Convert to and from M4A, free.
M4A is AAC audio in an MP4 container: what an iPhone Voice Memo, GarageBand export or Apple Music download hands you. It sounds better than MP3 at the same bitrate, but the extension confuses older hardware and plenty of upload forms.
Convert something else to M4A
Pick what you have. Each page opens the editor with M4A already selected as the output.
Convert M4A to something else
Pick where it is going. Older car stereos, media players and some upload forms reject .m4a.
M4A next to the formats it converts with
Where each one plays, what it is for and how heavy it is, so you can pick the target before you open a converter.
M4A
MP3
WAV
AAC
MP4
OGG
FLAC
| Format | Best for | Plays on | File size |
|---|---|---|---|
| M4A | Voice memos and Apple audio exports | Apple devices natively, most others too | Slightly smaller than MP3 at the same quality |
| MP3 | Podcasts, voice notes, music you need to send | Every device made in the last 25 years | Roughly a tenth of uncompressed audio |
| WAV | Editing, mastering, voiceover work | Every desktop and audio tool; large for phones | About 10 MB per minute in stereo |
| AAC | Audio pulled out of video files | Most modern devices; bare streams can confuse players | Similar to MP3, slightly better quality |
| MP4 | Sharing anywhere, uploads, web embeds | Every phone, browser, TV and editor | Small for the quality |
| OGG | Open-source projects, game audio, voice notes | Browsers and Android; poor on Apple hardware | Small, efficient |
| FLAC | Archiving music without losing quality | Desktop players and Android; limited on Apple | Around half of WAV, still large |
What M4A actually is
MPEG-4 audio
AAC (lossy) or ALAC (lossless)
Voice memos and Apple audio exports
Apple devices natively, most others too
Slightly smaller than MP3 at the same quality
Better quality than MP3 at the same bitrate, and native on Apple devices.
Older car stereos, media players and some upload forms reject .m4a.
ALAC-encoded M4A files are far larger than people expect.
An iPhone Voice Memos recording is an M4A, which is why a voice note often needs converting before an older car stereo, a web form or a podcast host that asks for MP3 will take it.
REQO exports M4A as AAC at 192 kbps, the same audio codec an MP4 video carries, so it plays on every Apple device and in every modern browser.
Questions about M4A
What is an M4A file?
M4A is AAC audio in an MP4 container: what an iPhone Voice Memo, GarageBand export or Apple Music download hands you. It sounds better than MP3 at the same bitrate, but the extension confuses older hardware and plenty of upload forms. It is the MPEG-4 audio container, usually holding AAC (lossy) or ALAC (lossless).
Is converting M4A free?
Yes. Convert and preview free, and a free account downloads the result. Free exports and share pages include a small REQO badge. Go Pro to remove it. Nothing is installed.
Will converting to M4A lose quality?
Some, whenever the codec changes: every re-encode discards detail. Where the container can simply be rewritten around the existing streams it is lossless, and where it cannot the default settings are chosen so the loss is not visible at normal viewing size.
Other formats
Convert it, then keep editing.
Every converter opens the full editor, so you can trim, caption and share without uploading the file twice.