Updated
To turn an MP4 into an MP3, drop the video, keep 192 kbps or choose another bitrate, and download the audio file. The picture is discarded, the sound is encoded as MP3 on our servers in Germany, and the result is a fraction of the video's size.
No audio format has wider support than MP3, so the file suits cars, podcast apps and music players alike.
How to get an MP3 out of an MP4
- Drop an MP4, several of them, or a whole folder onto the page.
- Choose 128, 192, 256 or 320 kbps, or leave the default of 192.
- Start the conversion.
- Download each MP3, or the whole set as one ZIP.
Choosing a bitrate
Bitrate is the amount of data spent on each second of sound, so it sets both the file size and how much detail survives.
Speech needs little. At 128 kbps a recorded talk, a webinar or a spoken-word podcast sounds clear and takes roughly 1 MB a minute. The default of 192 kbps handles music and mixed content well at around 1.4 MB a minute. For music you care about, go to 256 or 320 kbps. 320 is the ceiling for MP3 and fills about 2.4 MB a minute.
One caveat. MP4 files normally carry their sound as AAC, a format that is compressed already, and converting to MP3 adds a second round of compression. A higher bitrate than the original audio had cannot bring detail back. It only makes the file bigger. Audio taken from a phone recording gains nothing above 192 kbps. Sound that is headed for an editor is better extracted as WAV.
Which files work
The name says MP4, but WebM, MKV, MOV and M4V files are accepted too. For AVI, WMV and other older formats, the audio extractor is the right tool. The video track is always dropped, since the MP3 holds sound only.
Converting a whole series
A folder of recorded conference talks goes through in one pass: drop it, pick the bitrate once and download the MP3s as one ZIP. A pipeline goes further and can rename every MP3 by pattern in the same run.
Each conversion counts as a video job. Visitors without an account get 3 a day, free accounts get 5, and the per-file limit is 50 MB. With Pro, files can reach 500 MB, batches can hold up to 500 and the daily allowance disappears. Credits cover a single big job without a subscription: one credit handles 25 files in a batch or pipeline, and credits never expire. Pipelines are free to try on up to 3 files.
Uploads travel over an encrypted connection and are deleted automatically, along with the MP3s, within two hours. Convert only recordings you are allowed to use, because turning a music video into an MP3 does not make the song yours.
FAQ
What happens if the video is silent?
The conversion fails with a message that no audio track was found. Without sound, there is nothing to turn into an MP3.
Are the title and cover art copied into the MP3?
Not reliably. Metadata such as the title may not come across, so fill it in afterwards with a music player or a tag editor.
Can this be done from a phone?
Yes. The page runs in the mobile browser on an iPhone or an Android phone, and the video can come from the photo gallery or from your files.
Is the original video changed?
No. The MP4 on your device is never touched, and you download a separate MP3.