Turn iPhone voice memos and iTunes M4A songs into MP3 files that play on any device, right in your browser - got several memos? Join them first with Merge M4A.
Want the memo shorter? Cut it afterwards with the MP3 Cutter.
M4A is the audio-only version of the MP4 format that Apple uses everywhere.
iPhone Voice Memos, iTunes, GarageBand and many Android recorders save it.
Inside is usually AAC, a lossy codec, or sometimes ALAC (Apple Lossless). Older car stereos, some players, upload forms and editing apps still expect MP3 - that is where converting helps.
In the Voice Memos app, tap the memo, then the three dots and Save to Files. Open this page on the same iPhone and pick the memo from Files.
Choose Podcast / voice: 96 kbps mono with normalized volume. Memos come out small and clear, ready to email or upload.
Several memos from one meeting? Merge M4A joins them into one file first.
| M4A (AAC) | MP3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Codec | AAC, or ALAC (lossless) | MPEG Layer III |
| Quality per kbps | A little better than MP3 | Good at 192 kbps and up |
| Made by | iPhone, iTunes, GarageBand | Almost every app |
| Plays on | Apple devices, modern players | Everything, old car stereos too |
| Tags | iTunes tags | ID3 tags |
Need the sound from a video instead? Video to MP3 pulls it out of MP4 files.
The page shows the source bitrate and warns you when a higher MP3 bitrate would not help. MP3 encoding by LAME (LGPL), on your own device.
Drop your M4A files into the box, pick a preset and press Convert to MP3.
One file downloads as an MP3, more than two come as a ZIP.
Save the memo to Files (three dots, Save to Files), open this page on your iPhone and pick it. Choose Podcast / voice for small, clear files.
It all happens on the phone - nothing is uploaded.
No. Your browser decodes the M4A and the LAME encoder writes the MP3 on your device. Private recordings stay private.
AAC M4A is already lossy, so re-encoding loses a little more. Pick a bitrate at or slightly above the original and the difference is very hard to hear.
Apple Lossless (ALAC) M4A converts as cleanly as a CD.
Yes. Title, artist, album and year are copied from the M4A into the MP3 ID3 tag, and you can edit them under Title, artist and album before converting.
Old iTunes Store purchases (M4P) are copy-protected and cannot be converted.
Apple Lossless (ALAC) M4A only decodes in Safari on a Mac, iPhone or iPad - Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot read it yet. Regular AAC M4A works in every modern browser.
Yes, M4B is the same format with chapters. The whole book becomes one MP3; chapter marks are not kept.
Up to 50 M4A files per batch, up to 150 MB each. More than two MP3s come as one ZIP, and recent conversions stay in this browser.