Free tool
MP3 to WAV converter
Drop an MP3 here to convert MP3 to WAV in your browser: you get an uncompressed 16-bit WAV at the MP3’s own sample rate, ready for an audio editor, a sampler or a CD, with nothing uploaded.
- Free
- Works on phones
- Nothing is uploaded
Save as
Uncompressed 16-bit, for editing. About 10 MB a minute in stereo.
Drop your MP3 file here, or Choose your MP3 file
Any audio or video file, up to 1 GB and 2 hours. It’s converted in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
MP3 encoding by LAME, open-source software.
Is the MP3 a talk or an interview? NoteOwl imports MP3 and WAV recordings and transcribes them on your Mac, each speaker labelled and every transcript searchable.
How it works
How do you convert MP3 to WAV?
Leave WAV selected and drop the MP3 on the converter. Your browser decodes it and the page writes every sample into a 16-bit WAV; the only choice is the sample rate. A 5-minute MP3 took about a second in Chrome. Play the WAV, then download it.
- 1
Choose the sample rate
Leave Keep the original sample rate ticked to match the MP3, or untick it for 44.1 kHz, the rate of an audio CD.
- 2
Drop the MP3
Constant or variable bitrate, mono or stereo, from 8 to 48 kHz. It is read on your device.
- 3
Save the WAV
Play it to check, then download it. It keeps the MP3’s name, title and artist.
How big is the WAV you get from an MP3?
About seven times the size of a 192 kbps MP3. A WAV stores every sample uncompressed, so its size depends only on its sample rate, channels and length, never on the MP3’s bitrate. Our 7.2 MB stereo MP3 of five minutes became a 52.9 MB WAV.
- 5 min, stereo, 44.1 kHz, 192 kbps, 7.2 MB
- WAV out44.1 kHz stereo, 16-bit
- Size52.9 MB
- Took (Chrome / WebKit)1.0 s / 2.1 s
- 1 min, mono, 22.05 kHz, 48 kbps, 0.36 MB
- WAV out22.05 kHz mono (rate kept)
- Size2.6 MB
- Took (Chrome / WebKit)0.13 s / 0.22 s
- The same, with the rate box unticked
- WAV out44.1 kHz mono
- Size5.3 MB
- Took (Chrome / WebKit)0.19 s / 0.64 s
- 1 min, mono, variable bitrate, 0.31 MB
- WAV out44.1 kHz mono
- Size5.3 MB
- Took (Chrome / WebKit)0.15 s / 0.33 s
| MP3 in | WAV out | Size | Took (Chrome / WebKit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min, stereo, 44.1 kHz, 192 kbps, 7.2 MB | 44.1 kHz stereo, 16-bit | 52.9 MB | 1.0 s / 2.1 s |
| 1 min, mono, 22.05 kHz, 48 kbps, 0.36 MB | 22.05 kHz mono (rate kept) | 2.6 MB | 0.13 s / 0.22 s |
| The same, with the rate box unticked | 44.1 kHz mono | 5.3 MB | 0.19 s / 0.64 s |
| 1 min, mono, variable bitrate, 0.31 MB | 44.1 kHz mono | 5.3 MB | 0.15 s / 0.33 s |
Why would you need a WAV instead of an MP3?
Because the next program wants one. Many hardware samplers and drum machines, some audio editors and most CD-burning apps take WAV but not MP3. A WAV also needs no decoding, so it scrubs and cuts instantly in an editor.
Editing is the best reason. Each time an MP3 is edited and saved as MP3 again it is encoded again, and loses a little more. Convert it to WAV once, do all the editing in WAV, and make a single MP3 at the end with the WAV to MP3 converter.
Does converting MP3 to WAV make it sound better?
No. When the MP3 was made, the encoder threw away detail it judged you wouldn’t hear, and nothing can put it back. The WAV holds exactly what the MP3 still had, so the two sound the same. What changes is that nothing more is lost from here on.
Which sample rate and bit depth does the WAV get?
The MP3’s own sample rate and 16 bits, which covers about 96 dB of dynamic range, more than any MP3 carries. Untick the box and every WAV comes out at 44.1 kHz instead, the rate of an audio CD and of most MP3s already.
- 44.1 kHz (most music and podcasts)
- WAV, rate kept44.1 kHz
- WAV, box unticked44.1 kHz
- 48 kHz (from video)
- WAV, rate kept48 kHz
- WAV, box unticked44.1 kHz
- 32 kHz
- WAV, rate kept32 kHz
- WAV, box unticked44.1 kHz
- 16 to 24 kHz (voice recorders, audiobooks)
- WAV, rate keptThe same
- WAV, box unticked44.1 kHz
- 8 to 12 kHz (phone recordings)
- WAV, rate keptThe same
- WAV, box unticked44.1 kHz
| MP3 sample rate | WAV, rate kept | WAV, box unticked |
|---|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz (most music and podcasts) | 44.1 kHz | 44.1 kHz |
| 48 kHz (from video) | 48 kHz | 44.1 kHz |
| 32 kHz | 32 kHz | 44.1 kHz |
| 16 to 24 kHz (voice recorders, audiobooks) | The same | 44.1 kHz |
| 8 to 12 kHz (phone recordings) | The same | 44.1 kHz |
Why is the WAV a fraction of a second longer than the MP3?
Because MP3 encoders add a few milliseconds of silence at the start and pad out the last frame, and the WAV keeps them. Our five-minute MP3 gave a WAV 0.04 seconds longer. For a loop that must repeat without a gap, trim both ends of the WAV in your editor.
What if the MP3 is a recording of people talking?
Then the words may matter more than the waveform. NoteOwl imports MP3 and WAV recordings on a Mac and transcribes them with on-device AI models, labels each speaker and keeps every transcript searchable, so a talk or an interview turns into notes you can find again. Nothing is uploaded.
FAQ
Questions about converting MP3 to WAV
Is my MP3 uploaded when I convert it?
No. NoteOwl’s MP3 to WAV converter decodes the file inside your browser and builds the WAV there; no request leaves the page while it works. The MP3 stays on your computer or phone, and there is no account to make.
Will the WAV sound better than the MP3?
No. A WAV made from an MP3 holds exactly the MP3’s sound. What you gain is room to work: an edited WAV can be saved again and again without losing anything, while an MP3 is re-encoded every time it is saved.
Why is the WAV so much bigger than the MP3?
A WAV keeps every sample uncompressed: a minute of 44.1 kHz stereo takes about 10.6 MB, whatever the MP3’s bitrate was. The same minute as a 192 kbps MP3 is 1.44 MB, so the WAV is about seven times larger.
Can I make a WAV for burning to an audio CD?
Yes. Untick Keep the original sample rate and the WAV comes out at 44.1 kHz and 16-bit, the format of an audio CD, with stereo kept as stereo. Most music MP3s are 44.1 kHz already, so for them the box changes nothing.
Does the WAV keep the title and artist?
Yes. The title and artist tags of the MP3 are written into the WAV’s own information chunk, so editors and players that read WAV tags show them. The file name stays the same too, with .wav at the end.
How long an MP3 can I convert?
Up to 2 hours and 1 GB. Mind the WAV’s size: two hours of 44.1 kHz stereo is about 1.3 GB, held in the browser until you save it, so a computer copes better than a phone. A 70-minute MP3 became a 741 MB WAV in 13 seconds in Chrome.
Keep exploring
More audio converters
- Audio converterConvert audio and video files to MP3, WAV, M4A or OGG in your browser: M4A, FLAC, AIFF, OGG, Opus, WebM, MP4 and MOV in; nothing is uploaded
- MP3 to OGG converterConvert MP3 to OGG (Opus) in your browser at 32, 64 or 128 kbps: the format of WhatsApp and Telegram voice messages; nothing is uploaded
- MP4 to WAV converterTake an MP4 video’s sound out as an uncompressed WAV in your browser, at the video’s own 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz; nothing is uploaded
- OGG to MP3 converterConvert OGG files to MP3 in your browser, Opus voice messages and Vorbis music alike; nothing is uploaded
Related
- WAV to MP3 converterConvert WAV to MP3 in your browser, 16-bit to 32-bit float at any sample rate, and see how much smaller the MP3 is; nothing is uploaded
- Export your notesExport meetings, dictations and notes as Markdown or PDF, imported transcripts as text or SRT, or everything as plain files; nothing is locked in
- MP3 to textTurn a MP3 file into text free in your browser: AI transcription with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; nothing is stored
Recordings into searchable notes, on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
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