Guide
Video to MP3 converter: save the sound of any video as an MP3
Drop a video above, pick a quality and press Extract MP3. You get the sound as an MP3, made in this tab, and your video is never uploaded.
In short
- This free converter saves the sound of a video as an MP3, right in your browser.
- 128 kbps is enough for speech, 192 kbps suits music, and 320 kbps is the highest MP3 quality.
- A minute of MP3 is 960 KB at 128 kbps, 1.4 MB at 192 kbps and 2.4 MB at 320 kbps.
- It also turns audio files into MP3, such as an M4A voice memo, a WAV or a FLAC.
- Your video is never uploaded, and you need no account.
Video to MP3
Runs in your browser · files never leave this page
Drop a video (or audio) file here
or
Bitrate
128 kbps ≈ 960 KB a minute · 192 kbps ≈ 1.4 MB a minute · 320 kbps ≈ 2.4 MB a minute
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 clipper · all tools
- A minute of MP3 at 128 kbps, enough for speech
- 960 KB
- A minute at 192 kbps, the default, for music
- 1.4 MB
- A minute at 320 kbps, the highest MP3 quality
- 2.4 MB
How to convert a video to MP3
Drop a video or an audio file in the box above and pick a bitrate: 128, 192 or 320 kbps. The size of the MP3 shows before you start.
Press Extract MP3 when you are ready. The picture is dropped and only the sound is saved. Your video stays on your computer, untouched, in case you need the picture again later.
- The tool accepts M4A, AAC, WAV, OGG, Opus and FLAC audio files as well as video, which is handy for a voice memo.
Saving the sound in five steps
Everything happens in this browser tab.
Drop a file
A video or an audio file
Pick a bitrate
192 kbps is the default
Check the size
Shown before you start
Press Extract MP3
Runs in this tab
Download
The sound only
How big the MP3 will be
An MP3's size is its bitrate times its length. One kilobit a second is 125 bytes a second, so 128 kbps is 16,000 bytes a second.
A minute at 128 kbps is 960,000 bytes, a little under 1 MB. The tool shows this sum for your own file before you start. The MP3 comes out at that size, plus a few bytes.
- The picture adds nothing, because it is dropped before the sound is saved.
- A 10-minute talk at 128 kbps is 9.6 MB as an MP3, however big the video was.
Size of one minute of MP3 at each bitrate
Bitrate × 125 × 60 seconds. The tool shows the same sum for your own file.
- 128 kbps960 KB
- 192 kbps1.4 MB
- 320 kbps2.4 MB
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Which bitrate to pick
Pick by what is in the sound. Speech needs little, so 128 kbps is plenty. A higher bitrate makes the file bigger, not the voice clearer.
320 kbps only helps when the video's own sound was recorded above 192 kbps. A phone usually records between 128 and 256 kbps. Saving that at 320 kbps makes the file bigger without making it clearer.
- Every MP3 loses a little quality, so choose the bitrate once and always convert from the original video.
- Do not turn an MP3 into another MP3, because it loses quality again.
Bitrates and what they suit
| Bitrate | Use it for | Size a minute |
|---|---|---|
| 128 kbps | Speech: a talk, a voice note, a lecture | 960 KB |
| 192 kbps (default) | Music. Most people hear no difference on earphones. | 1.4 MB |
| 320 kbps | Music from a recording made above 192 kbps, such as a studio file | 2.4 MB |
Bitrate: 128 kbps
- Use it for
- Speech: a talk, a voice note, a lecture
- Size a minute
- 960 KB
Bitrate: 192 kbps (default)
- Use it for
- Music. Most people hear no difference on earphones.
- Size a minute
- 1.4 MB
Bitrate: 320 kbps
- Use it for
- Music from a recording made above 192 kbps, such as a studio file
- Size a minute
- 2.4 MB
What goes into the MP3, and what is left out
The MP3 holds the sound and nothing else: no picture, no subtitles and no data tracks. It has no cover art and no tags, so add those in your music player if you want them.
If the video has two sound tracks, you get the first one. A video with no sound at all is stopped with a plain message instead of an empty MP3.
- A game recording with commentary on a second track gives you only the first track.
What is in the MP3
| Part of the file | In the MP3? |
|---|---|
| First sound track | Yes |
| Second sound track | No |
| Picture | No |
| Subtitles and data tracks | No |
| Cover art and tags | No |
Part of the file: First sound track
- In the MP3?
- Yes
Part of the file: Second sound track
- In the MP3?
- No
Part of the file: Picture
- In the MP3?
- No
Part of the file: Subtitles and data tracks
- In the MP3?
- No
Part of the file: Cover art and tags
- In the MP3?
- No
Nothing is uploaded, and the limits
The tool runs ffmpeg, a free video program, inside your browser. It downloads once, about 32 MB, and then opens your file in this tab. Nothing is sent to a server or stored.
Saving only the sound is quick. Even on one thread, the MP3 is usually done before the video would finish playing. The picture is skipped and never decoded.
- The tool warns above 500 MB, because the whole file still has to open in the tab.
- If the tab runs out of memory, trim the video with our free video trimmer, then save the sound of that part.
- If the file will not open, convert it with our free MP4 converter first. A file that cannot be read at all is rare, and usually damaged.
The limits at a glance
| Item | Limit |
|---|---|
| Engine download | About 32 MB, once per visit |
| Size warning | Above 500 MB |
| Bitrates | 128, 192 or 320 kbps |
| Time | Usually less than the video's length |
Item: Engine download
- Limit
- About 32 MB, once per visit
Item: Size warning
- Limit
- Above 500 MB
Item: Bitrates
- Limit
- 128, 192 or 320 kbps
Item: Time
- Limit
- Usually less than the video's length
From the sound to a finished video
People save the sound of a video for a podcast, a transcript or a voice-over. If the video is you talking, your voice is also what a finished social video is built on.
Cutroom builds that video for you. Film one clip of up to three minutes and upload it. It comes back as a finished 9:16 video in about a minute.
- Cutroom cuts the pauses, adds captions timed to your voice, puts b-roll on the phrases you highlight and writes an opening headline.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have seven days to make it.
- The free video carries a Cutroom mark. Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
- The MP3 tool above stays free and stays in your browser either way.
Your voice, with captions on every word
The captions are written from what you said, in one of the caption styles.
Shout
Clean
Hollow
Neon
Duotone
Press
Bubble
Pour
Questions people ask
- How do I convert a video to MP3?
- Drop the video in the box above, pick 128, 192 or 320 kbps and press Extract MP3. The picture is dropped, and the sound is saved as an MP3 in your browser. Your video is never uploaded.
- Does converting video to MP3 lose quality?
- A little, once, because MP3 is a compressed format. At 192 kbps and above, most people cannot hear the difference on earphones. If you need the sound with nothing lost, use a desktop program that saves WAV or FLAC.
- Which bitrate should I choose?
- 128 kbps for speech, and 192 kbps for music, which is the default here. Pick 320 kbps only when the video's sound was recorded above 192 kbps, which a phone's rarely is. The size shows before you start.
- Is my video uploaded to get the MP3?
- No. The tool runs in this tab after a one-time download of about 32 MB. Nothing is sent, nothing is stored, and closing the tab clears everything except the MP3 you downloaded.
- Can I convert an M4A, a WAV or a voice memo to MP3 here?
- Yes. The tool accepts audio files as well as video, and writes an MP3 from any of them. A voice memo is fine at 128 kbps, and a WAV or FLAC keeps the most at 320 kbps.
- What if my video has two sound tracks?
- You get the first one. A game recording with commentary on a second track gives you only the first track. A video with no sound at all is stopped with a plain message instead of an empty MP3.
- Who should not use this video to MP3 converter?
- Anyone who needs the sound with no loss at all, for mastering or archiving: that is a WAV or FLAC file from a desktop program. The same goes for a video over about 500 MB. If the sound is you talking to the camera, Cutroom keeps the whole video and edits it for you.
Save the sound above, or turn your video into a finished one with Cutroom. Your first video is free.