How to Reduce the Size of an Audio File Without Ruining It
Audio files get large quickly, and many upload forms, email services and chat apps have size limits. Shrinking a file is easy once you know which settings matter.
Where the size comes from
Two things decide the size: the format (compressed or not) and the settings (sample rate, channels, bitrate).
| One minute of audio | Approximate size |
|---|---|
| WAV, 44.1 kHz, stereo, 16-bit | 10.6 MB |
| WAV, 16 kHz, mono, 16-bit | 1.9 MB |
| MP3, 128 kbps | 0.96 MB |
| MP3, 64 kbps | 0.48 MB |
Five ways to shrink a file, from biggest effect to smallest
- Change the format. Going from WAV to MP3 usually cuts the size by 80 to 90 percent. FLAC cuts it by roughly half without losing anything, but the file stays larger than an MP3.
- Lower the bitrate. For speech, 64 to 96 kbps is often enough. Halving the bitrate halves the size. See MP3 bitrate explained.
- Use mono for one voice. This halves the size. Read mono vs stereo.
- Lower the sample rate. Speech is clear at 16 kHz, so going from 44.1 kHz to 16 kHz cuts an uncompressed file by more than half. Only do this if your project allows it. See sample rates.
- Trim what you do not need. Cut long silences and mistakes in an editor before you convert.
Do it in one step
Open the Sayvoi converter, choose MP3, pick a bitrate, set the sample rate and Mono, and convert. Each file shows its original and new format side by side, so you can see what changed.
What to avoid
- Do not shrink a file that must be delivered as lossless audio. Follow the project specification.
- Do not convert a small MP3 to another small MP3 repeatedly. Each lossy step loses quality, so always start from the original.
Convert your audio files for free in your browser, without uploading them to any server.
Open the converter