WAV to FLAC Converter

A folder of WAV files is the most expensive way to store audio that you may never edit again. FLAC packs the same samples into roughly half to two-thirds of the space and adds proper tags, so it is the usual choice for archives, backups and music libraries.

or drop MP3, WAV, M4A … files here ·

Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes

Output

Convert to

Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.

How to use this tool

1
Add the WAV files
Upload up to 20 recordings or CD tracks, each up to 95 MB. Mono and stereo files are both fine.
2
Check the bit depth
The page starts at 24-bit so studio and field recordings are never truncated. For CD rips, set Bit depth to 16-bit in Advanced settings; nothing is gained by padding them.
3
Press Convert to FLAC
Each WAV is compressed losslessly. Download the files individually or as a ZIP; uploads are removed after 30 minutes.

WAV to FLAC is compression without compromise: the FLAC decodes to exactly the samples you uploaded, in about half the space.

Why archive WAV recordings as FLAC

WAV dates from 1991, when Microsoft and IBM defined it as a simple container for PCM samples. Simplicity is its strength in an editor and its weakness on a drive: an hour of CD-quality stereo is over 600 MB, and a 24-bit 96 kHz session file is more than three times that.

FLAC appeared in 2001 as Josh Coalson's open, royalty-free alternative, and it has been maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation since 2003. It predicts each sample from the ones before it and stores only the small error, which is why quiet or sparse recordings compress better than loud ones. Home studios, podcasters keeping raw takes and anyone ripping CDs use it to cut storage costs without making a lossy decision they might regret. When you only need a small listening copy, WAV to MP3 is the better tool.

WAV, FLAC, AIFF and ALAC: what each lossless format supports

from ↓ · to →	Lossless	Compressed	Embedded cover art	Apple Music app
WAV	WAV to Lossless: yes	– WAV to Compressed: no	– WAV to Embedded cover art: no	WAV to Apple Music app: yes
FLAC	FLAC to Lossless: yes	FLAC to Compressed: yes	FLAC to Embedded cover art: yes	– FLAC to Apple Music app: no
AIFF	AIFF to Lossless: yes	– AIFF to Compressed: no	AIFF to Embedded cover art: yes	AIFF to Apple Music app: yes
ALAC	ALAC to Lossless: yes	ALAC to Compressed: yes	ALAC to Embedded cover art: yes	ALAC to Apple Music app: yes

supported not offeredAIFF stores artwork in an ID3 chunk that Apple apps read but some players ignore. WAV tag support is limited to a basic INFO chunk.

WAV to FLAC converter: trade-offs before you delete the WAVs

What you gain

Typically 30 to 50 percent less disk space
Identical audio, verifiable with the built-in MD5 checksum
Real tags and embedded cover art via Vorbis comments
Open format with no licensing fees

What to check first

Recorder timecode and BWF notes are not carried over
Some samplers, CD burners and older DJ players need WAV again
Apple's Music app does not import FLAC
Converting a 16-bit file at 24-bit only adds empty bits

Set Bit depth to match what your recorder or ripper wrote. Truncating a 24-bit take to 16-bit is the one setting on this page that throws information away, while the reverse wastes a little space. Leave Sample rate and Channels on Same as source; a lossless archive should be a faithful copy, not a resample.

Turn on Keep tags and cover art so any title or artist stored in the WAV's INFO chunk moves into FLAC's tag block, where every music player can read it. If a project later needs PCM again, FLAC to WAV restores it exactly.

WAV vs FLAC at a glance

WAV

Waveform Audio File

WAV is an audio container created by Microsoft and IBM in 1991, usually holding uncompressed PCM audio. It preserves full quality, which makes it standard for recording, editing, sound effects and mastering. A minute of CD-quality stereo takes about 10 MB, so files are large. Every operating system, editor and most players open WAV, though metadata support is limited.

Compression: Lossless
Transparency: –
Animation: –
Introduced: 1991 · Microsoft and IBM

WAV converter

FLAC

Free Lossless Audio Codec

FLAC is an open-source lossless audio codec released by Josh Coalson in 2001 and now maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. It reduces audio to about 50–70% of the original size without losing any quality, so a FLAC file can be decoded back to an exact copy of the source. It supports high resolutions and rich metadata and is popular for CD rips and hi-res music downloads. Files are much larger than MP3, and some Apple apps and older devices have limited support.

Compression: Lossless
Transparency: –
Animation: –
Introduced: 2001 · Xiph.Org Foundation (Josh Coalson)

FLAC converter

WAV recordings and CD rips fill drives at about 10 MB a minute and carry almost no reliable tags, so people archive them as FLAC, which keeps every sample, adds proper titles and artwork, and takes roughly half the space.

WAV to FLAC: common questions

Will a FLAC made from my WAV sound any different?

No. FLAC is lossless: when the file is played or decoded, the samples are identical to the WAV you uploaded, provided Bit depth and Sample rate match the source. The only differences are file size and the extra tag support.

How much space does WAV to FLAC save?

It depends on the material. Quiet speech, solo piano and recordings with lots of silence often shrink to around 40 to 50 percent of the WAV; dense, loud rock or electronic music usually lands near 60 to 70 percent. White noise barely compresses at all.

Can I prove the FLAC still matches the original?

Every FLAC stores an MD5 checksum of its decoded audio in the STREAMINFO header. Running flac -t on the file, or a verify command in foobar2000, decodes it and compares against that checksum, so corruption shows up immediately.

Which apps will open the FLAC files?

Windows 10 and later, Android, VLC, foobar2000 and most network music players read FLAC natively, and iPhones play it from the Files app since iOS 11. Apple's Music app is the main holdout; for an Apple library, FLAC to ALAC is the next step.

What happens to BWF markers and timecode from my recorder?

Broadcast Wave files from field recorders carry a bext chunk with timecode and notes. FLAC has no equivalent field, so that information is not carried over. Keep the original WAV if your editing workflow depends on timecode sync.

Does the FLAC compression level change the quality?

No. FLAC levels 0 to 8 only trade encoding time against file size; the reference encoder uses level 5 by default. Every level decodes to the same samples.