Skip to main content

WAV to FLAC converter

Compress WAV to lossless FLAC — save space without losing a single sample.

Free & unlimited
All processing happens in your browser — files never leave your device. The audio engine loads once from a CDN.

This is the one audio conversion that costs you nothing. FLAC is lossless: the decoded output is bit-for-bit identical to the WAV that went in, so the only thing that changes is the file size — typically 40 to 55 percent smaller, depending on how compressible the material is. Sparse acoustic recordings shrink most; dense, heavily limited masters shrink least. The tool encodes with ffmpeg's native FLAC encoder in your browser and offers compression levels 0 to 12, which trade encode time against a few percent of size and never against quality. An estimated output size is shown before you convert, and batches come back as a ZIP assembled in the browser.

Key facts about WAV to FLAC converter

Key facts about WAV to FLAC converter
Truly losslessDecoding the FLAC reproduces the original WAV samples exactly — this is a reversible compression, not a re-encode
Typical saving40 to 55 percent, shown as an estimate before you convert based on the selected level
What determines the ratioContent, not settings. Quiet and sparse material compresses far better than a loud, dynamically compressed master
Compression levels0 to 12, default 5. Every level produces identical audio; higher is slower and marginally smaller
Level 0Fastest encode, roughly 55 percent of the WAV size
Level 2Fast, roughly 52 percent
Verify optionAdds a bit-exact flag to the encode for reproducible output
MetadataTags are copied when preservation is on — worth noting that WAV rarely carries any to begin with
Bit depth and sample ratePreserved exactly, including 24-bit and 96 kHz sources
Size cap200 MB per input WAV

What happens to your file

The encode runs on ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly in a Web Worker inside this tab. Your WAV files go into that worker's in-memory filesystem, the FLACs come back as blobs, and the batch ZIP is assembled in the browser. Nothing is uploaded and no copy is kept. The one network request is the first-time download of the ffmpeg core, about 32 MB of fixed public code from the jsDelivr CDN, cached afterwards and reused by every audio tool here — it carries nothing of yours.

About this tool

  1. 1

    Add your WAV files

    Drop one or many. The 200 MB cap is roughly twenty minutes of 16-bit stereo at CD rate, or less for 24-bit or high-resolution material.

  2. 2

    Choose a compression level

    Level 5 is the default and what most encoders use. Move up for a slightly smaller file and a longer wait; move down when you are processing a large batch and time matters.

  3. 3

    Check the estimate

    The summary line shows the projected size and percentage saving before you commit, so you know what you are getting.

  4. 4

    Decide on verify

    The verify option adds a bit-exact encode flag. Leave it off for normal use; switch it on when you want deterministic output.

  5. 5

    Convert

    Files process one at a time with per-file progress. FLAC encoding is fast even on single-threaded WebAssembly.

  6. 6

    Download

    Take the FLACs individually or as a ZIP. You can safely delete the WAVs afterwards — the audio is fully recoverable from the FLAC.

Specs & compatibility
InputWAV (.wav), up to 200 MB per file
OutputFLAC, native encoder, lossless
Compression levels0 to 12, default 5
PreservedSample rate, bit depth and channel count, exactly
Estimated saving shownYes, before conversion, based on the chosen level
Batch outputIndividual downloads or one client-side ZIP
EngineSingle-threaded ffmpeg.wasm 0.12.10
BrowsersChrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari 15+
  • This conversion is genuinely safe to do on masters. FLAC decodes back to the exact same samples, so nothing is risked by archiving in it.
  • Level 5 is the right default. The gap between level 5 and level 12 is usually a few percent of file size for several times the encode time.
  • How much you save depends on the music, not the settings. A quiet solo piano recording can drop past 50 percent; a loud, limited master might only reach 65 percent of original size.
  • Bit depth and sample rate are preserved, so a 24-bit 96 kHz WAV stays 24-bit 96 kHz as FLAC.
  • WAV files usually have no tags, so if the filenames carry the information, keep them intact — FLAC supports proper tagging afterwards if you want to add it.
  • For playback on hardware that will not read FLAC, keep the FLAC as the archive and generate MP3s from it with the FLAC to MP3 tool when you need them.
  • If your goal is a small file rather than a lossless one, FLAC is the wrong target — a 192 kbps MP3 is roughly a tenth the size.
  • Truly lossless compression, verifiable by decoding back
  • Compression levels 0 to 12
  • Estimated output size and saving shown before conversion
  • Bit-exact verify option
  • Bit depth and sample rate preserved
  • Batch conversion with per-file progress
  • ZIP download for whole sessions
  • Archiving DAW exports at half the size with no quality cost
  • Compressing a folder of WAV field recordings for long-term storage
  • Preparing lossless masters for a music distributor that accepts FLAC
  • Shrinking recorded interviews kept as WAV without touching the audio
  • Turning a WAV library into something that fits on a portable drive
  • Creating a lossless archive copy before deleting large session WAVs
Yes, in the strict sense. FLAC applies reversible prediction and entropy coding to the PCM samples, which means decoding a FLAC file reproduces the original WAV samples exactly — you can verify this by decoding and comparing checksums of the raw audio. That is fundamentally different from MP3, AAC or Vorbis, which discard information a psychoacoustic model judges inaudible. Converting WAV to FLAC is therefore a safe operation on master files: nothing is risked and nothing is degraded.
Usually 40 to 55 percent smaller, but it varies with the content rather than with your settings. Quiet, sparse or acoustic material compresses well because the predictor can model it accurately. Loud, dense, heavily limited masters compress poorly for the same reason — their waveform looks more like noise, and noise is incompressible. The tool shows an estimate before you convert based on the chosen level, so you can see roughly what to expect for your particular file.
No. Every FLAC compression level from 0 to 12 is lossless, and a file encoded at level 0 decodes to exactly the same samples as one encoded at level 12. The level controls how hard the encoder searches for efficient predictors, which costs time and returns a slightly smaller file. Level 5 is the default in nearly every FLAC encoder because that is where the returns flatten out; going to 12 typically gains a few percent for several times the work.
Yes, exactly. Converting the FLAC back to WAV with the general audio converter produces a file whose audio samples are identical to the original. The only things that might not round-trip are WAV chunk oddities — some non-audio metadata chunks that some recorders write. The audio itself is guaranteed. This is precisely why FLAC is the standard archive format: you can store everything at roughly half the size and recover the original whenever you need it.
Yes. FLAC supports bit depths up to 32-bit and sample rates well beyond what any recording needs, so a 24-bit 96 kHz WAV converts to a 24-bit 96 kHz FLAC with no reduction of either. That is another advantage over lossy formats: MP3 caps out at 48 kHz and has no concept of bit depth at all. The channel count is preserved too, including multichannel files, so a surround WAV stays surround.
No. The FLAC encode is performed by ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, running in a Web Worker on your own machine. Your WAV goes into that worker's in-memory filesystem and the FLAC comes back as a blob in your tab; if you convert several, the ZIP is built in the browser as well. The only network request the tool makes is the one-time fetch of the ffmpeg core — about 32 MB of fixed public code from the jsDelivr CDN, cached afterwards.

Related tools

View all

Part of Audio tools that run in your browser

Updated

We use anonymous analytics to improve ToolChamp. No personal data is stored or sold. Privacy Policy