Audio Formats Cheat Sheet — MP3 vs AAC vs FLAC vs WAV vs OGG (2025)
A printable reference for choosing the right audio format. Covers compression, quality, file size, compatibility, and streaming platform support.
Audio Formats Comparison Table
| Format | Type | Max Bitrate | Quality | File Size/min | Browser | Best For | |--------|------|------------|---------|---------------|---------|----------| | MP3 | Lossy | 320 kbps | Good | ~1 MB @128k | 100% | Universal music | | AAC | Lossy | 512 kbps | Better | ~1 MB @128k | 100% | Apple, YouTube | | OGG Vorbis | Lossy | 500 kbps | Better | ~1 MB @128k | 96%+ | Open-source, games | | Opus | Lossy | 510 kbps | Best lossy | ~0.8 MB @128k | 96%+ | Voice, streaming | | FLAC | Lossless | N/A | Perfect | ~5 MB | 92%+ | Audiophile, archival | | WAV | Uncompressed | N/A | Perfect | ~10 MB | 100% | Recording, editing | | AIFF | Uncompressed | N/A | Perfect | ~10 MB | Safari | Apple recording | | M4A | Lossy (AAC) | 512 kbps | Better | ~1 MB @128k | 100% | iTunes, podcasts |
Quality vs File Size (1 Minute of Audio)
| Format / Bitrate | File Size | Quality | |-----------------|-----------|---------| | MP3 64 kbps | 0.5 MB | Voice-acceptable | | MP3 128 kbps | 1.0 MB | Standard | | MP3 320 kbps | 2.4 MB | Near-lossless | | AAC 128 kbps | 1.0 MB | Better than MP3 128 | | AAC 256 kbps | 1.9 MB | Apple Music quality | | Opus 128 kbps | 0.9 MB | Better than MP3 192 | | FLAC | ~5 MB | Lossless (identical to WAV) | | WAV 16/44.1 | 10.1 MB | Uncompressed original |
Download samples: MP3 · WAV · FLAC · AAC · OGG
Streaming Platform Audio Quality
| Platform | Format | Quality | |----------|--------|---------| | Spotify Free | OGG Vorbis | 128 kbps | | Spotify Premium | OGG Vorbis | 320 kbps | | Apple Music | AAC / ALAC | 256 kbps / Lossless | | YouTube Music | AAC | 256 kbps | | Tidal HiFi | FLAC | Lossless (44.1/16) | | Tidal Max | FLAC / MQA | Hi-Res (up to 192/24) | | Amazon Music HD | FLAC | Lossless / Hi-Res | | Podcasts (typical) | MP3 | 128 kbps mono |
Browser Support
| Format | Chrome | Firefox | Safari | Edge | |--------|--------|---------|--------|------| | MP3 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | AAC/M4A | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | OGG Vorbis | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ 15+ | ✅ | | Opus | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ 15+ | ✅ | | FLAC | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ 11+ | ✅ | | WAV | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
When to Use Each Format
- Music distribution → MP3 320kbps (universal) or AAC 256kbps (Apple)
- Podcasts → MP3 128kbps mono (smallest, universal)
- Music archival → FLAC (lossless, smaller than WAV) → sample FLAC
- Recording/editing → WAV (no decode overhead) → sample WAV
- Web apps → Opus (best quality-per-bit, 96%+ support)
- Games → OGG Vorbis (royalty-free, low decode CPU)
- Voice calls → Opus (designed for real-time, adaptive bitrate)
FFmpeg Quick Reference
# WAV to FLAC (lossless compress)
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a flac output.flac
# WAV to MP3 320kbps
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 320k output.mp3
# FLAC to AAC 256kbps (Apple Music quality)
ffmpeg -i input.flac -c:a aac -b:a 256k output.m4a
# Convert to Opus (best lossy codec)
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a libopus -b:a 128k output.opus
# Extract audio from video
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a copy output.m4a
Decision Flowchart
- Needs to play everywhere? → MP3
- Apple ecosystem? → AAC/M4A
- Lossless archival? → FLAC
- Recording/editing? → WAV
- Web app, modern browsers? → Opus
- Game engine? → OGG Vorbis