Free converter · Lossless transform
Convert WAV to FLAC
Short answer
Drop your WAV file into the converter below and download the FLAC file. It runs in your browser with FFmpeg, for files up to 100 MB; nothing is uploaded. The pixels are saved as lossless FLAC audio, without further loss.
Maximum file size: 100 MB. The first conversion loads a ~30 MB converter engine, once per visit. Nothing is uploaded - conversion runs on your device.
WAV to FLAC is mathematically lossless. · Lossless transform · Browser-side via FFmpeg WASM - nothing uploaded.
Key takeaways
- The 1.92 MB WAV file became a 681 KB FLAC file (-64.5%), about 545 kbps for the 10 second clip.
- The result holds: Audio: flac 48000 Hz 2 ch.
- In your browser the same conversion of a 3 second clip took 0.06 seconds on the single-thread engine; natively, the 10 second clip took 0.10 seconds.
- Next to it: WAV to AAC (-91.5%), WAV to OGG (-93.8%), WAV to Opus (-93.9%).
Measured: WAV to FLAC
The converter's own ffmpeg arguments, run on a 10 second 1920 × 1080 excerpt of Big Buck Bunny (an animated film, not camera footage) saved in WAV. The browser column is the same arguments on the single-thread WebAssembly core with a 3 second excerpt, in a headless run; your device will differ. Results describe this clip and these encoders.
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Mode | Audio re-encoded |
| Input | WAV, 1.92 MB |
| Output | FLAC, 681 KB (-64.5%) |
| Output streams | Audio: flac 48000 Hz 2 ch |
| Time, native, 10 s clip | 0.10 s |
| Time, browser engine, 3 s clip | 0.06 s |
A re-encode decodes and encodes every frame or sample, so the time grows with the length of the file.
WAV vs FLAC
| WAV | FLAC | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Waveform Audio File Format | Free Lossless Audio Codec |
| What is inside | Uncompressed PCM audio | Losslessly compressed audio |
| Compression | Uncompressed | Lossless |
| Best for | Editing and mastering, where every sample matters; very large files | Archiving music at full quality in less space than WAV |
What you get
Lossless FLAC audio. WAV to FLAC is mathematically lossless.
Planning a bigger file
These are estimates scaled up from the 10 second clip. Real files differ with content, resolution and bitrate, so treat them as an order of magnitude, not a promise.
| Length of the video or recording | Input size (like ours) | FLAC size | Time in your browser |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | 11.52 MB | 4.08 MB | 1 seconds |
| 10 minutes | 115.21 MB | 40.85 MB | 12 seconds |
| 1 hour | 691.24 MB | 245.08 MB | 71 seconds |
A WAV file of this kind reaches the 100 MB limit of the converter after about 9.1 minutes; converting it would take roughly 11 seconds on the single-thread engine, and the FLAC would be about 37.18 MB.
WAV and FLAC next to their neighbors
The same clip through other conversions with the same source or the same target.
| Conversion | How | Size change | Time (native) |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAV to FLAC | Re-encode | -64.5% | 0.10 s |
| WAV to AAC | Re-encode | -91.5% | 0.28 s |
| WAV to OGG | Re-encode | -93.8% | 0.25 s |
| WAV to Opus | Re-encode | -93.9% | 0.10 s |
| AAC to FLAC | Re-encode | +567% | 0.11 s |
| AVI to FLAC | Re-encode | -79.8% | 0.11 s |
| M4A to FLAC | Re-encode | +566% | 0.10 s |
Choosing FLAC
FLAC: Free Lossless Audio Codec. Archiving music at full quality in less space than WAV. WAV: Waveform Audio File Format. Editing and mastering, where every sample matters; very large files.
- Keep your original: a re-encode is a copy of a copy.
- If the destination states the format it accepts, use that and nothing else.
Questions people ask
Is this WAV to FLAC converter free and private?
Yes. It is free, needs no account and runs entirely in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Will converting WAV to FLAC reduce quality?
No further loss: FLAC stores the decoded pixels exactly.
Is there a file size limit?
Files up to 100 MB. The first conversion downloads a converter engine of about 30 MB once per visit; larger files are better handled by a desktop app such as HandBrake or FFmpeg.
How do I convert WAV to FLAC?
Choose the file in the converter above and download the FLAC. It runs in your browser with no upload.
Will converting WAV to FLAC reduce quality?
FLAC adds no loss of its own. Keep the original file.
Why did the file size change by -64.5%?
The target codec and settings decide the size. This 10 second clip came out at 681 KB, about 545 kbps.
How long does it take?
A 3 second clip took 0.06 seconds in the browser engine in our test; time grows with the length of the file.
How long will a WAV file of 100 MB take?
At the speed we measured in the browser engine, about 11 seconds for a file like our clip. Your device and the content will change it.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser.
Is there a size limit?
Files up to 100 MB. The first conversion downloads a converter engine of about 30 MB once per visit.
More converters
Sources and how we checked
- MDN: Media container formats
- MDN: Web audio codec guide
- MDN: Image file type and format guide
- FFmpeg documentation: stream copy
- FFmpeg Documentation: ffmpeg (stream selection, -map, -c copy) (read 2026-10-09)
- MDN: Web audio codec guide (read 2026-10-09)
- Blender Foundation: Big Buck Bunny (CC BY 3.0), the clip used for the measurements (read 2026-10-09)
Reviewed October 8, 2026. What the converter writes was measured with ffprobe on the same FFmpeg build your browser downloads; format descriptions follow MDN's media guides.