Convert FLAC to MP3
Lossless at home, something that fits on the phone.
Drop files here
or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: FLAC
Up to 3 files per runUp to 150 MB per file5 runs per dayRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Example: a 3-minute FLAC track for the car, at 320, 192 and 128 kbps
track03.flac is a 3:00 song ripped from a CD, 18 MB as FLAC, and the car stereo’s USB port only plays MP3. Drop it, choose a bit rate and convert. The MP3 is written at a constant bit rate, so its size depends only on the length and the rate, not on how big the FLAC was.
- Drop track03.flac; at 18 MB it is well under this page’s free limit of 150 MB a file.
- Choose 320 kbps for listening in the car, and leave Channels on Keep as it is (stereo).
- Convert: track03.mp3 downloads. Size = bit rate × length ÷ 8: 320,000 × 180 ÷ 8 = 7,200,000 bytes, about 7.2 MB.
| Bit rate | track03.mp3 (3:00) | Per minute | Compared with the 18 MB FLAC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 320 kbps | 7.2 MB | 2.4 MB | 2.5 × smaller |
| 192 kbps (the default) | 4.3 MB | 1.44 MB | 4.2 × smaller |
| 128 kbps | 2.9 MB | 0.96 MB | 6.3 × smaller |
A 12-track album of 3-minute songs at 320 kbps comes to about 86 MB of MP3 (12 × 7.2 MB). The free plan converts 3 files per run and 5 runs a day, so the 12 tracks take 4 runs. Keep the FLAC files: they are the copy you can convert again at another rate.
How it works
- Drop the .flac files on the box.
- Choose 320 kbps if the point is listening, 192 if the point is space.
- Press convert.
- Download the MP3s, and keep the FLAC files — they are the copy you can convert again.
Frequently asked questions
- Am I losing anything?
- Yes, permanently, and that is the trade. FLAC is lossless: it is bit-for-bit the original. MP3 throws part of it away to get five or six times smaller. At 320 kbps very few people can hear the difference on ordinary equipment, but it is gone — which is why the FLAC is the one to keep.
- Why not convert the other way?
- You can put an MP3 into a FLAC container, but it will not be lossless — it will be the MP3's sound, stored losslessly, at several times the size. Nothing recovers what the MP3 discarded.
- Does it handle 24-bit and high sample rates?
- It decodes them, and the MP3 comes out at a rate MP3 allows, which tops out at 48 kHz. A 96 kHz 24-bit master converts; it simply does not stay 96 kHz, because MP3 has no such thing.
- Are the title, artist and cover art kept?
- Yes. The title, artist, album, album artist, track number, year, genre and front cover in the file’s tags are written into the MP3 as an ID3v2.3 tag, the kind car stereos and phones read. A file without tags gives an MP3 without tags; add them in your player or in something like Mp3tag.
- How big will the MP3 be?
- Bit rate × length, whatever the FLAC was: per minute of sound, 2.4 MB at 320 kbps, 1.44 MB at 192 and 0.96 MB at 128. A 3-minute track is about 7.2 MB, 4.3 MB or 2.9 MB. Mix down to mono keeps the same bit rate, so it does not make the file smaller by itself.
- My FLAC is over 150 MB. What can I do?
- Few are: 150 MB of CD-quality FLAC is roughly 25 to 35 minutes, so a single track fits with room to spare. A whole album ripped as one file, or a long 24-bit recording, can go over; Pro removes the per-file limit.
- What are the free limits?
- Three files per run, 150 MB per file and 5 runs a day. Pro removes all three.