How to convert MP4 to MP3
- 1. Choose your videosClick Choose MP4 files or drop them onto the box. MOV videos from an iPhone and M4A files work too.
- 2. Set the quality and click ConvertPick 128, 192, 256 or 320 kbps (192 is the default). The audio is extracted only when you click Convert.
- 3. Download the MP3sSave each MP3 with its Download button, or use Download all (.zip) when you've converted several videos.
What actually happens to your video
An MP4 file is a container. Inside it sits a video track and, usually, an audio track, most often compressed with AAC. This tool reads the audio track, decodes it and re-encodes it as MP3. The picture is ignored, so there's no video processing involved.
Because the work happens in your browser, there's no upload step. With a big phone video, that matters: you don't sit waiting for gigabytes to crawl up to a server before anything starts.
| MP4 | MOV | MP3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Video container (MPEG-4 Part 14) | Apple QuickTime video container | Audio-only file |
| Typical audio inside | AAC | AAC | MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer III) |
| Where you get it | Phones, cameras, screen recorders, video editors | iPhone and Mac recordings | Made from other audio, like this tool does |
| Plays on | Video players, browsers, phones | Apple devices, most video players | Practically everything with a speaker |
| Size of one minute | Large: the video takes most of the space | Large | About 1.4 MB at 192 kbps |
Good reasons to turn a video into MP3
- Keep a lecture, sermon, interview or meeting recording as audio you can play on a commute.
- Get the sound from a video you shot of a concert, rehearsal or your kid's recital.
- Send a voice recording that was captured as video to someone who only needs the audio.
- Load audio into an editor, transcription tool or old MP3 player that won't open video files.
Which bitrate to pick
The bitrate sets how much data the MP3 uses per second. Higher means more detail and a bigger file. As a rough guide, one minute of MP3 is about 0.96 MB at 128 kbps, 1.44 MB at 192 kbps, 1.92 MB at 256 kbps and 2.4 MB at 320 kbps.
128 kbps is plenty for speech. 192 kbps, the default, suits most music. Pick 320 kbps, the highest MP3 allows, for music you care about. It can't add detail that wasn't in the video's audio, but it keeps the extra conversion loss as low as possible.
Doing it on an iPhone or Android phone
Open this page in Safari or Chrome and tap Choose MP4 files. Your phone offers your photo library and the Files app, so you can pick videos you recorded. After converting, the MP3 is saved to your Downloads (on iPhone, in the Files app under Downloads).
Phones have less memory than computers, so long videos convert more reliably one or two at a time.
Limits worth knowing
- There's no file-size cap set by us, but very large videos depend on your device's memory. If a huge file fails, try it on a computer.
- If a video has no sound track, there's nothing to extract and you'll see an error.
- This tool only works with files on your device. It doesn't download anything from websites.
- Already have audio-only M4A files, like iPhone voice memos? The voice memo converter is made for those.
Frequently asked questions
Can I paste a YouTube or other video link?
No. FileToaster never downloads from URLs, YouTube or any other site. It only converts video files you already have on your own device, such as recordings from your phone or camera.
Is my video uploaded anywhere?
No. The audio is extracted and converted on your device, inside your browser, and the video is never uploaded. The page does load its own code, ads and cookieless analytics, but your file data stays put. See how to verify this.
How do I convert MP4 to MP3 at 320 kbps?
After adding your videos, set Quality to 320 kbps, then click Convert. That's the highest bitrate the MP3 format supports.
Can it handle large MP4 files?
Yes, there's no size limit on our side and nothing has to upload, so big files start right away. The real limit is your device's memory; a computer handles multi-gigabyte videos better than an older phone.
How do I convert MP4 to MP3 on an iPhone?
Open this page in Safari, tap Choose MP4 files, pick the video from your library or Files, tap Convert, then Download. The MP3 lands in Files → Downloads.
Does it work with MOV videos?
Yes. MOV files, including iPhone recordings, are accepted alongside MP4 and M4A.
Will the MP3 sound as good as the video?
Close to it. The audio in most videos is already compressed, so converting to MP3 adds a small extra loss. Use 256 or 320 kbps for music to keep that loss inaudible.
Are the title and artist copied to the MP3?
Yes, when the file has them. With Metadata on Keep (the default), iTunes-style tags such as title, artist, album, year, track, genre, comment and cover art are written to the MP3. Choose Remove for an MP3 with no tags.