How do I convert MP4 to WAV?

Use the converter above. Since WAV is preselected, you only set two things: the sample rate (44.1 kHz by default, 48 kHz for video work, 16 kHz for speech tools) and, if one channel is enough, Mono. Then Extract audio, check the preview and save the .wav file.

Why is the WAV so much bigger than the MP4's sound?

The video's sound track is compressed; the WAV stores every sample uncompressed. At 44.1 kHz stereo that is about 10.1 MB a minute, so a 30-minute video gives a WAV of about 302.8 MB. At 16 kHz mono the same video gives about 54.9 MB.

Which sample rate should I choose for an MP4 to WAV conversion?

44.1 kHz for music and podcast projects, 48 kHz when the audio goes back into a video edit at 48 kHz, and 16 kHz (with Mono on) for transcription services that ask for it. A higher rate than the recording had adds size, not detail.

Does converting MP4 to WAV improve the sound?

No. The WAV keeps exactly what the video's compressed sound track holds, without adding more loss, which is what editors want. It cannot restore detail the original compression removed.

Is the MP4 uploaded to a server?

No. Decoding the sound track and writing the WAV both happen on your own computer or phone, so the interview or demo in the video stays with you, and closing the tab clears it. The page does load the site's analytics, which count events like a started conversion and the chosen sample rate; the file itself and its name are never sent.

MP4 to WAV Converter

This free MP4 to WAV converter pulls the sound out of a video as an uncompressed WAV, ready for an audio editor or a transcription service. It works online with nothing to install, yet the MP4 never leaves your computer or phone: WAV is preselected, you choose the sample rate, and the expected file size shows up first.

Drop your MP4 here or click to browse

MP4 or M4V, up to 500 MB and 30 minutes.

The video is converted in your browser and is not uploaded.

How to convert MP4 to WAV

WAV is already chosen. Three steps, no software and no account.

1
Drop the MP4
Drag the video onto the converter or click to pick it. The page reads the video's length first and shows how big the WAV will be at the sample rate you pick, before anything is decoded.
2
Pick a sample rate, and mono if you need it
44.1 kHz is the default. Choose 48 kHz to match a video project, or 16 kHz with Mono switched on for a speech-to-text service. Switch to MP3 instead if you only want a small file to listen to.
3
Extract and download the WAV
Extract audio writes the WAV on your device. Listen to a few seconds in the player to check it is the right recording, then save it: same file name as the video, ending in .wav.

Want a small file to share rather than a WAV? The MP4 to MP3 Converter makes one from the same video in the same way.

Where an MP4's sound goes as a WAV

WAV is the format to hand to software or to another person who will work on the audio, not the one to email.

Into an audio editor
A video interview or a recorded panel goes into Audacity, GarageBand or a DAW to cut, level and clean up. Editing a WAV adds no new compression each time you export a draft.
To a transcription service
Some speech-to-text services and research tools take WAV, not video. Google's Speech-to-Text guidance, for one, asks for lossless audio, single-channel files and a sample rate of at least 16 kHz.
To an editor or producer
A reporter filed a phone video of the interview; the producer wants the sound to cut a radio or podcast piece. A WAV opens in any editing program without a codec question.
Into an archive
Keeping the sound of a demo or a recorded call next to your notes? A WAV stores the decoded audio as plain PCM samples that any audio program reads, now and later.

How big the WAV gets

A WAV's size depends only on its length, sample rate and channels, never on the video's resolution: 16-bit stereo at 44.1 kHz is 1,411.2 kbps, about 11 times a 128 kbps MP3. The converter shows the estimate for your file before you convert.

Output	1 minute	10 minutes	30 minutes
WAV 48 kHz stereo	11.0 MB	109.9 MB	329.6 MB
WAV 44.1 kHz stereo	10.1 MB	100.9 MB	302.8 MB
WAV 44.1 kHz mono	5.0 MB	50.5 MB	151.4 MB
WAV 16 kHz mono	1.8 MB	18.3 MB	54.9 MB
MP3 128 kbps	938 KB	9.2 MB	27.5 MB

A WAV is sample rate × 2 bytes × channels × seconds, plus a 44-byte header; an MP3 is bitrate × seconds ÷ 8. One MB here is 1,048,576 bytes.

Which sample rate and channels to pick

The WAV is always 16-bit. The choice is how many samples a second, and one channel or two.

44.1 kHz stereo: the default
The CD rate and a safe choice for a music or podcast project. Opens everywhere.
48 kHz: for video work
Pick 48 kHz when the WAV goes back into a video editing project set to 48 kHz, so the editor does not have to convert the rate.
16 kHz mono: for speech-to-text
Speech stays clear and the file is small: about 54.9 MB for 30 minutes, against 302.8 MB at 44.1 kHz stereo. Pick it when a transcription service asks for 16 kHz or mono.
Mono or stereo
A phone or meeting recording usually carries the same voice on both channels, so mono halves the file and loses nothing you would hear. Keep stereo for music or for interviews recorded with one microphone per person on separate channels.

Converting MP4 to WAV adds no quality

The sound track inside an MP4 is almost always compressed, usually AAC. The converter decodes it and stores the result as uncompressed 16-bit samples (LPCM, the most common encoding in a WAV file, as the Library of Congress describes the format). The WAV keeps exactly what the video's sound track holds, without further loss, but it cannot bring back what the compression removed.

That is why the WAV is so much bigger than the video's own sound: a minute of 44.1 kHz stereo WAV is about 10.1 MB, and 30 minutes is about 302.8 MB against about 27.5 MB as a 128 kbps MP3.

Choosing a higher sample rate does not help either. Google's guidance for its Speech-to-Text service says there is no benefit to up-sampling: the frequencies the original recording did not capture stay missing.

When an MP4 will not convert

The converter uses your browser's own decoder, so the browser decides which MP4s it can open. Videos from phones, cameras and meeting apps with AAC sound converted in Chrome, Firefox and Safari in the parent page's test of 30 September 2026. A screen recording made without the microphone has no sound track to convert.

The usual exception is an iPhone video in HEVC (High Efficiency) on a Windows PC: MDN's codec guide notes that Chrome decodes HEVC only on devices with hardware support on Windows, and Edge needs Microsoft's HEVC Video Extensions.

The MP4 to MP3 page has Apple's steps for exporting such a video as H.264 first.

Sources

Converting the video only to get the words?

If the WAV is headed for a transcription service, you can skip a step: ParrotNotes records the interview, call or demo on your phone and gives you the transcript, a summary and the action items, free for 100 minutes of recording a month.

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MP4 to WAV Converter

How to convert MP4 to WAV

Drop the MP4

Pick a sample rate, and mono if you need it

Extract and download the WAV

Where an MP4's sound goes as a WAV

Into an audio editor

To a transcription service

To an editor or producer

Into an archive

How big the WAV gets

Which sample rate and channels to pick

44.1 kHz stereo: the default

48 kHz: for video work

16 kHz mono: for speech-to-text

Mono or stereo

Converting MP4 to WAV adds no quality

When an MP4 will not convert

Converting the video only to get the words?

Related tools

MP4 to WAV FAQ