You have a video — a lecture, a meeting recording, a tutorial — and you want the audio. Maybe you want to listen on the go, or edit the sound in a different app, or just save space. Here's how to do it without downloading any software.
What happens when you extract audio
A video file contains at least two streams: a video stream (compressed frames) and an audio stream (compressed sound). Extraction means reading the audio stream and saving it as a standalone file. Modern browsers can decode both streams using built-in APIs, so no server or plugin is needed.
Step by step
- Open the video to audio extractor.
- Drop your video file into the box. The browser will read the audio track and show you the duration, sample rate and number of channels.
- Choose your output format. MP3 at 192 kbps is the best choice for most uses — good quality, small file, plays everywhere. WAV if you intend to edit further.
- Optionally set a start and end time to extract only a section.
- Click Extract. Wait for the progress bar to complete, then the file downloads automatically.
How long will it take?
The browser decodes and re-encodes audio in software, which is slower than a native application. As a rough guide: a 10-minute video takes 1–3 minutes to process. A 1-hour video may take 10–20 minutes. The browser tab needs to stay open during processing.
Why might it fail?
The video has no audio. Screen recordings and some camera clips lack an audio track. Check in a media player first.
The codec isn't supported. H.265/HEVC video files often have audio in AAC format, which most browsers support, but the video decoder refusing to open the file can prevent the audio from being reached. If this happens, convert the video to MP4/H.264 first with a tool like HandBrake, then try again.
The file is very large. Files over 500 MB may run into browser memory limits on older or lower-memory devices.
Formats that work
MP4 with H.264 video is the most universally supported. WebM, OGG, and most M4A files also work well in Chrome and Firefox. MOV files from iPhones work in Safari; for Chrome you may need to convert first.
What to do with the audio afterwards
If you want to trim the audio, you can use the built-in trim feature (set the start and end time before extracting). If you want to combine multiple clips, drop the extracted files into the audio merge tool.