FLAC to ALAC Converter
Convert FLAC audio to ALAC (Apple Lossless) with zero quality loss. The right path when you want your lossless music library to play natively in iTunes, Apple Music, on iPhone, and across the Apple ecosystem without any codec drift.
Drop your FLAC file here or click to browse
FLAC (.flac) · Max 20 MB
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What is FLAC?
Lossless compression. Perfect quality at roughly half the size of WAV. The choice for audiophiles and archiving.
What is ALAC?
Apple Lossless Audio Codec — bit-perfect audio in an MP4 container. Apple's equivalent of FLAC. Used by Apple Music's Lossless tier and audiophile workflows in the Apple ecosystem.
Why Convert FLAC to ALAC?
FLAC and ALAC are both lossless audio codecs — meaning when you decode either one, you get bit-identical PCM samples to the original. There is no quality difference between them. The reason to convert is purely ecosystem: FLAC is the open-source lossless standard (supported on Linux, Windows, Android, Plex, Roon, foobar2000) but is not natively supported by iTunes, the Music app on macOS, or Apple Music. ALAC is Apple's lossless codec — fully supported across all Apple software and devices, plus Apple Music's Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless streaming tiers. Converting FLAC to ALAC lets your existing lossless music library play natively in the Apple ecosystem without sacrificing any audio quality. The conversion is reversible — convert back to FLAC at any time and you get bit-identical audio. AudioUtils runs the entire conversion in your browser using FFmpeg WebAssembly — your music files never leave your device, which matters for purchased or ripped content you don't want logged on someone else's server.
Who Uses This Converter
Migrate FLAC library to Apple ecosystem
Convert your existing FLAC music collection to ALAC for native playback in iTunes/Music and on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Apple Music sync without quality loss
iTunes Match and Apple Music require an Apple-compatible format. ALAC preserves lossless quality where MP3 or AAC would not.
Audiophile streaming on Apple devices
Apple Music's Lossless tier streams ALAC. Match your local library codec for consistency with the streaming tier.
Cross-ecosystem lossless workflow
Maintain a FLAC archive for cross-platform compatibility and an ALAC copy for Apple-native playback. Both are lossless, both preserve quality forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the conversion lose any audio quality?
No. Both FLAC and ALAC are lossless codecs. The conversion decodes FLAC to PCM and re-encodes as ALAC — both operations are bit-perfect. The output ALAC file contains exactly the same audio data as the source FLAC. You can convert back to FLAC at any time and get a byte-identical copy.
Will ALAC files play in iTunes/Music app?
Yes — that's the entire point. iTunes (now Music on macOS) supports ALAC natively but does not support FLAC. Converting your FLAC library to ALAC lets you import and play it in Apple's native music app, sync it to iPhone, and have it work with everything in the Apple ecosystem.
How big is the ALAC file compared to the FLAC?
Roughly the same. ALAC and FLAC have similar compression ratios — typically 50-60% of the uncompressed WAV size. FLAC tends to be 1-5% smaller than ALAC on average, but the difference is negligible. Same audio quality, essentially the same file size.
Will the output file have an .alac or .m4a extension?
Apple convention uses .m4a for ALAC files (same extension as lossy AAC M4A — the codec inside differs). The file is wrapped in an MP4 container. macOS, iOS, and Apple Music identify the codec correctly from the file contents regardless of extension. AudioUtils outputs .m4a by default.
Why convert to ALAC instead of MP3?
If you have FLAC, you have lossless audio. Converting to MP3 throws away that quality forever (lossy compression). Converting to ALAC preserves every sample — same quality, just in an Apple-compatible container. Only convert to MP3 if you specifically need a smaller file for sharing or distribution on non-Apple devices.
Will the metadata (artist, album, artwork) be preserved?
Yes. Most metadata transfers from FLAC's Vorbis Comments to ALAC's MP4 atoms automatically: title, artist, album, year, genre, track number, embedded artwork. A few exotic Vorbis Comment fields may not have direct MP4 equivalents and might be lost.
Can I convert ALAC back to FLAC?
Yes, and the conversion is lossless in both directions. ALAC → FLAC preserves all audio data. The lossless round-trip means you can move between Apple and open-source ecosystems freely without ever sacrificing quality.