Audio
What is a FLAC file?
Updated Jul 2026
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is an audio format that compresses music without throwing away any of the original sound data. It shrinks a file to roughly half the size of the uncompressed original while sounding identical. The catch is that FLAC files are still much larger than MP3s and don't play on every device or app out of the box.
- Extension
- .flac
- Type
- Audio
- Typically
- Lossless music
Why FLAC exists
FLAC was released in 2001 as a way to store music at full quality without the massive file sizes of raw, uncompressed audio. Unlike MP3 or AAC, which remove sound detail to save space, FLAC compresses the file the way a zip file does: nothing is discarded, so unzipping it gets you back the exact original waveform.
In practice that means a FLAC of an album sounds exactly like the studio master, which is why it's popular with people who buy digital music from audiophile stores, rip their own CDs, or download live recordings and bootlegs. The tradeoff is size: a FLAC track typically runs 20 to 30 megabytes, several times larger than an MP3 of the same song.
People run into FLAC mostly when a music purchase or download only comes in that format and their phone, car stereo, or streaming app expects MP3 or AAC instead. Converting to a smaller, more compatible format is usually the fix.
The trade-offs
Strengths
- No loss in audio quality compared to the original source
- Compresses files to roughly half the size of uncompressed audio
- Can carry rich metadata like album art, artist, and track tags
- Widely used for archiving music at its original quality
Watch-outs
- Files are much larger than MP3 or AAC at similar perceived quality
- Not supported natively by some phones, car systems, and apps
- Takes up meaningfully more storage across a large music library
A note on privacy
FLAC files can carry embedded tags such as artist, album, comments, and cover art, and sometimes information about where the file was ripped or downloaded from. Uploading a file to convert it means that metadata travels to someone else's server along with the audio. Converting on your own machine keeps the file and its tags right where they started.
Convert a FLAC file
- Convert FLAC to MP3
- Convert FLAC to WAV
- Convert FLAC to AAC
- Convert FLAC to M4A
- Convert FLAC to OGG
- Convert FLAC to WMA
Questions
How do I open a FLAC file?
Most modern music players on Mac and Windows can play FLAC directly. Some phones and car stereos can't, in which case converting to MP3 or AAC first will get it playing.
Is FLAC better than MP3?
For sound quality, yes: FLAC keeps every bit of the original recording, while MP3 discards some detail to save space. For file size and compatibility, MP3 usually wins, since it plays almost everywhere and takes up a fraction of the storage.
Why does my downloaded music come as FLAC?
Stores and archives aimed at audiophiles use FLAC so buyers get the full studio-quality file rather than a compressed copy. It's also common with CD rips, since it preserves the disc's audio exactly.
Can I convert FLAC without uploading it?
Yes. A desktop app like Morphjet converts FLAC to MP3 or another format on your own computer, so the audio and its tags never leave your machine.
Will converting FLAC to MP3 lose quality?
Yes, some quality is lost, since MP3 discards audio detail to shrink the file. At a high bitrate the difference is hard to notice on typical speakers or headphones, but it isn't a perfect copy anymore.
Morphjet opens and converts FLAC and 1,800+ other formats, all on your own computer. Launching this July.