Extract Audio from Video
Pull the soundtrack out of a video and save it as a file. The original track is copied without re-encoding, so it stays bit-identical — or convert it to WAV, MP3, M4A or Opus. Everything runs on your device.
How to get the cleanest result
- Drop in the video. The tool reads its streams and tells you exactly what the audio is — codec, sample rate, channels and bitrate.
- Leave the format on Original unless something downstream refuses it. That path copies the packets and finishes almost instantly, with no second generation of loss.
- Choose WAV only when a tool demands uncompressed audio. It is roughly 11 MB per minute, so a long video makes a very large file.
- Converting to MP3, M4A or Opus re-encodes audio that was already compressed once. Pick the highest bitrate you can live with.
- Need one section only? Tick Extract a range only and drag the handles before extracting.
Copy or convert: what actually happens
| Property | Copy | Convert |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | The audio packets are moved into a new container untouched | The audio is decoded and encoded again by a different codec |
| Quality | Bit-identical to what was inside the video | A second generation of loss on top of what the video already had |
| Speed | As fast as the file can be read | Roughly real time on long files, faster on short ones |
| Output format | Decided by the codec — AAC becomes M4A, Opus becomes .opus | Whatever you choose |
| Choose it when | The destination accepts the original codec, which is most of the time | Something downstream insists on WAV, MP3, or a smaller file |
A video does not contain "an MP3". It contains a compressed audio stream — usually AAC — inside a container. Copying moves that stream into a container of its own. Converting decodes it and compresses it again with a different codec, which always costs a little quality even when the bitrate goes up.
Which format, and how big
| Format | Size per minute | Lossless | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original (copy) | Same as the source | Yes | Anything that accepts the codec already inside the video |
| WAV · 48 kHz 16-bit | ≈ 11 MB | Yes | Editing, transcription, mastering, anything that wants raw audio |
| MP3 · 320 kbps | ≈ 2.3 MB | No | Maximum compatibility, including older software and hardware |
| MP3 · 192 kbps | ≈ 1.4 MB | No | General listening where size matters more than the last detail |
| M4A / AAC · 128 kbps | ≈ 0.9 MB | No | Small files that still play everywhere modern |
| Opus · 96 kbps | ≈ 0.7 MB | No | Voice and web audio — the best quality per byte of the group |
Sizes are bitrate ÷ 8 × 60, and WAV is sample rate × channels × 2 bytes. Planning an export rather than an extract? The bitrate calculator does the same maths for video and audio together.
Frequently asked questions
Does extracting audio lose quality?
Not in copy mode. The audio stream is moved into a new container byte for byte, so the result is bit-identical to what was inside the video. Quality is only lost if you choose MP3, M4A or Opus, which re-encode an already compressed track.
Which format should I choose?
Copy, unless something downstream refuses the file. Copy is instant and lossless. Choose WAV when an editor or transcription tool demands uncompressed audio, MP3 for maximum compatibility with older software, and M4A when you want a small file that plays everywhere modern.
Why is my WAV file so much bigger than the video?
WAV is uncompressed. One minute of 48 kHz 16-bit stereo is about 11 MB regardless of what the audio contains, so a ten minute video yields a 110 MB WAV — often larger than the video it came from, because the video's audio was compressed roughly ten to one.
Is my video uploaded to a server?
No. The extraction runs in your browser using ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. The only network request is a one-time download of the engine from a public CDN. The video itself never leaves your device.
Can I extract just one part of the video?
Yes. Tick 'Extract a range only' and set a start and end point, and only that range is written out. In copy mode the cut lands on an audio packet boundary, which is a few milliseconds at most.
My video has two audio tracks. Can I pick one?
Yes. When more than one audio stream is found, a track selector appears listing each one with its codec, sample rate and language tag. Extract them one at a time to get separate files.
What file types work?
MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, M4V and AVI, plus audio-only containers, up to 200.0 MB. If a file's audio codec has no natural container of its own, the tool falls back to a Matroska .mka file and tells you.