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WAV to OPUS converter

Convert WAV to OPUS 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 OPUS
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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

Need it the other way round? Convert OPUS to WAV

Other ways to convert WAV

Convert other formats to OPUS

Read more about the WAV format and the OPUS format, or see every audio tool and all audio conversions.

Should you convert WAV to OPUS?

You want voice recordings as small as possible for chat apps or the web.

A good trade for listening and sharing: OPUS is a fraction of the size of WAV, and at 192 kbps or more the difference is inaudible for most people. Keep the WAV as your master if you’ll edit or convert again.

WAV is uncompressed, studio-quality audio; OPUS is the most efficient audio codec in common use, especially for speech. Use Opus for speech and streaming where small size matters more than compatibility.

WAV and OPUS compared
Property WAV OPUS
Compression Uncompressed Lossy
Typical quality 16-bit PCM, 44.1 or 48 kHz 24–128 kbps
Support Opens everywhere Has patchy support
Best for Editing, mastering and software that insists on WAV Voice notes, calls and streaming at low bitrates
Introduced 1991 2012

How to convert WAV to OPUS

  1. 01

    Add your WAV

    Drop your WAV 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 OPUS. Change the bitrate if you want to; the defaults suit most files.

  3. 03

    Save the OPUS

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

What changes when WAV becomes OPUS

From lossless to lossy

WAV holds every sample; OPUS keeps what the ear notices and discards the rest. Pick the bitrate by use: 128 kbps for speech, 192 to 256 kbps for music.

Opus runs at 48 kHz

Opus always works at 48 kHz internally, so other sample rates are converted. It sounds excellent at low bitrates, especially for voice.

Expect a much smaller file

WAV: About 10 MB a minute at CD quality. OPUS: A minute of voice note is often under 200 KB. 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 WAV and OPUS, 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 WAV. A WAV made from an MP3 is ten times bigger but sounds exactly like the MP3; the lost detail doesn’t come back.
  • About the OPUS. WhatsApp voice notes exported from a phone are Opus files, sometimes named .ogg, which many players and transcription services refuse.
  • 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 WAV to OPUS lose quality?

OPUS is lossy, so a little is discarded, but at the default bitrate the difference is inaudible for nearly everyone.

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

OPUS has patchy support: browsers, Android and chat apps; many media players, editors and forms can’t open .opus files.

Read more about this

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