WAV to FLAC
Make a WAV smaller without losing any of it.
FLAC stores exactly the same samples as the WAV in less space. Drop a recording, get a FLAC, and keep the original for as long as you like.
A small converter for FLAC loads the first time you need it.
Drop a song here.
Drop a song here.Choose a song.
MP3WAVFLACM4ANothing leaves this device.
Several files of one kind convert together.
How it works
Drop, convert, save.
1
Drop the WAV
Recordings, bounces from a DAW, ripped discs. 16, 24 bit and higher sample rates work.
2
FLAC is chosen
There is no quality setting, because FLAC is lossless. Sample rate and bit depth are kept.
3
Save
A FLAC, usually well under the size of the WAV, with the same length to within a few milliseconds.
Measured examples
The same samples in fewer bytes.
Three generated WAV files: music-like chords, ninety seconds that are nearly silent, and 24-bit pink noise at 96 kHz, the hardest case for any lossless coder.
| Test file | Size | Change | Time | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 s musicChrome | 16 MB → 2.9 MB | 82 percent smaller | 570 ms | Samples identical |
| 90 s musicWebKit | 16 MB → 2.9 MB | 82 percent smaller | 1.8 s | Samples identical |
| 60 s noise, 24-bit 96 kHzChrome | 35 MB → 14 MB | 59 percent smaller | 1.1 s | Samples identical |
| 90 s of near silenceChrome | 16 MB → 140 kB | 99 percent smaller | 560 ms | Samples identical |
Measured on November 7, 2026 in Google Chrome 157, WebKit (Playwright build, not Safari) 26, on Apple M1 Pro. Times run from pressing Convert to the result being ready, with the page already loaded. Likeness is PSNR against the original: higher is closer, and above 40 dB the difference is hard to see. WebKit here is Playwright's build, which is not Safari. Every test file was generated for these measurements, none is anyone else's work, and each is described on the About page.
Every FLAC decodes to exactly the same samples as its WAV; we hashed the decoded audio with ffmpeg and the hashes match. The music-like file went from 16 MB to 2.9 MB in 567 milliseconds, the nearly silent one to 140 kB, and the 24-bit noise from 35 MB to 14 MB, still 24-bit.
Facts
What FLAC keeps.
Samples
All of them. Decoding the FLAC gives back the WAV's samples, checked by hash on every test file.
Bit depth and rate
Kept. The 24-bit, 96 kHz test file came out as 24-bit, 96 kHz.
Cover art
None is added: WAV has no standard place for a cover picture, so the FLAC will not have one unless you add it in a tag editor.
Size ceiling
A WAV stops at 4 GB, about 6.7 hours of CD-quality stereo. FLAC has no such limit in practice.
Good to know
What lossless means here.
FLAC changes how samples are stored, not what they are.
How much space you save
It depends on the sound. Our 90-second music-like file went from 16 MB to 2.9 MB, a near-silent one to 140 kB, and 60 seconds of 24-bit noise lost only 59 percent. Real music lands between the first and the last, typically 30 to 50 percent smaller. An hour-long 44.1 kHz WAV of 635 MB converted in about 10 seconds in Chrome.
Nothing is thrown away
Decoding the FLAC gives back the same samples as the WAV. Bit depth is kept, so a 24-bit WAV becomes a 24-bit FLAC and is not reduced to 16. Up to eight channels are supported.
What a WAV cannot give FLAC
WAV has no standard place for cover art, so the FLAC will not have any unless you add it in a tag editor. If the WAV was itself made from an MP3 or other lossy file, FLAC keeps those flaws exactly as they were.
When to stay with WAV
Some audio software, hardware samplers and broadcast systems only take WAV. Keep WAV as the working format while editing and turn to FLAC to store or send the finished master. If you want something small for a phone, the FLAC to M4A page makes the lossy version.
Why not keep the WAV
A standard WAV file has a 4 GB ceiling because its header stores the length in 32 bits. At CD quality that is about 6.7 hours, and a 24-bit, 96 kHz multichannel session reaches it far sooner. FLAC has no such limit in practice, is smaller, and can carry tags such as title and artist properly, which WAV does only loosely.
If something goes wrong
When it does not work.
Lossless conversion rarely fails; it can disappoint.
The FLAC is barely smaller
Why: Noise-like sound leaves a lossless coder little to remove. Our 24-bit pink noise only shrank to 14 MB from 35 MB.
What to do: Nothing is wrong. For a much smaller file use the FLAC to M4A page, which is lossy.
The sample rate changed
Why: A rate this converter does not offer is moved to the nearest one it does: in an earlier test 11.025 kHz became 22.05 kHz.
What to do: Keep the WAV when the exact rate matters.
A lossy file in a WAV is still lossy
Why: FLAC stores exactly what the WAV holds. If the WAV was made from an MP3, the MP3's flaws are stored too.
What to do: Start from the original recording or CD rip.