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AAC to AIFF converter

Convert AAC to AIFF in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.

I want AIFF
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Leave both at 0 for the whole file.

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Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B

Related conversions

Other ways to convert AAC

Convert other formats to AIFF

Read more about the AAC format and the AIFF format, or see every audio tool and all audio conversions.

Should you convert AAC to AIFF?

Only when software insists on AIFF. It stores the decoded AAC perfectly, but the detail the AAC discarded is already gone, so the AIFF is bigger without sounding better.

AAC is a bare AAC audio stream without the M4A wrapper; AIFF is uncompressed audio, Apple’s equivalent of WAV. Use AIFF for editing in Mac audio software, or when a Mac workflow asks for it.

AAC and AIFF compared
Property AAC AIFF
Compression Lossy Uncompressed
Typical quality 96–256 kbps 16-bit PCM
Support Opens almost everywhere Opens almost everywhere
Best for Recordings captured from streams and broadcast Audio production on Macs, and importing into Logic or GarageBand
Introduced 1997 1988

How to convert AAC to AIFF

  1. 01

    Add your AAC

    Drop your AAC file onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.

  2. 02

    Check the settings

    The output is already set to AIFF. Change the bitrate if you want to; the defaults suit most files.

  3. 03

    Save the AIFF

    Press convert and save the AIFF. Several files come back together as a ZIP.

What changes when AAC becomes AIFF

Bigger, not better

AIFF can’t restore what AAC compression removed. It does make editing easier and stops further loss, which is why editors and some broadcast systems ask for it.

Who needs AIFF

Use AIFF for editing in Mac audio software, or when a Mac workflow asks for it.

Expect a much larger file

AIFF is far bigger for the same content. Choose it because something needs AIFF, not to send or store the file. AAC: About 1 MB a minute at 128 kbps. AIFF: About 10 MB a minute at CD quality.

This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of AAC and AIFF, so every pairing states the same facts the same way. How these pages are made.

Why it doesn’t upload

Recordings are often private: interviews, voice notes, unreleased music. Your browser can decode and encode audio itself, so there is no reason to send it anywhere.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

  • About the AAC. Raw AAC has no index, so players often show the wrong duration or can’t seek; saving it as M4A fixes both.
  • About the AIFF. AIFF stores samples in the opposite byte order to WAV; tools that assume WAV turn it into loud static.
  • MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, Opus and FLAC are converted by your browser directly. WMA, AMR, APE, AC3 and the other specialist formats use the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download.

Questions

Does converting AAC to AIFF lose quality?

No quality is lost converting to AIFF, though it can’t restore what the AAC already discarded.

Will an AIFF play in my car or on my phone?

AIFF opens almost everywhere: Macs, iPhones and pro audio software; some Windows and web apps prefer WAV.

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