How to convert MP3 to WAV

Five methods that work, what each one is good at, and the settings to pick once you get there. Start with the browser if you just want the file.

Method 1: in your browser

Nothing to install, and the file stays on your computer because the conversion runs in the page itself.

1. Open the MP3 to WAV converter. Drag your files onto it, or use the file picker. Several at once is fine.
2. Leave the settings alone unless you have a reason. You get 16-bit at the source sample rate, which is what most software wants.
3. Download. Each file gets its own button. With two or more converted, take them all in one ZIP.

This is the fastest route for a handful of files and the only one on this page where you never install anything. The limit is memory: very long recordings are better handled by ffmpeg.

Method 2: Audacity

Free, open source, and available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Worth having if you edit audio at all, and it shows you the waveform so you can check what you actually converted.

1. Open the MP3. Drag it into the Audacity window, or use File then Open.
2. Choose File, then Export Audio. In versions before 3.4 the path is File, Export, Export as WAV.
3. Set the format. Pick WAV (Microsoft) and, for encoding, Signed 16-bit PCM. Choose 24-bit only if something downstream asked for it.
4. Check the project rate. The number in the bottom left corner is the sample rate Audacity will export. Set it to 44100 for CD work or 48000 for video.
5. Export. Audacity will offer to fill in metadata. You can skip that, since WAV handles tags poorly anyway.

For a folder of files, import them all and use File, Export, Export Multiple. Audacity writes one WAV per track using the track names.

Method 3: VLC

VLC converts audio, though the interface makes it harder than it needs to be. Reach for this when VLC is already installed and you would rather not add anything else.

1. Open Media, then Convert / Save. On macOS the menu is File, then Convert / Stream.
2. Add your MP3 and click Convert / Save again.
3. Choose the Audio - CD profile. That profile writes 16-bit PCM in a WAV container. If you want different settings, click the tool icon beside the profile and set Encapsulation to WAV and the audio codec to WAV.
4. Set the destination file and type the .wav extension yourself. VLC does not always add it, and a file without an extension confuses other programs.
5. Click Start. The progress bar is the playback slider, which is confusing the first time. When it reaches the end, the file is written.

Method 4: ffmpeg

The right tool for hundreds of files, or for anything you want to repeat exactly. It is a command line program, and the basic form is short:

ffmpeg -i input.mp3 output.wav

That produces a 16-bit WAV at the source sample rate. To be explicit about the format, which is worth doing when someone has specified requirements:

ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -acodec pcm_s16le -ar 44100 output.wav

Useful variations: -ar 48000 for video work, -ac 1 to downmix to mono, and -acodec pcm_s24le for 24-bit.

To convert a whole folder on macOS or Linux:

for f in *.mp3; do ffmpeg -i "$f" "${f%.mp3}.wav"; done

And in Windows Command Prompt:

for %f in (*.mp3) do ffmpeg -i "%f" "%~nf.wav"

Method 5: Apple Music or iTunes

Handy if your audio already lives in an Apple library, though it changes a setting that affects future imports, so remember to change it back.

1. Open the import settings. In the Music app on macOS: Music, Settings, Files, Import Settings. In iTunes on Windows: Edit, Preferences, General, Import Settings.
2. Set Import Using to WAV Encoder and click OK.
3. Select your track, then File, Convert, Create WAV Version. A second copy appears in your library.
4. Find the file by right clicking the new version and choosing Show in Finder or Show in Windows Explorer.
5. Put the import setting back to AAC or MP3, or every CD you rip from now on will fill your drive.

Which method to pick

Settings that matter

Three numbers describe a WAV, and for an MP3 source the sensible choices are unglamorous.

• Bit depth: 16. An MP3 has nowhere near enough detail to justify 24-bit. Use 24 only when a studio, broadcaster, or client specifies it.
• Sample rate: whatever the MP3 already is. Resampling is an extra processing step that can only lose accuracy. Change it to 44100 for CD burning or 48000 for video timelines.
• Channels: leave as stereo for music. Mono halves the size and is right for speech, but it collapses a stereo mix permanently.

What each setting actually changes goes into more detail if you want it.

When something goes wrong

The WAV is enormous. That is normal. Uncompressed audio costs about 10 MB per minute in stereo at 44.1 kHz 16-bit, so a 4 MB MP3 becoming a 40 MB WAV is the expected result rather than a fault.

The sample rate changed by itself. Some converters resample everything to whatever the sound card runs at. Check the source rate first, then set it explicitly. The converter here reads the rate from the MP3 header and keeps it.

Another program will not open the WAV. Older software sometimes rejects 24-bit or 32-bit float files. Re-export as 16-bit PCM, which everything reads.

The file is silent. Usually a copy protected file rather than a plain MP3, for example an M4P bought from the iTunes Store before 2009. No converter can open those.

There is a faint click at the start. MP3 adds a small amount of silent padding at the beginning and end of the audio, which can show up as a click after conversion. Trim the first few milliseconds in any audio editor.

Audacity asks for extra libraries. Older versions needed a separate FFmpeg library to import some formats. Recent versions handle MP3 out of the box, so updating usually solves it.

Common questions