Skip to main content

WMA converter

Convert WMA audio to MP3, WAV, FLAC, or OGG.

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

WMA is Microsoft's Windows Media Audio, the default format Windows Media Player ripped CDs into for most of the 2000s. It plays on Windows and almost nowhere else — not on an iPhone, not in most car head units, not in most modern music apps — which is why old ripped libraries become unplayable the moment someone changes computer. This converter decodes WMA in your browser and re-encodes it as MP3, WAV, FLAC or OGG. Bitrate runs from 128 to 320 kbps for MP3, the sample rate can be matched or forced to 44.1 or 48 kHz, and metadata is carried across by default. Batches convert in sequence and download as a ZIP.

Key facts about WMA converter

Key facts about WMA converter
What WMA isWindows Media Audio, a Microsoft lossy codec. Standard WMA is lossy; WMA Lossless and WMA Pro are separate variants of the same family
Why convertWMA playback outside Windows is patchy to nonexistent — iOS, most car stereos and most modern apps do not read it
Output formatsMP3 for universal playback, WAV for uncompressed editing, FLAC for lossless archiving, OGG Vorbis for open-source projects
Lossy to lossyStandard WMA is already lossy, so converting to MP3 or OGG costs a second generation
FLAC caveatConverting standard WMA to FLAC makes a lossless copy of a lossy source — it protects against further loss, it does not restore quality
Bitrates128, 192, 256 and 320 kbps for MP3; lossless targets ignore the setting
Sample ratesAuto (match source), 44,100 Hz or 48,000 Hz
MetadataArtist, album and title carry across by default during conversion
Typical sizeA 128 kbps WMA converted to 192 kbps MP3 grows by about half without sounding better; 128 kbps MP3 is closest to like-for-like
Size cap200 MB per file

What happens to your file

The decode and re-encode happen in ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, running in a Web Worker inside this tab. Your WMA files go into that worker's in-memory filesystem and the converted files come back as blobs; the batch ZIP is built in the browser. Nothing is uploaded and no copy is retained. 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 by your browser and reused by every audio tool here.

About this tool

  1. 1

    Add your WMA files

    Drop one file or a whole ripped album folder. Each file can be up to 200 MB, far more than any typical WMA track.

  2. 2

    Pick an output format

    MP3 for a phone or a car. WAV if the audio is going into an editor. FLAC to archive it losslessly from here on. OGG for open-source or game projects.

  3. 3

    Set the bitrate

    For MP3, match roughly what the WMA was. A 128 kbps WMA does not benefit from a 320 kbps MP3 — it just stores the same artefacts in a bigger file.

  4. 4

    Check the sample rate

    Leave it on auto unless the destination needs a specific rate. Most WMA rips are 44.1 kHz already.

  5. 5

    Convert

    Files are processed one after another with per-file progress. The summary line shows the settings being applied.

  6. 6

    Download

    Individually or as a ZIP. Check the tags on one file before you delete the WMA originals.

Specs & compatibility
InputWMA (.wma), up to 200 MB per file
Output formatsMP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG Vorbis
Bitrates128, 192, 256 or 320 kbps for MP3
Sample ratesAuto, 44,100 Hz or 48,000 Hz
DRMWMA files protected with Windows Media DRM cannot be decoded and will fail
Batch outputIndividual downloads or one client-side ZIP
EngineSingle-threaded ffmpeg.wasm 0.12.10, with the native WMA decoder built in
BrowsersChrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari 15+ — note that no browser plays WMA natively, which is why conversion is needed at all
  • Match the bitrate to the source. A 128 kbps WMA converted to 320 kbps MP3 is two and a half times the size with no quality gain whatsoever.
  • If the files are WMA Lossless rather than standard WMA, convert to FLAC rather than MP3 — otherwise you are throwing away a genuinely lossless source.
  • DRM-protected WMA files from the old Windows Media store cannot be converted by any tool that does not hold the licence. They will simply fail to decode.
  • For a library migration, FLAC is the format to move to if you have the disk space, and MP3 if you do not.
  • Check that the tags survived on one file before deleting a few hundred WMA originals — retagging an entire library by hand is a long evening.
  • OGG Vorbis is the right target only for game engines and open-source projects; for general listening MP3 is more compatible.
  • The 200 MB cap is generous for WMA. If a file exceeds it, it is almost certainly a long recording rather than a music track.
  • Four output formats: MP3, WAV, FLAC and OGG
  • MP3 bitrate from 128 to 320 kbps
  • Sample rate matched to source or forced
  • Metadata carried across by default
  • Batch conversion with per-file progress
  • ZIP download for whole albums
  • In-page playback of converted files
  • Migrating a Windows Media Player CD rip library to MP3 for a phone
  • Making WMA audiobooks playable on a non-Windows device
  • Converting WMA voice recordings to WAV for editing
  • Moving an old WMA collection to FLAC for long-term archival
  • Getting WMA files into a modern music app that refuses the format
  • Preparing WMA audio for a car stereo that only reads MP3 from USB
Because WMA is a Microsoft format that never achieved support outside the Windows ecosystem. iPhones and iPads do not play it, most Android music apps do not, browsers do not, and the great majority of car head units and portable players read only MP3, AAC and sometimes FLAC. Windows Media Player made WMA the default rip format for years, so a great many CD collections ripped in the 2000s are now in a format that only plays on the machine they were made on.
MP3 for maximum compatibility — it plays on everything, including hardware from before WMA existed. FLAC if you have the disk space and want the files never to degrade again, which is the right call for an archive. WAV if the audio is heading straight into editing software. OGG Vorbis only for game engines or open-source projects that specifically use it. For a general library migration off WMA, MP3 or FLAC is the choice.
Yes, a little, because standard WMA is already lossy. The file is decoded and re-encoded with a different lossy codec, so the WMA encoder's artefacts are baked in and the MP3 encoder adds its own. The way to minimise it is to match the bitrate roughly to the source rather than going higher — a 128 kbps WMA at 160 or 192 kbps MP3 is a reasonable landing point, and 320 kbps just stores the same artefacts more faithfully.
It depends on which WMA you have. If the files are standard lossy WMA, converting to FLAC makes a lossless copy of an already-damaged source: it does not restore anything, but it does guarantee no further loss in any future conversion, which is a legitimate reason for an archive. If the files are WMA Lossless — a distinct variant — then FLAC is clearly the right target, because converting those to MP3 would discard a genuinely lossless master.
No. Files bought from the old Windows Media DRM stores are encrypted and can only be decoded by software holding a valid licence for that machine and that account. No conversion tool, here or anywhere else, can decode them without that licence, and this one will simply fail on such a file. If you have protected files, the practical routes are to check whether the original store still offers unprotected re-downloads, or to re-acquire the music.
No. The decode and re-encode are performed by ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, running in a Web Worker on your own device — the WMA decoder is part of that engine. Your files go into the worker's in-memory filesystem and the results come back as blobs in your tab; the batch ZIP is built in the browser. The one network request is the first-time fetch of the ffmpeg core, about 32 MB of fixed public code from the jsDelivr CDN.
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