Which audio format should you use?

The short answer

Use MP3 at 320 kbps for music you want to play anywhere, MP3 at 128 kbps for speech, and WAV or FLAC only if you plan to edit the file again.

The formats

MP3

Plays on every phone, computer, car and speaker made in the last 25 years. It throws away sound most people can't hear to keep files small. At 320 kbps it's very hard to tell apart from the original.

M4A (AAC)

Apple's default. It sounds slightly better than MP3 at the same size, and it's what iPhone voice memos and ringtones (M4R) use. Some older players and cars don't support it.

WAV

Uncompressed, so nothing is lost and editing programs love it. The downside is size: about 10 MB per minute.

FLAC

Also lossless, but compressed to roughly half the size of WAV. Good for keeping a music collection at full quality. Not every device plays it.

OGG and OPUS

Open formats used by apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. They're efficient, especially for voice, but many players can't open them, which is why people convert them to MP3.

What kbps means

Kbps (kilobits per second) is how much data is used for each second of sound. More data means better sound and bigger files.

1. 128 kbps: about 1 MB per minute. Fine for podcasts, lectures and voice notes.
2. 192 kbps: about 1.4 MB per minute. Good for music on phone speakers.
3. 256 to 320 kbps: about 2 to 2.4 MB per minute. Best for music on headphones or a good speaker.

One thing to avoid

Converting a small MP3 to WAV or a higher bitrate doesn't bring back lost quality. It just makes the file bigger. Always start from the best original you have.