Convert FLAC to MP3

What is FLAC?

FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. It shrinks audio to roughly half the size of WAV without throwing away any detail, which makes it popular for archiving music at CD quality or higher and for downloads from Bandcamp, Qobuz and other stores.

Why convert FLAC to MP3?

FLAC files are large, often 25 to 40 MB per song, and some phones, car stereos, older iPods and apps can't play them. MP3 plays almost everywhere and takes a fraction of the space, so a whole album fits where a few FLAC tracks would.

How to convert FLAC to MP3

Drop a single track or a whole album above. On Auto, FLAC is encoded at 192 kbps. For music you care about, pick 256 or 320 kbps in the options panel. Press Convert all and download the MP3s one by one or as one ZIP. Keep metadata, on by default, carries the title, artist and album tags over where the encoder can.

Quality notes

Most listeners can't tell a 256 or 320 kbps MP3 from the FLAC on everyday headphones and speakers, and the file is about a fifth to a quarter of the size. MP3 can't store more than 48 kHz, so high-resolution 88.2 or 96 kHz FLACs should be set to 44,100 or 48,000 Hz in the options. Keep the FLAC as your archive copy.

Before you start

Input: FLAC. Output: MP3. The settings appear before anything runs, so you can check them first. Your original file is never changed.

Converting audio can change the codec, bitrate, channels, tags and length. Listen to the start and end of the result. Keep a lossless original if you may edit it again.

Keep the original until you have opened and checked the result. The work happens in this browser tab, so the size you can handle depends on your device's memory, your browser and the file itself.

Steps to convert FLAC to MP3

1. Drop your .flac files above, or browse to select them.
2. Pick 256 or 320 kbps for music, or leave the bitrate on Auto.
3. Press Convert all. Decoding and MP3 encoding run in your browser.
4. Download each MP3, or all of them as a ZIP.