Convert MP4 to MP3 (extract audio)
Pull the soundtrack out of a video and save it as MP3, M4A or WAV. A real FFmpeg engine runs inside your browser, so a lecture recording, a voice note captured on video or a song in a clip never leaves your device.
Drop files here or click to browse
Results
How to convert MP4 to MP3 (extract audio)
- Drop one or more video files. MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV and AVI all work.
- Choose MP3, M4A or WAV, and a bitrate for MP3 and M4A.
- Click extract. The engine downloads once (~32 MB), then runs on your device.
- Download the audio file, or all of them as a ZIP.
Why extract audio from a video
A lot of useful audio is trapped inside video files: a recorded lecture or webinar you only want to listen to, a voice note someone sent as a video, a podcast published on YouTube, a song from a concert clip, an interview recorded on a phone camera. The video part is often ten to fifty times larger than the audio, and useless if you are going to listen on the move. Extracting the audio gives you a small file that plays on any phone, in any music app, and in the car.
How the extraction works
The tool above runs FFmpeg inside your browser. It opens the video container, discards the video stream and re-encodes only the audio stream into the format you choose. Because no video is decoded or encoded, it is fast: an hour of footage typically takes a minute or two on a laptop. The engine is a one-time 32 MB download, cached after the first run, and the video itself never leaves your device.
Which format to choose
| Format | Size per minute | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| MP3, 128 kbps | ~1 MB | Speech: lectures, meetings, voice notes, podcasts |
| MP3, 192 kbps | ~1.4 MB | Everyday default; music sounds good, plays everywhere |
| MP3, 320 kbps | ~2.4 MB | Music you care about; no audible difference above this |
| M4A (AAC), 192 kbps | ~1.4 MB | Apple devices, iTunes, slightly better quality than MP3 at the same size |
| WAV | ~10 MB | Editing in an audio program, transcription tools, mastering |
The audio inside most videos is AAC at 128 to 256 kbps, so choosing a much higher bitrate does not add quality; it only adds size. 192 kbps MP3 is the sensible default. Pick WAV only if you are going to edit the audio, since it is lossless but large.
Common uses
- Turning a recorded Zoom or Teams meeting into an audio file to listen back to.
- Saving the audio of a lecture, sermon or talk for a phone.
- Getting a voice recording that was captured on the camera app into a transcription tool.
- Extracting a song from a home video or a concert clip.
- Preparing audio for a podcast edit from a video interview.
- Pulling narration out of a screen recording to reuse elsewhere.
Things to know
Screen recordings and some camera modes produce videos with no audio track at all; the tool tells you rather than giving you an empty file. Multi-track videos (for example a recording with separate microphone and system audio) have only the first track extracted. And a note on rights: extracting audio from your own recordings and content you have permission to use is fine; extracting music from copyrighted videos to redistribute is not.
Frequently asked questions
Is the video uploaded to extract the audio?
No. The FFmpeg engine runs inside your browser, so the video stays on your device from start to finish.
Which format should I choose?
MP3 at 192 kbps for anything you will listen to or share. M4A for Apple devices and slightly better quality at the same size. WAV only if you are going to edit the audio further, since it is about ten times larger.
Does it work with long videos?
Yes. Audio extraction is fast because the video is not re-encoded; an hour-long recording takes a minute or two on a laptop. Very large files may exceed a phone browser memory.
Why is the output silent or empty?
The video has no audio track, which is common for screen recordings and some camera clips. The tool reports this rather than producing an empty file.
Your files never leave your device
Every tool on Squishly Tools is 100% free and runs entirely inside your browser. Your images and documents are processed on your own computer and are never uploaded to a server. There are no accounts, no watermarks and no catch.