× to 4×, keeping the pitch or changing it like a tape.Audio Normalizer & Silence TrimmerNormalise to −14, −16 or −23 LUFS or a −1 dB peak, trim silence and convert to mono, with a loudness reading.

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