You have a video, and you want an MP3 you can play anywhere. This free MP4 to MP3 converter does it in a few clicks, and it takes MOV, MKV and WebM videos too. The MP3 format is already chosen for you, so there is nothing to set up.
Drop your video, press Extract audio, and save the file. The conversion runs inside your browser, so the video never leaves your computer. Read on for tips on getting a good MP3, handling long recordings and fixing a file that comes out too quiet.
How to convert MP4 to MP3 in three steps
- Drop your video onto the page, or choose it from your files. MP4, MOV, MKV and WebM files all work.
- Check that the 'Save as' choice says MP3. It is already selected on this page.
- Press Extract audio. When the bar finishes, save the MP3 to your computer.
The MP3 gets the same name as your video, with .mp3 on the end. Your original video is left exactly as it was, so you can come back and run it again whenever you like.
You can also drop several videos together. Each one becomes its own MP3, and you can download them all in one zip.
What you see before you start
The panel shows how long the sound is, whether it is mono or stereo, and its sample rate. The MP3 tile also shows a rough size for your file. If the video has no sound, the panel says so, and there is nothing to convert.
Why choose MP3 for the sound of a video
When you convert a video to MP3, you get the audio file that almost every device understands. Phones, car stereos, smart speakers, laptops and podcast apps will all open it. That is the main reason to pick it over other formats.
| Question | MP3 | WAV |
|---|---|---|
| Plays on almost any device | Yes | Most, but not all small players |
| File size | Small | Large, because it is uncompressed |
| Good for editing | Fine for light edits | Better, nothing is squeezed out |
| Good for sharing | Yes | Heavy to send |
If you plan to edit the sound in an audio program and want every detail kept, use video to WAV instead. If you want a small file saved as AAC, use the main Extract audio tool, which offers MP3, WAV and AAC.
Good uses for an MP3 from video
- Podcasts and talks recorded on camera: make an audio-only version for listeners who do not need the picture.
- Lectures and online classes: listen on a commute, with no screen to watch.
- Voice notes and interviews: send a lighter file to a colleague, or to a service that only takes audio.
- Family videos: save a child's first words or a speech as a sound file that is easy to play back.
Make sure you have the right to use any recording before you share it. Converting the file does not change who owns the sound.
MOV, MKV and WebM to MP3
You do not need an MP4 to extract an MP3 from a video. The page also takes MOV, MKV, WebM and M4V files, and the steps are the same: drop the file, check that Save as says MP3, and press Extract audio.
| Conversion | Where the video usually comes from | Sound inside our test file |
|---|---|---|
| MOV to MP3 | iPhone cameras, Mac screen recordings and Apple editing apps | AAC |
| MKV to MP3 | Screen recorders and saved downloads | AAC |
| WebM to MP3 | Clips saved from websites and screen recordings made in a browser | Opus |
Before writing this, we put a short clip of each type through the page. Each one came back as an MP3 of the whole clip with the picture dropped, and the panel showed the length, channels and sample rate before the run, just as it does for an MP4.
If you want to keep the picture and only need a file that plays in more places, you are after a video, not an MP3. In that case, convert MOV to MP4 or convert MKV to MP4 instead.
Tips for a better MP3 from video
The MP3 can only be as good as the sound in the video. A few small habits make a real difference to what you end up with.
- Start from the best copy you have. If you have the original recording and a re-saved copy, use the original.
- Listen to a short clip first. Trim ten seconds, convert it, and play the MP3 on the device you will actually use. This takes a minute and saves a long file being redone.
- Watch for a very quiet track. If the sound is faint, raise it before extracting. Boost video volume does this, and the waveform warns you if the loudest parts would be clipped.
- Do not convert twice. Each time sound is squeezed into a smaller format, a little more is lost. Go from the video straight to MP3 rather than through another audio file.
If the result is for a phone or a player with limited space, MP3 is a sensible middle ground. It is much smaller than a WAV and plays on nearly everything.
Make the MP3 shorter or louder first
If you only need part of a long recording, use Trim video to cut it down, then convert the shorter clip. If the sound is quiet, raise the volume of the video before you extract, as in the tip above. Doing it in that order gives you one clean MP3 at the end.
Long videos and big files
A long video still becomes one MP3. The time it takes depends on your computer and on the length of the sound. Keep the tab open until the bar finishes, and save the file straight away so you do not lose it.
What this converter does and does not do
It is worth being clear about the limits, so the result is never a surprise. The tool takes the sound exactly as it is in the video and saves it as an MP3. That is all it does.
- It does not remove noise, echo or background music.
- It does not split a recording into separate tracks or songs.
- It does not add song titles, artwork or other tags.
- It does not change the length. The MP3 lasts as long as the sound in your video.
For a different length, trim the video first. For a different loudness, change the volume first. Both are separate tools on this site, and each works on the video before you extract the sound.
How this MP4 to MP3 converter protects your files
Nothing is uploaded. The conversion runs on your own computer, in current Chrome, Edge or Firefox, and the server does no video work. That means no waiting for an upload, no queue, and no copy of your video left on someone else's machine.
There is no account to make and no watermark on the result. Video tools do not count towards the daily limit that applies to document conversions.
Most videos have no size limit. Some files, such as certain AVI or WMV videos, take longer, and those can be up to 2 GB.
Get your MP3 now
Converting MP4 to MP3 here is quick, free and private, and MOV to MP3 works the same way, as do MKV and WebM. Drop your video in the tool above, press Extract audio, and save the MP3.
Need WAV or AAC instead of MP3? The Extract audio tool covers all three formats in one place, for one video or a few at once.
