To convert MP4 to WAV for free, drop the video above and click Convert: the first audio track is extracted and saved as an uncompressed 16-bit PCM WAV, keeping the original sample rate and channels. Files up to 95 MB are converted on our compute server (native ffmpeg) and erased as soon as the result is sent, larger ones (up to 1 GB) in your browser — and the WAV opens in any audio editor, DAW or transcription service.
Why WAV rather than MP3
- Editing: Audacity, GarageBand, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve and every DAW work on WAV directly, with no decoding step and exact cuts.
- No further loss: each time an MP3 is edited and saved again, it loses a little more. A WAV can be edited and saved as often as needed.
- Transcription and broadcast: some transcription services, radio stations and podcast platforms ask specifically for WAV.
- Sampling and sound design: samplers and sound-effect libraries expect PCM audio.
Honest limit: WAV does not add quality. The sound inside an MP4 is usually compressed AAC; converting it to WAV keeps exactly that sound, it does not restore what the compression removed.
How big will the WAV be?
| Source audio | WAV size per minute | 1 hour |
|---|---|---|
| Stereo, 44.1 kHz (music, most videos) | About 10.6 MB | About 635 MB |
| Stereo, 48 kHz (phones, cameras) | About 11.5 MB | About 690 MB |
| Mono, 48 kHz (voice recordings) | About 5.8 MB | About 345 MB |
A WAV is typically 8 to 12 times larger than the same audio in AAC or MP3. For sharing, keep MP3; for editing, use WAV, then export the final mix in a compressed format.
Good to know
- Only the first audio track of the video is extracted. Videos with several language tracks give the first one.
- Sample rate and channels are kept as in the video: no resampling, no mixing down.
- The video picture is ignored, so conversion is fast: it is mostly a decoding job.
- Need a smaller file instead? MP4 to MP3 extracts the sound as MP3.