Free tool
MOV to MP3 converter
Drop a MOV video, such as one filmed on an iPhone or recorded on a Mac, to convert MOV to MP3: the page takes the sound from the video and saves it as an MP3, in your browser.
- Free
- Works on phones
- Nothing is uploaded
MP3 quality
Drop your MOV video here, or Choose your MOV video
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.
Need what was said, not just the sound? NoteOwl turns the MP3 into a transcript with speaker names and notes, unlimited and privately on your Mac. Dictation into any app is free.
How it works
How do you convert MOV to MP3?
Drop the MOV video on the converter or choose it. The page reads only the video’s sound track, decodes it with your browser’s own decoder and writes it as an MP3; the picture is skipped. Play the MP3, then download it.
- 1
Choose the MP3 quality
128 kbps for talks, interviews and lessons; 192 or 320 kbps for music. The sample rate stays as the video’s unless you switch it to 44.1 kHz.
- 2
Add the MOV video
Drop it on the box or choose it. On an iPhone, pick it from Photos or Files. The video stays on your device.
- 3
Save the MP3
Play it back, then download it. It takes the video’s name with .mp3 at the end, and the MOV isn’t changed.
What is a MOV file?
MOV is Apple’s QuickTime video format. A MOV file holds a picture track, usually H.264 or HEVC, and one or more sound tracks, usually AAC. iPhones and iPads save their videos as MOV, and so do QuickTime Player and the Mac’s screen recordings.
- iPhone and iPad camera
- What’s insideHEVC or H.264 video with AAC sound
- Mac screen recordings (Shift-Command-5)
- What’s insideSound only if a microphone was chosen under Options before recording
- QuickTime Player’s File → New Movie Recording
- What’s insideThe Mac’s camera and microphone, with AAC sound
| Where it comes from | What’s inside |
|---|---|
| iPhone and iPad camera | HEVC or H.264 video with AAC sound |
| Mac screen recordings (Shift-Command-5) | Sound only if a microphone was chosen under Options before recording |
| QuickTime Player’s File → New Movie Recording | The Mac’s camera and microphone, with AAC sound |
Why convert a MOV video to MP3?
To keep just the sound: a talk, an interview, a lesson or a song you filmed. A minute of iPhone video often runs to tens of megabytes; the same minute as a 128 kbps MP3 is about 1 MB and plays on anything.
Can a Mac turn a video’s sound into an MP3 by itself?
Yes, in two steps. QuickTime Player exports a video’s sound as an M4A file, and the Music app can then make an MP3 version of it. The converter on this page does both in one step, in any browser.
- 1
Export the sound
Open the video in QuickTime Player and choose File → Export As → Audio Only. You get an .m4a file, not an MP3.
- 2
Set Music to make MP3s
In the Music app, choose Music → Settings → Files → Import Settings, and set Import Using to MP3 Encoder.
- 3
Create the MP3
Add the .m4a to your library, select it, and choose File → Convert → Create MP3 Version.
Can you get a transcript of a video instead?
Yes, on a Mac. Convert the video to MP3 here, then import the MP3 into NoteOwl: it transcribes it on your Mac with on-device AI models, labels each speaker and writes notes. It can also save the transcript as SRT subtitles for the video.
FAQ
Questions about converting MOV to MP3
Is my video uploaded?
No. NoteOwl’s MOV converter reads the video from your device and converts its sound inside your browser, so even a large iPhone video is never uploaded. Nothing is sent to NoteOwl or anyone else, and there is no account to create.
Does converting a MOV to MP3 change the video?
No. NoteOwl’s converter only reads the MOV and makes a new MP3 file from its sound; your video stays exactly as it was. The MP3 holds only the sound, so keep the MOV if you want the picture.
Can I convert an iPhone video to MP3 on the iPhone?
Yes, in Safari. Tap Choose file on NoteOwl’s converter and pick the video from Photos or Files; it converts on the phone. Safari saves the MP3 to the Downloads folder in the Files app.
Why does it say my video has no sound?
The MOV has no audio track. Mac screen recordings include sound only when a microphone is chosen under Options before you start, so a recording made with Microphone set to None has nothing for NoteOwl’s converter to save.
How big a MOV file can I convert?
NoteOwl’s converter takes videos up to 1 GB and 2 hours long in current Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari 26 or later. Only the sound is decoded, so a large video converts about as fast as an audio file of the same length. Older Safari versions convert videos up to 30 minutes long.
Will the MP3 sound as good as the video?
Very close. Videos from an iPhone or a Mac usually carry AAC sound, and NoteOwl’s converter re-encodes it as MP3 at the quality you pick: at 192 or 320 kbps the difference is very hard to hear, and 128 kbps is plenty for speech.
Keep exploring
More free tools
- 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
- Extract audio from videoTake the sound out of an MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV video in your browser and save it as MP3, M4A (no re-encoding) or WAV; nothing is uploaded
- 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
- Audio to text converterTranscribe audio to text free: drop in an MP3, M4A, WAV or other recording and get an AI transcript with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; nothing is stored
- Online voice recorderRecord your voice in the browser with a level meter, timer and pause, play it back, and save it as MP3 or WAV; nothing is uploaded
Related
- Audio to textTranscription software for your Mac: drop in an audio or video file and get a speaker-labelled transcript with timestamps, unlimited, with nothing uploaded
- Subtitle generatorTurn a recording into an SRT subtitle file with timecodes and speaker names, on your Mac
- Record Mac audioHow to record the sound your Mac plays (system audio) with Apple’s own tools, and how NoteOwl records calls without a bot
- MOV to MP4 converterTurn a MOV (iPhone video, QuickTime or Mac screen recording) into an MP4 in your browser, copying H.264 and HEVC video as it is
Recordings into notes, privately 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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