Convert M4A to MP3: what to know
M4A is the audio format iPhones use for Voice Memos and that Apple Music and iTunes use for AAC songs. It sounds good and stays compact, but some car stereos, older players, upload forms and editing apps still expect MP3. Add your M4A files above; MP3 is already selected. Each file is converted in your browser, so recordings of meetings, lessons or family moments never leave your device.
Detailed guide
How to convert M4A to MP3
Drop your .m4a files into the box above or tap Choose audio or video. You can add up to 20 files, 500 MB each and 1 GB together. Click Convert audio, play each result on its row and download the files one by one or as a ZIP. Use Send to if you want to trim or join the MP3s next.
Voice Memos can be shared from the iPhone app to Files, AirDrop or email, which gives you the .m4a file to add here. On a Mac, Voice Memos can be dragged from the app to the desktop.
Quality and bitrate
M4A usually holds AAC audio, which is already compressed. Converting to MP3 compresses it again, so choose a bitrate at least as high as the source to avoid audible loss. 192 kbps is the default and suits most music; voice memos are fine at 128 kbps. Open Audio quality to change it. A higher bitrate makes a larger file but cannot add back detail the M4A did not have.
If you want a smaller file rather than a different format, use Compress Audio instead: it picks a bitrate for a size you choose and can save speech as mono.
Titles, artists and cover art
Songs bought or ripped as M4A often carry a title, artist, album and cover picture. The converter copies those into the MP3 when they are present, so the file still shows up properly in music players. Voice memos usually have little or no tag information.
Protected files from the old iTunes store use the .m4p extension and cannot be converted by a browser. Songs downloaded for offline listening in streaming apps are protected in the same way and are not files you can add here.
Questions about M4A to MP3
- Is M4A better quality than MP3?
- At the same bitrate, AAC in M4A usually sounds a little better than MP3. MP3's advantage is that almost every device plays it.
- Are my recordings uploaded?
- No. Conversion runs in your browser; the files stay on your device. Encoder code may download from this site the first time MP3 is used.
- Can I convert many voice memos at once?
- Yes. Add up to 20 files per batch and download the results as one ZIP.