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Audio format

FLAC converter

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.

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Convert supported files

Runs on your device

Drop FLAC 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.

Where FLAC comes from

Josh Coalson released FLAC in 2001, and the project joined Xiph.Org in 2003, cementing its royalty-free status. Adoption spread from audiophile trading circles to Bandcamp and hi-res music stores, and eventually into native Windows and Android support.

How FLAC works

  • Linear prediction followed by Rice coding typically yields files 40 to 60 percent the size of raw PCM
  • Supports up to 32-bit integer samples, eight channels, and sample rates well beyond 192 kHz
  • An MD5 hash of the raw audio plus per-frame CRCs allow archival integrity verification
  • Decoding is deliberately lightweight, suiting battery-powered players
  • A built-in seek table keeps random access fast even in concert-length files

When to use FLAC

  • Ripping CD collections for permanent archival
  • Purchasing and storing hi-res music downloads
  • Keeping a lossless master from which lossy copies are generated on demand
  • Verifying archive integrity years later via the embedded checksums

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Genuinely lossless while roughly halving storage
  • Open specification with no royalties anywhere in the chain
  • Built-in integrity checking that WAV lacks
  • Excellent tagging and embedded cover art

Limitations

  • Still several times larger than a good lossy encode
  • Apple's Music app refuses to import it, pushing Apple users toward ALAC
  • Support on older car head units and cheap portables is spotty

Compatibility

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.

Vorbis comments for tags plus a dedicated PICTURE block for cover art; cue sheets can be embedded for whole-disc rips.

Convert FLAC to another format

Convert other formats to FLAC