Does re-encoding to MP3 lose quality?
Slightly, because the source audio was already compressed and this compresses it again. At 192 kbps the loss is inaudible for speech and close to it for music. Choose WAV if you plan to edit the audio afterwards, since it is uncompressed.
Can I use this to download from YouTube?
No. This works on files you already have on your device — it cannot fetch anything from a website, and you should only extract audio from material you have the right to use.
Is my video uploaded to a server?
No. FFmpeg is compiled to WebAssembly and runs inside this browser tab, on your own processor. You can watch the Network tab while it works — no request carries your file. That is also why there is no queue, no size cap set by us and no watermark.
Why is the first run slow to start?
It downloads the 31 MB engine once. Your browser caches it, so every later run on this site starts immediately. The processing itself is unaffected.
How big a file can I use?
There is no limit we impose — the ceiling is how much memory your browser will hand the tab, typically 2–4 GB on desktop and much less on a phone. If a very large file fails, try trimming it first or use a lower output resolution.
Why is it slower than a desktop program?
WebAssembly runs at roughly half to a third of native speed, and this build is single-threaded because the multi-threaded one needs security headers that would break other parts of the site. For a short clip the difference is seconds; for a feature-length 4K file, use a desktop tool.
Does the Video to MP3 Converter cost anything?
There is no cost and no cap. The Video to MP3 Converter is not a demo of a paid product, so nothing is held back or watermarked.
Is what I paste into the Video to MP3 Converter stored?
No. The Video to MP3 Converter runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is transmitted, logged or stored, which you can verify yourself in the Network tab of your browser's developer tools.
What problem does the Video to MP3 Converter solve?
Typical uses: keeping the audio from a lecture or interview recording. Pulling a soundtrack out of a clip you own. Turning a video podcast into something a phone can play with the screen off. It is built for exactly those cases rather than being a general-purpose tool with this bolted on.
What do people usually get wrong here?
The first tool you run downloads the 31 MB WebAssembly engine once; after that it starts instantly. Processing speed depends on your own machine — a browser build is several times slower than desktop FFmpeg, so a long 4K file will take a while. The trade is that nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued behind other people.
Will a big file be rejected?
There is no limit set by us, because your file is never uploaded — the only ceiling is the memory your own browser will give the tab. Very large files simply take longer to process, and a phone will give up sooner than a desktop.