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Compress Audio Files

Pick an MP3, M4A, WAV or other audio file and choose one of four quality levels. Our server makes a smaller copy and shows the size before and after, and levels that wouldn't shrink your file are grayed out.

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MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, AAC, OGG, OPUS, AIFF, AIF, WMA · up to 200 MB

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How to

How to compress an audio file

You need the audio file on your computer or phone. The page reads it before anything is sent, so it can tell you which quality levels would actually make it smaller.

  1. 1

    Pick the audio file

    Drop the file on the box or click Browse file. The panel opens with the file's name and size, and a moment later the page's guess of how much space each second of sound takes, read on your device.

  2. 2

    Choose a quality and a format

    Click Basic, Good, High or Best quality; a grayed-out card marked "Source already at or below this quality" can't be picked. Then pick the kind of file you want back under Output format, which starts on MP3.

  3. 3

    Compress and download

    When you click Compress audio, the button reads Compressing... while the file uploads and our server makes the smaller copy, which took 3 to 12 seconds for each of our test files. A blue box then shows the size before and after, how much smaller it got and a Download button.

Three captures of the compress tool: the empty upload box, an MP3 where only Basic quality can be picked, and an M4A cut from 3.1 MB to 1.5 MB

Guide

How small each quality level makes your audio

Each quality level gives the new file a fixed amount of space per minute of sound, so its size comes from the length of the recording and the level you pick, whatever the file weighed before. Basic makes about half a megabyte a minute, Good about 0.9 MB, High about 1.4 MB and Best about 1.8 MB.

Bars showing about 0.5, 0.9, 1.4 and 1.8 MB for one minute at Basic, Good, High and Best, beside a voice memo where all four levels are grayed out

That is why the same level can do a lot for one file and very little for another: our 25 second WAV of an orchestra went from 4.2 MB to 392 KB at Good, 91% smaller, while a speech MP3 that was already compressed only halved at Basic.

Why some levels are grayed out

When you pick a file, the page divides its size by its length to see how much space it already uses per second, then turns off every level that wouldn't shrink it. Our test MP3, a LibriVox reading, already sat at the Good level, so only Basic stayed open. Good is the starting choice, which means a yellow note shows straight away and Compress audio stays off until you click Basic.

When all four are grayed out

A short voice note can already be smaller than Basic would make it, and with our 60 second, 370 KB test memo every card was gray and the button never turned on. The yellow note still says to pick a lower quality, but there isn't one, so the file is about as small as this page can make it. To get it smaller, cut out the parts you don't need with Audio Cutter.

Sending audio by email or chat

Gmail won't attach a file over 25 MB, which holds about 54 minutes at Basic or 27 at Good. Basic is meant for speech, like a lecture, a voice memo or a podcast, and Good or High suits music. Our speech file kept its pauses in the same places and its loudness within half a decibel after Basic, but we only measured the sound, so play the result once before you send it.

Which format to save

MP3 opens on nearly every phone, car and computer, so it's the safe pick when you don't know what the other person uses. M4A is the format iPhones and Apple Music use, and the menu has to be switched to it before you compress. AAC, OGG and Opus are there for apps that ask for them, but you can't save WAV or FLAC here, since this page only saves the compressed formats on its menu. If a WAV just needs to become an MP3, WAV to MP3 does that in one step, and M4A to MP3 changes an M4A without asking about size.

What happens to your file

The size check runs in your browser, and nothing is sent until you click Compress audio, when the whole file goes to our server, which makes the smaller copy and deletes your upload as soon as it's done. The smaller copy is removed in a nightly cleanup, and so is the upload if the job fails. There's no progress bar for the upload, so a large file on a slow connection can sit on Compressing... for a while. Stereo stays stereo, and album art isn't copied into the new file.

Large files and long recordings

The box says up to 200 MB, but the network service in front of our server turns away uploads over about 100 MB, which is about 10 minutes of CD-quality WAV or an hour and a half of a typical MP3. We only tested files under 2 minutes, and the server gives up on a job after 10 minutes of work. If your browser can't read a file, as Chrome couldn't with an M4A in Apple's highest-quality format in our test, the page can't check its size, so all four levels stay open and it's up to you to pick one smaller than the original.

Last updated: 22 October 2026 · ChangeMyFile

Tested: 22 October 2026, local page in headless Chrome against the live server, one job at a time. Sources: Mozart's Figaro overture played by the Musopen Symphony (public domain, Wikimedia Commons) and the LibriVox public domain reading of the Gettysburg Address. 25 s WAV (4,410,216 bytes, 16-bit PCM, 44.1 kHz stereo) at Good to MP3: 3.2 s from click to result, page showed 4.2 MB to 392 KB, 90.9% smaller; file 401,434 bytes, MP3 128 kbps, 44.1 kHz stereo, 25.00 s. 100 s M4A (AAC 256 kbps, 3,210,767 bytes) at Good to M4A: 11.7 s, 3.1 MB to 1.5 MB, 49.5% smaller; 1,622,561 bytes, AAC 128 kbps stereo, 100.01 s, same loudness and peak as the input. 110 s MP3 (128 kbps, 1,761,025 bytes) at Basic to MP3: 4.9 s, 1.7 MB to 860 KB, 50.0% smaller; 881,010 bytes, 64 kbps stereo, 109.99 s, pauses in the same place, mean level 0.5 dB lower, no clipping. On the 128 kbps MP3 the page grayed out Good, High and Best. A 60 s, 48 kbps mono M4A (page estimate ~51 kbps) grayed out all four levels. An Apple Lossless M4A could not be read by Chrome, so no estimate showed and all four stayed open.

FAQ

Compress audio questions

At a glance

Where it runs
On our server; the size check in your browser
Files you can add
MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, AAC, OGG, Opus, AIFF, WMA
Saves as
MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG or Opus
Size limit
About 100 MB, one file at a time
Download link
Works for 30 minutes
Files deleted
Your upload once the job is done, the rest in a nightly cleanup
Account
Not needed

Can't find your answer? Visit our Help center.

How do I compress an M4A file and keep it M4A?
Pick the file, click a quality level and set Output format to M4A before you click Compress audio, since the menu starts on MP3. Our 3.1 MB M4A music file came back as a 1.5 MB M4A at Good in about 12 seconds.
How much smaller will my file get?
It depends on how much space the file uses now. An uncompressed WAV from a CD or a recorder shrinks the most, to around a tenth of its size at Good. A file that's already an MP3 or M4A usually shrinks by half or less, because some of the saving was made when it was first recorded.
Why can't I click Good, High or Best?
Those levels would give your file the same size or a bigger one, so the page turns them off after measuring the file on your device. Click Basic, or keep the original if it's already small enough for where it's going.
Can I compress an audio file for WhatsApp or email?
Yes. Basic, the smallest level, is enough for voice notes and recorded calls, while music sounds better at Good, which makes files about twice as big. Save as MP3 if you're not sure what the person on the other end will play it with.
Can I compress audio to an exact size, like 10 MB?
Not directly, since the page has four fixed levels rather than a size box. Multiply the length in minutes by the size per minute for each level to see which one fits, then pick the highest level that stays under your limit.
Does compressing audio lower the quality?
Yes, because the smaller file keeps less detail, with Best staying closest to the original and Basic squeezing the most out. Compressing a file that was already compressed costs a little more quality each time, so keep your original and compress a copy.
Can I make a WAV smaller and keep it as WAV?
No. This page only saves MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG or Opus, so a WAV comes back in one of those formats. MP3 is the usual choice for a WAV that needs to be emailed.
Is my audio uploaded?
Yes, when you click Compress audio the file is sent to our server, which makes the smaller copy and deletes your upload once it's finished. Before that click, the page only reads the file in your browser to check its size.
Can I compress several files at once?
No, the page takes one file at a time. When a file is done, download it and click Compress another, which clears the panel so you can pick the next one.
Is the audio compressor free?
Yes, it's free to use without an account, and nothing like a spoken watermark is added to the sound.