How to Convert Audio Files with Audacity

Audacity is free, open-source, and runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Most people use it for editing audio, but it is also a capable format converter. Here is how to use it properly.

Installing Audacity

Download Audacity from audacityteam.org. For MP3 export on older versions, you needed the separate LAME encoder. Modern Audacity (3.x and newer) includes MP3 encoding built-in -- no extra downloads required.

Install and open it. The interface looks complex but the conversion workflow is simple.

The Basic Conversion Process

1. Go to File > Open and select your audio file 2. Audacity imports and displays the waveform 3. Go to File > Export 4. Choose your format from the submenu 5. Name the file and click Save 6. Adjust encoding options if prompted 7. Click OK

That is it. Audacity handles the conversion.

Supported Input Formats

Audacity reads: MP3, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, OGG Vorbis, M4A (on most systems), WMA (Windows only), and any format your system's FFmpeg library supports.

For M4A support on Mac and Windows, Audacity uses the system decoder. On Linux, install the FFmpeg library via your package manager.

Exporting to Each Format

File > Export > Export as MP3

Set Mode to Constant (CBR) for maximum compatibility

Set Quality to the bitrate you want: 192 kbps for good quality, 320 kbps for best

Leave Channel Mode as Joint Stereo unless you have a specific reason to change it

File > Export > Export as WAV

Choose 16-bit PCM for standard CD quality

Choose 24-bit PCM if you want higher resolution output

32-bit float is for production use within DAWs, not general sharing

File > Export > Export as FLAC

Set Bit depth to 16-bit (matching CD quality sources) or 24-bit (for high-res sources)

Compression Level 5 is the default and balances file size with encoding speed -- fine for most uses

File > Export > Export as OGG

Quality slider goes from 0 (worst) to 10 (best)

Quality 5 (~160 kbps) is good for casual listening

Quality 7 (~224 kbps) is very good

Quality 10 (~320 kbps equivalent) is maximum

Batch Conversion Limitation

This is Audacity's biggest weakness: it processes one file at a time. The built-in Macro system (Tools > Macros) can automate export on multiple open files, but it is not user-friendly for beginners.

For batch work -- converting a folder of 50 WAV files to MP3 -- a browser-based tool or FFmpeg command line is faster than Audacity.

The Sample Rate Trap

When you import a file at 48 kHz into Audacity, it may show the project sample rate as 44.1 kHz at the bottom of the window. If you export without changing this, Audacity resamples your audio from 48 kHz to 44.1 kHz.

For most purposes this is fine. But if you want bit-perfect output at the original sample rate:

Check the rate shown at the bottom left of the Audacity window

Click it and change it to match your source file's sample rate before exporting

Editing Before Export

Audacity's real advantage over dedicated converters is that you can process audio before exporting. Common operations:

• Trim silence from the beginning and end (Effect > Truncate Silence)
• Normalize volume so the file plays at a consistent level (Effect > Normalize)
• Remove noise with the Noise Reduction effect
• Fade in and out at the edges

For a simple format conversion with no editing, AudioUtils is faster. For conversion plus processing, Audacity is the better tool.

Export vs Save

Important: in Audacity, File > Save Project saves an Audacity project file (.aup3), not an audio file. To get a usable audio file in MP3 or WAV format, you must use File > Export. Many beginners make this mistake.

Quality Loss With Each Open

If you open an MP3, make a small edit, and re-export as MP3, you lose quality twice -- once when it was originally encoded, and once on export. Minimize re-encoding of lossy files. If possible, work from WAV or FLAC originals and export to MP3 only as the final step.