Convert WMA to MP3
Turn Windows Media Audio files into 192 kbps MP3s that play on phones, Macs and car stereos. Free, no sign-up, one file up to 50 MB.
Turn Windows Media Audio files into 192 kbps MP3s that play on phones, Macs and car stereos. Free, no sign-up, one file up to 50 MB.
WMA (Windows Media Audio) was Microsoft's alternative to MP3, and for years Windows Media Player ripped CDs to it by default. The Sound Recorder in Windows Vista and 7 saved WMA as well, and so did some older digital voice recorders. Those files still play on a Windows PC, but iPhones, Macs, many Android music apps and plenty of car stereos won't open them. Converting to MP3 is the simplest way to make an old collection usable again.
Whatever WMA you upload, the result is a 192 kbps constant-bitrate MP3 made with the LAME encoder. The original sample rate is kept (anything above 48 kHz is resampled to 48 kHz), a mono recording stays mono, and a multichannel WMA Pro track is mixed down to stereo. There are no options to set, so every file comes out the same way.
.wma file onto the box above or browse for it, then confirm MP3 is the output format.Most WMA files use the standard lossy codec, which makes this a lossy-to-lossy re-encode. Detail that the WMA encoder removed is gone for good, and the MP3 encoder removes a little more. At 192 kbps that extra step is rarely audible when the source was 128 kbps or better. A 64 kbps WMA, on the other hand, will keep its thin, swishy sound after conversion; it just ends up in a larger file.
WMA Lossless is a different case. It stores the full CD-quality signal, so the MP3 is the first and only lossy generation, and at 192 kbps it generally sounds very close to the source. If you might want a perfect copy later, hold on to the lossless file too, or turn it into FLAC, which is easier to play on non-Windows devices.
| WMA source | Approx. size per minute | MP3 from this tool |
|---|---|---|
| Standard WMA, 64 kbps | 0.48 MB | 1.44 MB (about 3x larger) |
| Standard WMA, 128 kbps | 0.96 MB | 1.44 MB (about 1.5x larger) |
| Standard WMA, 192 kbps | 1.44 MB | 1.44 MB (about the same) |
| WMA Lossless, CD source | roughly 4 to 7 MB, depending on the music | 1.44 MB (much smaller) |
.wmv, the WMV to MP3 page covers extracting its audio.Music bought or rented from download and subscription services in the 2000s was often locked with Windows Media DRM. Those files are tied to a license, and the converter can't decode them. If a WMA plays on your old PC but fails here, DRM is the most likely cause. Your own CD rips are normally unprotected, unless the "copy protect music" option was switched on in Windows Media Player when you ripped them.
Files over 50 MB are usually WMA Lossless rips of a whole album saved as one track, or long recordings. Split the audio into shorter pieces in an editor such as Audacity and convert each piece separately.
The converter writes an audio stream only, so cover images embedded in the WMA are left behind. Text tags such as title and artist usually transfer, but there's no tag editor on this site; fill in anything missing with your music player afterwards.
Recorders often used low-bitrate WMA Voice or mono WMA to save space. The MP3 will match that recording closely, including its limited range, because conversion can't add back frequencies that were never captured. For more on the source format, see the WMA converter page.
| WMA | MP3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Windows Media Audio | MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer III |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy |
| Developed by | Microsoft | Fraunhofer IIS / MPEG |
| Introduced | 1999 | 1993 |
| File extension | .wma | .mp3 |
| Typically used for | Older Windows music libraries and portable players | Music libraries, podcasts, everyday listening |
| Plays on | Windows Media Player and most Windows apps, VLC; poor on Apple and Android | Virtually every phone, computer, browser, car stereo and media player |
| Our output | WMA v2, 192 kbps, 44.1 kHz stereo | LAME MP3, 192 kbps CBR, stereo |
Standard WMA is already lossy, so converting it to MP3 is a re-encode that removes a little more detail. At our fixed 192 kbps the difference is usually hard to hear if the WMA was 128 kbps or higher. A WMA Lossless file only goes through one lossy step. In no case does the MP3 sound better than the WMA you started with.
The most common reason is DRM. Songs from older download and subscription stores were often protected with Windows Media DRM, and those files can't be converted. Other causes are a file larger than 50 MB or a damaged download. CD rips you made yourself in Windows Media Player usually convert fine unless copy protection was enabled when ripping.
No. There are no settings to choose on this site. Every WMA is converted to a 192 kbps constant-bitrate MP3 using the LAME encoder. The sample rate of your file is kept, except that anything above 48 kHz is resampled to 48 kHz, and mono files stay mono.
Yes, as long as they aren't DRM-protected and are 50 MB or smaller. Lossless files are much larger than standard WMA, so long tracks may exceed the limit. WMA Pro files with surround sound are mixed down to a stereo MP3, and high-resolution sample rates are brought down to 48 kHz.
The WMA you upload is deleted from our server as soon as the conversion succeeds. The finished MP3 and any leftover files are removed automatically within about an hour, so download your MP3 promptly. We don't listen to or keep your audio, and you don't need an account to use the converter.
Need detailed information or want to set a different default format? Visit our specific converter pages: