Best Audio Format for iMovie: Import and Export Guide

iMovie is Apple's consumer video editor for Mac and iPhone, and it handles audio formats that fit within the Apple ecosystem natively. Understanding what iMovie accepts — and what it rejects — saves time and frustration.

What iMovie Accepts for Import

iMovie on macOS supports: M4A (AAC), MP3, AIFF, WAV, and CAF (Core Audio Format) audio files. Video files with embedded audio (MP4, MOV, M4V) are also imported with their audio tracks intact. iMovie does NOT natively import OGG, FLAC, WMA, or Opus audio files. Dragging an unsupported format into iMovie either produces an error or imports the file with no audio.

Fixing Unsupported Formats

If you have OGG, FLAC, or WMA audio you want to use in iMovie, convert it first. OGG and FLAC can be converted to WAV or M4A using AudioUtils — both formats import into iMovie without issues. WMA requires conversion to M4A or MP3. Once converted, the audio imports cleanly.

Best Import Format: WAV or AIFF

For audio that you plan to edit in iMovie — music beds, voice overs, sound effects — use WAV or AIFF at 44.1 kHz, 16-bit. These uncompressed formats give iMovie the cleanest audio to work with, and the quality carries through to the export without any re-compression artifacts during editing.

For Music from iTunes/Apple Music

Songs from your Apple Music library that you add to iMovie are M4A files with DRM. iMovie can use them in the timeline, but the DRM means the exported video may have restrictions on where it can be shared. DRM-free music (purchased from iTunes or Bandcamp) works without restrictions.

iMovie Export Audio Settings

When you export a finished iMovie project, the audio in the exported video is encoded as AAC at 44.1 kHz, stereo. You cannot control the audio codec directly in iMovie's export dialog — it always uses AAC. If you need a specific audio format from your iMovie export (WAV, for example), export the video, then extract the audio track using AudioUtils or QuickTime.