How to convert MP4 to MP3
- Add your videosDrop .mp4 (or .mov, .m4v, .webm) files into the converter.
- Pick the audio quality128 kbps for talks and meetings, 192 kbps for most content, 320 kbps for music videos.
- ConvertPress “Convert to MP3”. The video track is discarded and only the audio is encoded.
- Download the MP3Save each audio file or download them all as a ZIP.
MP4 and MP3 are not the same thing
The names look alike but the formats are very different. MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) is a container that can hold video, audio, subtitles and chapter markers together. MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer III) is an audio codec and file format that holds sound only. Inside a typical MP4, the video is H.264, H.265 or AV1 and the audio is AAC. Converting MP4 to MP3 therefore means two things: dropping the video entirely and re-encoding the AAC soundtrack as MP3. An M4A file, incidentally, is simply an MP4 container with no video in it — which is why the same engine powers our M4A to MP3 converter.
Common reasons to extract audio from a video
- Recorded meetings and lectures: listen on your commute without the battery drain of video playback, or send the audio to a transcription service.
- Interviews and podcasts recorded on video calls, where only the conversation matters.
- Your own music performances filmed on a phone that you want to share as an audio track.
- Language learning: turn video lessons into audio for repeated listening.
- Saving space: a one-hour 1080p video can be 1–4 GB; the same audio as 128 kbps MP3 is about 58 MB.
Why converting locally is better for video
Video files are big — often hundreds of megabytes — which makes upload-based converters slow and impractical, especially on mobile data. Because this converter runs in your browser, it reads the MP4 straight from your device and never sends it anywhere. That keeps private recordings private, saves your bandwidth and removes upload size limits. For typical MP4 files the browser’s built-in decoder extracts the audio directly; for unusual codecs the converter loads ffmpeg.wasm, which can read nearly any video container. Very large videos are best handled on a desktop or laptop, since the audio track needs to be decoded in memory.
Getting the best quality audio from MP4
Most phone and camera videos carry AAC audio at 128–256 kbps, and YouTube-style uploads typically 128 kbps. Since you’re converting from one lossy format to another, pick an MP3 bitrate at or above the source: 192 kbps is a safe default and 320 kbps is worth it for music. Speech-only recordings sound perfectly clear at 128 kbps. If the result sounds quiet, that’s the level of the original recording; any audio editor can normalise it. Learn more in audio bitrate explained.
Respect copyright
Extract audio from videos you recorded yourself, videos you have permission to use, or content released under a licence that allows it. Downloading or ripping audio from commercial films, music videos or streaming platforms may break their terms or copyright law. This tool only converts files that are already on your device; it does not download anything from video sites.
Other conversions you might need: AAC to MP3 for raw AAC streams, WAV to MP3 for editor exports, and OGG to MP3 for WebM/Opus audio.
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert MP4 to MP3 without uploading the video?
Yes. This converter works entirely inside your browser, so the video never leaves your device.
Does it work with MOV, M4V and WebM videos?
Yes. MOV and M4V use the same MPEG-4 family container as MP4, and WebM is supported via the browser or the ffmpeg engine.
Can I extract audio from a YouTube link?
No. The converter only processes files already on your device, and downloading from YouTube is against its terms of service.
How long does it take?
Usually a few seconds per minute of audio on a modern computer. The video track is skipped, so only the audio is processed.
Can I convert MP4 to MP3 on iPhone?
Yes. Save the video to the Files app, open this page in Safari, choose the file and download the MP3.