When you'd do this
You want just the sound of a video: a recorded talk or lesson to listen to on the go, an interview to transcribe, the audio of a screen recording or a music video.
What to expect
The MP3's size depends only on how long the video is, not how big: a 10-minute video becomes an MP3 of about 14 MB at 192 kbps, or about 9.2 MB at 128 kbps — whether the MP4 was 50 MB or 500 MB.
Recommended settings
192 kbps (the default) for music; 128 kbps for talks and interviews, which saves a third of the space with no audible difference for speech.
Where it plays
Every phone, computer, browser and podcast app.
Good to know
- Only the sound is taken; the picture is left out.
- An MP3 made here can be up to 60 minutes long. For a longer video choose M4A instead: the video's AAC sound is usually copied as is, up to 12 hours.
- An MP4 can be up to 2 GB. A video with no sound track can't be converted, and neither can sound no browser decodes (Apple Lossless, Dolby).
- MOV, M4V and WebM videos work the same way.
How to do it
- Choose your MP4 files, or drop them on the page — as many as you like.
- Each is set to MP3. Change one on its own row if you like, and the MP3 bitrate and the channels in Settings.
- Convert all, then download each MP3, or all of them in one .zip.
Questions
- How do I extract the audio from an MP4 video?
- Choose the MP4, leave Convert to on MP3, press Convert and download the MP3. The video never leaves your device.
- Is there a length limit for MP4 to MP3?
- The MP3 can be up to 60 minutes long. For longer videos convert to M4A, which can be much longer.
- Will MP4 to MP3 lose quality?
- Slightly: a video's sound is usually AAC, and making an MP3 encodes it again. At 192 kbps it's hard to hear.
- Can I convert several videos at once?
- Yes — add them all, press Convert all, and download the MP3s one by one or as a .zip.