Free tools › Audio and video
MP3 to M4A
The format Apple devices prefer, with the same sound in fewer bytes.
This one runs on your credits. The format Apple devices prefer, with the same sound in fewer bytes.
Sign in and get 500 free credits every month — enough for many files — then drop the file in the workbench and run mp3 to m4a there.
Pick a file below to see exactly what it would cost.
More free conversions, where you upload. The Fylane extension does the same work inside any upload form, on its own free share every day.Add to Chrome
How to convert MP3 to M4A
- Drop the audio.
- Nothing to choose.
- Press Convert and download.
What happens to your file
The audio is decoded and encoded as AAC at 160 kbps in an M4A container. From WAV or FLAC that is one clean encode; from MP3 it is a second lossy hop, which is small at this bitrate but is still a second hop — convert from the original where you have it.
M4A and AAC are not two different things, which is the confusion behind most searches for this. AAC is the codec, the actual compressed audio; M4A is the container file it usually sits in. A file named .m4a and a file named .aac can hold exactly the same audio.
This is the format Apple’s ecosystem prefers. iTunes, the Music app, iPhones and iPads all treat AAC in an M4A as native, which is why an MP3 imported into a library is sometimes converted on the way in.
Questions
What is the difference between M4A and AAC?
AAC is the compression format; M4A is the container that holds it. Converting to M4A gives you AAC audio in the wrapper Apple software expects. There is no quality difference between the two names.
Should I use M4A or MP3?
AAC sounds a little better than MP3 at the same file size, and Apple devices treat it as native. MP3 plays on more old hardware — car stereos, ageing players, cheap devices. If the audio is for a phone or a computer, M4A; if you do not know what will play it, MP3.
Will converting MP3 to M4A improve the quality?
No, and nothing can. The detail an MP3 encoder discarded is gone for good, and re-encoding loses a little more on top. Convert for compatibility, never in the hope of a better-sounding file.
Will it work in iTunes and the Music app?
Yes. AAC in an M4A is the format those libraries are built around, so the file imports and plays without conversion on the way in.
Do the title, artist and album survive?
The common tags carry across. Artwork embedded in the MP3 usually does too, though a very unusual tag written by one particular piece of software may not.
What about an M4A that is really an audiobook?
Audiobooks often use the .m4b extension and can carry DRM from a store, which nothing can read around. A plain, unprotected M4A converts like any other audio file.
Do it once, not on every form
Fixing a file here means downloading it and going back to the form. The Fylane extension does this work inside the form instead, on the file you already have.
And it keeps the result. The next application that asks for a résumé, a cover letter and a photo fills all three from one tap, each one refitted to what that site accepts.
Your files stay in the browser, encrypted, on your machine. Nothing is uploaded to keep them and nothing is sent anywhere to fill a form.
Related tools
Do this in code
curl -X POST https://api.fylane.dev/v1/jobs \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $FYLANE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"file_id": "<file id>",
"operation": "audio.convert",
"options": {
"format": "aac"
}
}'The same operation, audio.convert — mp3, wav, aac, flac, ogg, opus or aiff out of whatever came in. Upload first with the quickstart; every option is on the operations page. 500 free credits a month, then $5 per thousand.