Free converter · Extract audio
Convert MOV to MP3
Short answer
Drop your MOV file into the converter below and download the MP3 file. It runs in your browser with FFmpeg, for files up to 100 MB; nothing is uploaded. Only the sound is kept: the video track is dropped and the audio is saved as MP3 audio at about 128 kbps, keeping the source's sample rate.
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.
Extract audio from MOV into MP3. · Extract audio · Browser-side via FFmpeg WASM - nothing uploaded.
Key takeaways
- The converter drops the picture and writes MP3 at 128 kbps CBR with ffmpeg defaults.
- Measured: 10 seconds from a MOV gave 160,840 bytes, 128 kbps, 48 kHz stereo.
- A MOV with 5.1 sound is mixed down to stereo: our 6-channel test produced a 2-channel MP3.
- Camera and phone MOV files usually hold AAC audio; the MP3 is a second lossy encode of it.
Measured: the MOV case
Measured on the soundtrack of a 10 second excerpt of Big Buck Bunny (animated film; (c) Blender Foundation, CC BY 3.0), stereo, 48 kHz, using the same ffmpeg arguments this converter passes to its WebAssembly build, run with ffmpeg 6.1.1. Results describe this file.
| Source | MP3 output | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| MOV, AAC 192 kbps stereo | 160,840 bytes | 128 kbps, 2 channels, 48 kHz |
| MOV, AAC 6 channels (5.1) | 160,852 bytes | 128 kbps, 2 channels, 48 kHz (mixed down) |
MP3 as written here has at most two channels, so surround detail is folded into stereo.
MOV vs MP3
| MOV | MP3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | QuickTime File Format (Apple) | MPEG-1 Audio Layer III |
| What is inside | H.264, HEVC or ProRes video with AAC or PCM audio | MP3 audio |
| Compression | Depends on the codec inside | Lossy |
| Best for | iPhone recordings and Final Cut Pro projects | Music and podcasts that must play on every device |
What you get
MP3 audio at about 128 kbps, keeping the source's sample rate. Extract audio from MOV into MP3.
Commands for control
ffmpeg -i in.mov -vn -codec:a libmp3lame -qscale:a 2 out.mp3(VBR; the FFmpeg wiki says 0 to 3 normally produce transparent results).ffmpeg -i in.mov -vn -c:a copy out.m4akeeps the original AAC with no second lossy step when the MOV's audio is AAC.
Size reference
Computed: size in bytes = bitrate in bits per second × seconds ÷ 8. A 3.5 minute (210 s) song is 3.36 MB at 128 kbps, 5.04 MB at 192 kbps, 6.72 MB at 256 kbps and 8.4 MB at 320 kbps.
Questions people ask
Is this MOV to MP3 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 MOV to MP3 reduce quality?
The audio is re-encoded to MP3, a lossy format, so there is a small loss compared with the original track.
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.
Does MOV to MP3 keep the video?
No. Only the audio is kept.
What quality is the MP3?
128 kbps constant bitrate with this converter's ffmpeg defaults.
What happens to surround sound?
It is mixed down to stereo; MP3 here carries two channels at most.
Can I extract the audio without re-encoding?
Yes, with ffmpeg -c:a copy to an .m4a if the MOV holds AAC.
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 2026-10-08)
- FFmpeg Wiki: Encode/MP3 (libmp3lame quality and bitrate) (read 2026-10-08)
- Blender Foundation: Big Buck Bunny (CC BY 3.0), the clip used for the measurements (read 2026-10-08)
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.