Guide
Extract audio from video: WAV or MP3, in your browser
Drop any video above, choose WAV or MP3 and save its sound as its own file. The video never leaves your device.
In short
- This tool saves the sound of any video as its own file, in WAV or MP3.
- WAV is the default. It keeps the sound untouched in 16-bit, which is what editors want.
- MP3 is the other choice, at 192 kbps. It is small and plays anywhere.
- It takes MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI and most other video files.
- Your file is not uploaded. The whole thing runs inside this browser tab.
Extract audio
Runs in your browser · files never leave this page
Drop a video here
or
Format
16-bit stereo at 48 kHz ≈ 12 MB a minute. Rate × channels × 2 bytes × seconds.
Your file never leaves this page. The engine downloads once, the work happens in this tab, and there is no upload, no account and no storage. Close the tab and the file is gone unless you downloaded it.
More free tools: Video compressor · Video resizer · Video to MP4 · Video to MP3 · Video clipper · all tools
WAV or MP3: which should you pick?
Pick by what you are going to do with the sound next.
- Pick WAV when the sound goes into another tool, like an editor or a transcriber.
- Pick MP3 when a person is simply going to listen to it.
Pick the format by your plan
| Your plan | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Edit the sound in an audio editor | WAV | Nothing is compressed again |
| Send it to a transcription tool | WAV | The cleanest input |
| Share a podcast episode | MP3 at 192 kbps | Good sound, small file |
| Keep voice notes | MP3 at 128 kbps | Speech needs less |
| Listen in the car or on a phone | MP3 | Plays anywhere |
Your plan: Edit the sound in an audio editor
- Pick
- WAV
- Why
- Nothing is compressed again
Your plan: Send it to a transcription tool
- Pick
- WAV
- Why
- The cleanest input
Your plan: Share a podcast episode
- Pick
- MP3 at 192 kbps
- Why
- Good sound, small file
Your plan: Keep voice notes
- Pick
- MP3 at 128 kbps
- Why
- Speech needs less
Your plan: Listen in the car or on a phone
- Pick
- MP3
- Why
- Plays anywhere
Which videos it takes
Almost any video file on your device.
- Phone videos work, both MP4 from Android and MOV from an iPhone.
- Browser recordings in WebM and screen recordings in MKV both work.
- Older files work too, including AVI, WMV, FLV, 3GP, MPG and TS.
- Audio files are accepted as well: M4A, AAC, OGG, Opus and FLAC.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to extract the audio from a video
Four steps, all in this tab. Only the sound is read, never the picture, so even a long recording is quick.
From video to sound file
Drop your video
In the box at the top
Choose WAV or MP3
WAV is the default
Press Extract
The picture is dropped
Download the sound
Saved to your device
What people use it for
People use it when the sound matters and the picture does not.
- You can reuse your own recorded voice as the voice-over in another video.
- You can send the sound of an interview straight to a transcription tool.
- You can turn a filmed talk into a podcast episode.
- You can clean up noisy sound in an audio editor, which needs the sound as its own file.
- Use it on videos you made yourself, or have the rights to.
Limits of a browser tool
Everything runs on your own device, so your device sets the limits.
- File size: up to 500 MB runs comfortably. Bigger files may run out of memory.
- Speed: the engine uses one processor core, so a long re-encode takes minutes.
- First run: the engine downloads once, about 32 MB. After that it starts fast.
- Phones: it works, but a laptop is faster and has more memory.
- If the video has no sound track, the tool says so instead of making an empty file.
Questions people ask
- How do I extract audio from a video for free?
- Drop the video in the box above, pick WAV or MP3 and press Extract. The sound downloads as its own file, with no account and no watermark.
- Is WAV or MP3 better?
- WAV is better for editing and transcripts, because nothing is compressed again. MP3 is better for listening and sharing: a 128 kbps MP3 is about a twelfth the size of a 48 kHz stereo WAV.
- Does it work on iPhone videos?
- Yes. iPhone videos are MOV or MP4, and both work. Open this page on the iPhone itself, or copy the video to a computer first.
- Can I remove the audio from a video instead?
- Yes, but that is a different tool. The free mute video tool keeps the picture and drops the sound.
- Is my video uploaded anywhere?
- No. The tool runs inside this browser tab, so your video never leaves your device. Only the engine itself is downloaded, about 32 MB, once per visit.
Want a finished video with captions, not just an audio file? Cutroom edits your clip for you. Your first video is free.