WAV to AAC

To convert WAV to AAC, first pick your bitrate from the Bitrate dropdown above the drop area (192k is the recommended default), then drag and drop your WAV files onto the drop area, or click it to choose them, and conversion to AAC starts automatically in your browser. You can add several files at once. Set the bitrate before adding files, because it is read at the moment each file is converted. Files are processed one after another, and each finished AAC appears as a row showing its new filename, its size, an inline preview player, and a Download button; the whole job runs locally through a WebAssembly build of FFmpeg, so nothing is uploaded.

Yes, some quality is lost, because WAV is uncompressed lossless audio while AAC is a lossy format that discards data to shrink the file, but AAC is efficient enough that at 192 kbps or higher most listeners will not hear a difference from the original WAV on normal playback gear. A higher bitrate throws away less, so choose 256 or 320 kbps for music you care about. The change is permanent: converting the AAC back to WAV later will not restore what was removed.

It is completely free with no signup, no account, no watermark and no software to install, and it is private because the conversion happens entirely inside your own browser using a WebAssembly build of FFmpeg, which means your WAV files are never uploaded to any server and confidential recordings never leave your device. The only download is the converter itself, a one-time file of about 32 MB the first time you convert. Your browser caches it, so later conversions start instantly.

There is no size limit imposed by this site, because your files are never uploaded anywhere in the first place. The only real limit is your own device's memory, and there is no upload wait and no queue no matter how long the recording is. Since WAV runs around 10 MB per minute in CD-quality stereo, files get big fast. Very large files, roughly over a few hundred MB, can be slow or exhaust memory on a phone, so use a desktop browser for long recordings.

Pick 192 kbps, the default, for a good balance of quality and size for most music and voice; choose 256 or 320 kbps when you want the AAC to stay as close to the source WAV as possible; and drop to 128 or 96 kbps for spoken word like podcasts or audiobooks where a small file matters more. Because AAC is more efficient than MP3, an AAC file usually sounds better than an MP3 at the same bitrate. Higher bitrates simply mean bigger files.

Convert to AAC rather than MP3 when you want better sound at the same file size or you are working in the Apple ecosystem, since AAC is the successor to MP3, generally sounds better at an identical bitrate, and is the standard format on Apple devices and YouTube. MP3 is still the most universally compatible audio format there is, so choose it if the file must play on absolutely anything, including old hardware. If you want AAC inside an Apple-friendly container, convert to M4A instead.

Yes, it works in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, with nothing to install and no app to download, because the converter runs on the web page itself. The AAC files it produces play natively on iPhones, Macs and Android devices, which is a big part of why people convert WAV to AAC. On a phone, stick to shorter files: long recordings are better handled by a desktop browser, which has far more memory to work with.