Online AAC Converter - Convert Audio Files to AAC
Use our free online converter to encode your audio files into the efficient AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format. Convert from popular formats like MP3, WAV, FLAC, WMA, OGG, or extract audio from video files directly to AAC. This service is fast, free, secure (files deleted automatically), requires no signup, and imposes no conversion limits.
How to Convert Files to AAC Online
Creating AAC audio files is straightforward with our tool:
- Upload Source File: Drag and drop your audio or video file, or use the 'Choose File' button to select it.
- Select Output Format: Make sure
AAC is chosen in the 'Convert to:' dropdown menu.
- Convert: Click the 'Convert' button to begin the encoding process.
- Download: Once finished, click the 'Download' button to get your new AAC file.
What is an AAC File?
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is a lossy audio compression standard designed to be the successor to the MP3 format. It generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bitrates, meaning you can get smaller file sizes for the same perceived audio quality.
AAC is the standard or default audio format for YouTube, iPhone, iPod, iPad, iTunes, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS, DivX Plus Web Player, PlayStation 3, and various Nokia and Sony Ericsson mobile phones. It's often contained within .aac files, but is also commonly found inside .m4a, .mp4, and .3gp container files.
AAC vs. MP3 and Other Formats
- Quality & Efficiency: AAC generally offers superior audio quality compared to MP3 at the same bitrate, especially at lower bitrates (below 192 kbps).
- Compatibility: While extremely widespread, especially in the Apple ecosystem and online streaming, AAC is slightly less universally compatible than MP3, particularly on very old hardware devices. However, support is ubiquitous on modern devices and software.
- Lossy Format: Like MP3, AAC uses lossy compression, permanently discarding some audio data to reduce file size. It is not suitable for lossless archiving.
- Licensing: AAC involves patents and licensing, unlike fully open formats like Ogg Vorbis or FLAC.
- Use Cases: Excellent for music streaming, portable music players, podcasts, and general audio storage where a good balance of quality and file size is needed.
How to Open an AAC File
AAC files (and M4A/MP4 files containing AAC audio) are supported by a vast range of modern software and hardware:
- Apple Music / iTunes (Default format)
- Windows Media Player (Recent versions)
- VLC Media Player (Cross-platform)
- Foobar2000 (Windows)
- Winamp (Windows)
- Most Android and iOS smartphones and tablets (native support)
- Modern web browsers (often within HTML5 audio/video tags)
- Game consoles like PlayStation and Nintendo DS/3DS families.
You typically won't need extra software to play AAC files on current devices.
Explore Specific Converters
Need detailed information or want to set a different default format? Visit our specific converter pages: