FLAC to AC3 converter
Convert FLAC to AC3 in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.
Fit Meter
Advanced 4
Leave both at 0 for the whole file.
Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B · nothing leaves this tab
Every request this page makes is listed as it happens. You’ll see our own code loading, and for some formats a codec engine, but never your file going out.
- Waiting for network activity…
Check it yourself: open your browser’s developer tools on the Network tab, or turn off Wi-Fi once the page has loaded. The tools keep working.
Related conversions
Need it the other way round? Convert AC3 to FLACRead more about the FLAC format and the AC3 format, or see every audio tool and all audio conversions.
Should you convert FLAC to AC3?
A good trade for listening and sharing: AC3 is a fraction of the size of FLAC, and at 192 kbps or more the difference is inaudible for most people. Keep the FLAC as your master if you’ll edit or convert again.
FLAC is lossless audio at roughly half the size of WAV; AC3 is Dolby Digital surround sound from DVDs and TV. Use AC3 for soundtracks going to DVD authoring or a home cinema system.
| Property | FLAC | AC3 |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy |
| Typical quality | lossless, 16 or 24-bit | 192–640 kbps, up to 5.1 |
| Support | Opens almost everywhere | Has patchy support |
| Best for | Archiving music and recordings without losing anything | 5.1 surround soundtracks for DVDs and TVs |
| Introduced | 2001 | 1991 |
How to convert FLAC to AC3
- 01
Add your FLAC
Drop your FLAC file onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.
- 02
Check the settings
The output is already set to AC3. Change the bitrate if you want to; the defaults suit most files.
- 03
Save the AC3
Press convert and save the AC3. Several files come back together as a ZIP.
What changes when FLAC becomes AC3
From lossless to lossy
FLAC holds every sample; AC3 keeps what the ear notices and discards the rest. Pick the bitrate by use: 128 kbps for speech, 192 to 256 kbps for music.
Surround channels
AC3 keeps up to 5.1 channels, so surround sources stay surround. Stereo sources are written as stereo.
Expect a much smaller file
FLAC: About 5–7 MB a minute for music. AC3: About 3.4 MB a minute at 448 kbps. Shrinking the file is often the main reason to make this conversion.
This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of FLAC and AC3, 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 yourselfWorth knowing
- About the FLAC. FLAC made from an MP3 is lossless only in name: it perfectly preserves an already lossy recording, at five times the size.
- About the AC3. Converting a 5.1 AC3 to a stereo format mixes it down; dialogue that lived in the center channel can end up quieter.
- 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 FLAC to AC3 lose quality?
AC3 is lossy, so a little is discarded, but at the default bitrate the difference is inaudible for nearly everyone.
Will an AC3 play in my car or on my phone?
AC3 has patchy support: home cinema receivers, TVs, VLC and video editors; phones and browsers often can’t.
Read more about this
Other tools
- Audio Converter MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, Opus and older formats, any direction.
- Extract Audio Save the soundtrack of a video as MP3, WAV, M4A and more.
- Trim Video Cut the start and end off a clip without re-encoding it.
- Video Converter MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI and a dozen older formats, any direction.