Add your ALAC file
Drop one or more .alac files onto the converter above, or browse for them. They load into browser memory only — nothing is uploaded, so there is no size-based pricing and no server queue.
ALAC to FLAC
Re-encoding .alac audio as .flac changes how the sound is compressed and which players will accept it. Free, private, and validated — the file never leaves your browser.
Private for supported formats — processed in your browser
Runs on your deviceConvert supported files
Drop ALAC files here
Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.
Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.About converting Apple Lossless audio to FLAC audio
Re-encoding .alac audio as .flac changes how the sound is compressed and which players will accept it. ALAC, the Apple Lossless Audio Codec, compresses music with zero quality sacrifice, and the .alac extension is occasionally used to label such files explicitly even though the codec normally travels inside an .m4a container. Decoding reproduces the original samples exactly, making it Apple's counterpart to FLAC.
A .flac file contains audio compressed with the Free Lossless Audio Codec, which shrinks recordings without discarding a single sample. Decoded .flac output is bit-identical to the source, so the format has become the standard for music archiving and high-resolution downloads. For this route the practical draw is genuinely lossless while roughly halving storage and open specification with no royalties anywhere in the chain — balanced against still several times larger than a good lossy encode, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
Why convert ALAC to FLAC?
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .alac, compresses slightly worse than FLAC on average. Switching to .flac buys you genuinely lossless while roughly halving storage, which is why it is the better fit for ripping CD collections for permanent archival. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
ALAC vs FLAC at a glance
| Aspect | Apple Lossless audio (.alac) | FLAC audio (.flac) |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | Lossless — every pixel or sample is preserved exactly | Lossless — every pixel or sample is preserved exactly |
| How it stores data | linear-prediction compression conceptually similar to FLAC, typically reaching 40 to 60 percent of PCM size | linear prediction followed by Rice coding typically yields files 40 to 60 percent the size of raw PCM |
| Strongest at | building a lossless library that syncs cleanly to iPhones and the Music app | ripping CD collections for permanent archival |
| Weak spot | compresses slightly worse than FLAC on average | still several times larger than a good lossy encode |
| Metadata | inherits the full iTunes metadata atom set from its MPEG-4 container, including artwork, composer, and grouping fields | vorbis comments for tags plus a dedicated PICTURE block for cover art; cue sheets can be embedded for whole-disc rips |
Pick FLAC as the output
Select .flac in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if FLAC is selectable, the route is real and validated.
Convert on your device
Press Convert. The transcode runs on an FFmpeg engine compiled to WebAssembly, so the audio never leaves your device.
Verify and download
Each result is signature-checked before the download unlocks, so a failed encode can never masquerade as a valid FLAC file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .flac extension.
ALAC to FLAC questions, answered
Will converting ALAC to FLAC lose quality?
Both sides are re-encoded, so expect a small generation loss controlled by the quality setting: alac is lossless-oriented and flac is lossless-oriented. For visually or audibly transparent results keep quality high; for smaller files lower it and compare.
Is it private to convert ALAC files here?
Yes — the .alac file is processed inside your browser tab and never uploaded. The transcode runs on an FFmpeg engine compiled to WebAssembly, so the audio never leaves your device. Close the tab and the file is gone from memory.
Where will the FLAC file work?
All major browsers decode .flac, Windows 10 and later plus Android play it natively, and virtually every dedicated audio player supports it. The persistent gap is Apple's Music ecosystem, where converting to ALAC delivers the same audio in a supported wrapper.
Will the FLAC file be bigger or smaller than my ALAC?
It depends on the content: linear prediction followed by Rice coding typically yields files 40 to 60 percent the size of raw PCM. Convert one representative file first and compare before batch-processing a large set.
What happens to the metadata in my ALAC file?
This converter strips container metadata deliberately (the FFmpeg command runs with metadata mapping disabled) so exported files do not leak recording details. In the source, inherits the full iTunes metadata atom set from its MPEG-4 container, including artwork, composer, and grouping fields; none of it is transmitted anywhere because the file never leaves your browser.
Can I convert FLAC back to ALAC?
Yes — the reverse route exists as a separate tool. Bear in mind that round-tripping .alac → .flac → .alac is not a perfect undo when any lossy step is involved; keep your original if fidelity matters.