To extract audio from a video, open a free audio extractor, drop in the video, choose MP3, M4A or WAV and download the sound as its own file. The WoowTools extractor runs in your browser, so the video is never uploaded, and it works with MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV files from phones, cameras, Zoom and screen recorders.
This guide shows the steps, helps you pick the right format and quality, and covers the cases that trip people up: iPhone videos, meeting recordings, keeping only one part, and videos that seem to have no sound.
How to extract audio from a video in your browser
The quickest way needs no app and no account.
- Open Extract Audio from Video.
- Drop your video on the page or click to choose it. The tool reads the file and shows its audio codec, channels and sample rate.
- Pick a format: MP3 for any player, M4A for Apple devices, WAV for editing.
- Choose the quality (MP3 offers 128 to 320 kbps, M4A 96 to 192 kbps).
- Optional: enter a start and end time to keep only part of it, or tick Mono for speech.
- Click Convert, play the preview and download the audio.
Because the work happens on your own device, a long video takes as long as your computer needs to decode it, but nothing waits in an upload queue and nothing is stored on a server.
Which audio format should you extract to?
Pick the format by what you will do with the sound next, not by which number looks biggest.
| Your goal | Format | Good setting |
|---|---|---|
| Listen on any phone, car stereo or player | MP3 | 192 kbps |
| Keep it in Apple Music or on an iPhone | M4A (AAC) | 160 or 192 kbps |
| Edit in Audacity, Premiere or a DAW | WAV | Stereo |
| Meeting, lecture or podcast | MP3 | 128 kbps, Mono |
| Ringtone or short clip | MP3 | 192 kbps, trimmed |
WAV is uncompressed, so it is the safest choice before editing but takes about seven times the space of a 192 kbps MP3 (CD quality stereo WAV runs at 1,411 kbps). For the full trade off, read WAV vs MP3.
One tip that saves space: match the source. Most phone videos carry AAC audio around 128 to 256 kbps, and exporting at 320 kbps cannot add quality that was never there. It only makes the file bigger.
How to extract audio from an iPhone or Android video
Phone videos work the same way; the only question is getting the file to the tool.
iPhone: videos are saved as MOV or MP4 with AAC audio at 48 kHz. Open the extractor in Safari on the phone and pick the video from Photos, or AirDrop it to a Mac first. If you want an M4A that drops straight into Apple Music, choose M4A.
Android: most phones and cameras record MP4 with AAC audio. Open the page in Chrome on the phone, tap to choose the file and pick MP3 for the widest compatibility.
A note on M4A: it needs a browser that includes an AAC encoder, which Chrome, Edge and Safari do. MP3 and WAV work in every modern browser.
How to get the audio from a Zoom, Teams or screen recording
Meeting recordings are mostly speech, so you can shrink them a lot.
Zoom, Teams and Google Meet save MP4 files. Extract them as MP3 at 128 kbps with Mono on: a one hour call comes out at about 58 MB, small enough to email or share, and voices sound exactly the same. Screen recordings from OBS or browser tools are often MKV or WebM with Opus audio; the extractor reads both.
Want the words rather than the sound? Run the audio, or the video itself, through Speech to Text to get a transcript.
How to extract only part of the audio
You rarely need the whole thing. Before converting, type a start and end time (for example 1:30 and 2:05) and only that stretch is saved. This is the fastest way to grab a song from a clip, a quote from an interview or a ringtone length snippet, without opening an editor.
How to extract audio from a video on Windows or Mac without a website
If you prefer to stay offline, two free programs you may already have can do it.
Mac (QuickTime Player): open the video, choose File, then Export As and Audio Only. QuickTime saves an M4A file next to the video. There are no bitrate options, but for a quick copy of the sound it is enough.
Windows or Mac (VLC): open Media (on a Mac, File), choose Convert / Save, add the video, click Convert, pick the Audio, MP3 profile, set a destination file ending in .mp3 and press Start. VLC is free but the menus are easy to get wrong, and a mistyped file name gives you an empty file.
Both work, but neither shows you the source audio details, trims by time or switches to mono in one click, which is where the browser tool is faster.
Fixing common problems
Most issues come from the video file, not the method.
- "No audio track" message: the video was recorded without sound, or the sound lives in a separate file (some cameras and screen recorders do this). Check that the original plays with sound.
- The audio file is huge: you probably chose WAV. Switch to MP3 or M4A, or turn on Mono for speech.
- 5.1 surround source: the tool mixes it down to stereo, which keeps the file size sensible and plays everywhere.
- Sound and picture both needed, just smaller: you want the video compressor instead.
Browser tool, desktop app or phone app?
All three can extract audio, so choose by convenience. Desktop editors like Premiere or Audacity are worth it when you will edit the sound afterwards anyway. Phone apps work but usually add ads, watermarks or a sign up. A browser extractor is the quickest for one off jobs: nothing to install, no account, and with WoowTools the video stays on your device. If all you need is a plain MP3 from an MP4, the MP4 to MP3 converter does exactly that in one click.
Ready? Open Extract Audio from Video, drop in your file and download the sound in a few seconds.
Frequently asked questions
How do I extract audio from a video for free?
Open a free browser tool such as WoowTools Extract Audio from Video, drop in the file, choose MP3, M4A or WAV and click Convert. It runs on your device, so there is no upload and no sign up.
Does extracting audio reduce quality?
WAV keeps the sound uncompressed. MP3 and M4A compress it, but at 192 kbps most people cannot hear a difference from the original video, whose audio is usually compressed already.
Can I extract audio from a video on my iPhone?
Yes. Open the extractor in Safari, pick the video from Photos and choose M4A or MP3. The file is processed on the phone and saved to Files or Downloads.
What is the best format to extract audio from video?
MP3 for listening anywhere, M4A for Apple devices and WAV if you plan to edit the audio. For speech such as meetings or lectures, MP3 at 128 kbps in mono keeps files small.
Why does my video have no audio track?
The video was recorded without sound or the sound was saved as a separate file. Play the original to check; if it is silent there, there is no audio to extract.
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