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MP3 to AIFF converter

Convert MP3 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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Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B

Related conversions

Need it the other way round? Convert AIFF to MP3

Other ways to convert MP3

Convert other formats to AIFF

Read more about the MP3 format and the AIFF format, or see every audio tool and all audio conversions.

Should you convert MP3 to AIFF?

Only when software insists on AIFF. It stores the decoded MP3 perfectly, but the detail the MP3 discarded is already gone, so the AIFF is bigger without sounding better.

MP3 is the most compatible lossy audio format ever made; 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.

MP3 and AIFF compared
Property MP3 AIFF
Compression Lossy Uncompressed
Typical quality 128–320 kbps 16-bit PCM
Support Opens everywhere Opens almost everywhere
Best for Music and voice that has to play on anything Audio production on Macs, and importing into Logic or GarageBand
Introduced 1993 1988

How to convert MP3 to AIFF

  1. 01

    Add your MP3

    Drop your MP3 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 MP3 becomes AIFF

Bigger, not better

AIFF can’t restore what MP3 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. MP3: About 1 MB a minute at 128 kbps, 2.4 MB at 320 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 MP3 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 MP3. Converting a low-bitrate MP3 to 320 kbps makes it bigger without making it sound any better; what was thrown away is gone.
  • 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 MP3 to AIFF lose quality?

No quality is lost converting to AIFF, though it can’t restore what the MP3 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.

Read more about this

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