Compress WAV
Turn huge WAV recordings into files small enough to send, on your own device.
- Nothing is uploaded
- Works offline after first use
- Open source
- No watermark · limit is your device’s memory; phones hold less
Shrink large WAV recordings to a tenth of the size in your browser, as MP3 or OGG, or fit them under an email limit. It is free, needs no account and adds no watermark, and your files are not uploaded: everything runs in your browser on your device. The size limit is your device’s memory, and phones hold less; give the page a short while after your first run to save itself for offline use, and then it works offline.
Done
Open the network tab. Your files never appear in it.
Add files and run the tool to see every request this tab makes.
Your files are processed on this device and never sent to a server. Reload the page to clear everything from memory.
A WAV stores every sample uncompressed, about 10 MB a minute in CD quality, so a 30 minute interview is over 300 MB, too big for email and slow to upload anywhere. Compressed to 128 kbps MP3 it is about 29 MB, and to 64 kbps mono about 14 MB, with speech just as clear.
This page does it in your browser, so the WAV is never uploaded. To keep every sample and still halve the size, use the audio converter’s FLAC option instead.
Say you recorded a one hour interview as a WAV and need to email it. Choose 25 MB (Gmail and Outlook) under Fit under and tick Mono, so the whole bitrate goes to one channel of speech. The page works out that an hour needs about 48 kbps to fit, which still sounds clear for speech, and saves a file of roughly 21 MB. For a song or a mix you want someone to hear properly, leave Fit under at No limit and choose Light or Balanced instead.
Save as offers two formats. MP3 opens on any computer or phone, so it is the safe choice for sending to someone else. OGG Opus sounds better than MP3 at low bitrates, which matters most below 96 kbps, but a few older players cannot open it. Either way the compressed file is a copy for sharing: keep the WAV if you will edit or remix the recording later.
How it works
- Drop one or more WAV files, or tap to pick them.
- Pick how hard to compress, or a size limit. Tick Mono for speech.
- Compress. Each file downloads when it is ready; several come as a zip.
In your browser, not on a server
Your browser decodes the sound with its own audio decoders. When you set a size limit, the bitrate is worked out from the length of the sound so the file lands under it. The smaller file is then written in your tab, as MP3 by LAME compiled to WebAssembly or as OGG by the browser’s own Opus encoder (WebCodecs) with Mediabunny (MPL-2.0) writing the container.
Compared with upload-based tools: Online audio compressors upload the recording before they shrink it, which for a large WAV is the slowest part, and cap free files at 50 to 100 MB. Here nothing is uploaded, so the limit is your device’s memory (phones hold less) and private recordings stay on your device.
Verify it yourself. Give the page a short while after your first run to save itself for offline use, then turn off Wi-Fi or switch to airplane mode and run the tool again. Or open your browser's developer tools (F12, or Cmd-Option-I on a Mac), pick the Network tab, and watch it while you convert. The panel above does the same count for you.
Questions
Can I compress a WAV without losing quality?
Only to about half, as FLAC, with the audio converter. MP3 and OGG get to a tenth or less by leaving out what you cannot hear.
Why is my WAV so big?
A WAV stores every sample as a number with no compression. CD quality stereo is about 10 MB a minute, and recorders set to 24-bit at 48 kHz write about 17 MB a minute, so a long session quickly runs to gigabytes. MP3 and Opus keep what the ear hears and drop the rest, which is where the tenfold saving comes from.
Which Compression setting should I pick for a WAV of music?
Light (160 kbps) if the listener cares about the sound, for example a mix sent to a bandmate or a client for approval. Balanced (128 kbps) for demos and rehearsal takes. Small and Smallest are made for speech and make music sound thin. Leave Mono unticked for music, or the stereo image is lost.
Is the file uploaded anywhere?
No. There is no server in this process. The page is a static file and the work is done by code running inside your browser tab. Give the page a short while after your first run to save itself for offline use; then you can turn off Wi-Fi and it still works.
More video and audio tools
Compress audio
Shrink recordings, podcasts and songs to send or store. Done on this device, never uploaded.
Vocal remover
Split a song into the music and the voice with an AI model running in this tab. Karaoke tracks and acapellas without uploading anything.
Video background remover
The person stays, the room goes: blurred, a flat colour or a picture of your choice, done frame by frame on your own device.
Audio splitter
Cut one long recording into separate files at the times you choose or at equal lengths. Done on this device, and the file is not uploaded.
Other conversions
Guides
- How to reduce MP3 sizeAn MP3 gets smaller when you lower its bitrate, make it mono, shorten it, or switch format. Here is what each saves, with measured results.