Audio converter · Windows 10 and 11
Convert M4A to MP3
M4A is how iPhones save Voice Memos and how iTunes and Apple Music store songs. Car stereos, older MP3 players, upload forms and plenty of apps still want MP3. Octoolo converts one memo or a whole music folder without leaving your PC, and the titles and album art come too.
How to convert M4A to MP3
- 1
Put the M4As on the PC
Share Voice Memos from the iPhone (to Files, a cloud drive or email) and save them in a folder. iTunes songs are already on the PC, usually under Music\iTunes\iTunes Media.
- 2
Find Convert sound files
On Octoolo's home screen, type convert audio into What do you want to do?, or open Converters and pick Convert audio. Then drop in the files or their folder.
- 3
Choose MP3 and a quality
Select MP3. As it is follows each file's own bit rate; High, Balanced and Small set 320, 192 or 128 kbps for every file (half that for mono recordings).
- 4
Convert them
Start the conversion. The MP3s appear next to their M4As under the same names, and the Open button on a finished row plays one in your usual player.
M4A and MP3 compared
| Detail | M4A | MP3 |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | MPEG-4 Audio | MPEG-1 Audio Layer III |
| Compression | Lossy (AAC), or lossless when it holds Apple Lossless | Lossy: leaves out what the ear notices least |
| Size | About 1 MB a minute at 128 kbps | About 1 MB a minute at 128 kbps, 2.4 MB at 320 kbps |
| Best for | Music on Apple devices, voice memos, better quality than MP3 at the same size | Playing and sharing music anywhere |
| Plays in | iPhone, Mac, Apple Music, Windows 10 and 11, Android, browsers | Every phone, player, car stereo and browser |
| Since | 2001, MPEG-4 standard | 1993, Fraunhofer and MPEG |
Where M4A files come from
M4A is an MPEG-4 file that holds only sound, usually AAC and sometimes Apple Lossless. Most people have them from one of these:
- iPhone Voice Memos. Recorded as AAC, or as Apple Lossless if the Voice Memos app is set to lossless audio quality. Octoolo reads both.
- iTunes and Apple Music. Songs bought from the iTunes Store since 2009 are 256 kbps AAC files without copy protection, and iTunes imports CDs as AAC unless you change its settings.
- Windows and Android recorders. Windows 10's Voice Recorder app saved M4A files, and so do many Android voice recorder apps.
- Videos. The sound taken out of an MP4 is often an M4A; see MP4 to M4A.
MP3, on the other hand, is the format nearly everything plays: the USB port in a car, an old MP3 player, a school's learning portal, a podcast host, a website form that says “.mp3 only”. Converting gives you a copy for all of those, while the M4A stays where it was for your Apple devices.
Choosing the quality for music and for voice
| Your M4A | Pick | You get |
|---|---|---|
| iTunes song, 256 kbps AAC | As it is | 256 kbps MP3, roughly 1.9 MB per minute |
| Apple Lossless song or memo | As it is or High | 320 kbps, roughly 2.4 MB per minute |
| Voice memo, lecture, meeting | Small | 128 kbps, or 64 for a mono recording: 1 MB or 0.5 MB per minute |
| A big library for a small USB stick | Balanced | 192 kbps, roughly 1.4 MB per minute |
As it is copies each file's bit rate to its MP3, held within the 128 to 320 kbps range where MP3 works well. That matters because AAC to MP3 is a second round of lossy compression, and a little detail goes each time. Staying at or above the M4A's own rate keeps that loss very hard to hear; going higher than the original never adds anything back.
Want to trim a memo first? Drop it into the Audio Editor instead, drag its ends in, and Export it as MP3, which the editor writes at 192 kbps. The MP3 cutter page walks through it.
Tags, album art and copy-protected songs
Octoolo carries the title, artist and album into the MP3, along with the cover picture, and writes them as ID3v2.3 tags, the most widely read version. Your library looks the same after converting, only in another format, and the songs still sort by album in your player.
Two kinds of file can't be converted: songs downloaded with an Apple Music subscription, and older iTunes purchases saved as .m4p files. Both are copy-protected, and FFmpeg, which Octoolo converts with, cannot read the sound inside them. Songs imported from your own CDs and purchases without protection convert normally.
Audiobooks with chapters usually end in .m4b rather than .m4a; M4B to MP3 covers those, including what happens to the chapters.
Other ways to do it on Windows
iTunes for Windows can make MP3 copies. Open Edit, Preferences, then Import Settings on the General tab and choose MP3 Encoder; then select songs and use File, Convert, Create MP3 Version. It works on songs in your iTunes library, and the copies are added to the library beside the originals, so you end up with every song twice.
VLC can convert a file or two through Media, Convert / Save and its “Audio - MP3” profile.
Octoolo fits the jobs in between: a folder of voice memos or a whole music folder in one go, tags and covers kept, each MP3 left next to its M4A, and no library to manage.
Octoolo or an online converter?
| Detail | Octoolo | A typical online tool |
|---|---|---|
| Your files | Stay on your computer | Usually uploaded to the site's server |
| Without internet | Works | Does not work |
| File size | No limit | Often capped on free use |
| Many files | Whole folders at once | Often a few at a time |
| Watermarks and ads | None | Common on free plans |
| Cost | $4.99 a month, all 17 apps | Free with limits, or a plan per site |
Questions, answered
Is M4A better quality than MP3?
Usually a little, bit rate for bit rate, because AAC is the more efficient codec. Converting won't improve anything, though: the point is a file that plays where M4A doesn't.
Can I convert iPhone Voice Memos to MP3 on a PC?
Yes. Copy the memos to the PC first, since Octoolo works on files rather than on the phone itself, then convert them like any M4A. Both the standard AAC memos and lossless ones work.
Will the album art show up in the MP3?
Yes, when the M4A has a cover embedded. It is copied into the MP3 along with the song details, so players and File Explorer show the same artwork.
Why won't some of my iTunes songs convert?
They are probably copy-protected: Apple Music subscription downloads and pre-2009 iTunes purchases (.m4p) can't be read. CD imports and iTunes Plus purchases convert fine.
Do I need iTunes installed?
No. Octoolo reads M4A files itself, so neither iTunes, Apple Music nor an Apple account is needed on the PC.
Are my recordings sent anywhere?
No. Voice memos are often private: interviews, lessons, family moments. Octoolo converts them on your computer, so they never sit on someone else's server.
M4A to MP3, and 16 more apps.
Download for Windows7 days free, then from $3.99 a month for all 17 apps. Windows 10 and 11.