Convert ALAC to FLAC — Free Online Converter
Convert Apple Lossless Audio Codec (.alac) to Free Lossless Audio Codec (.flac) online for free. Fast, secure audio conversion with no watermarks or r...
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Upload your .m4a file by dragging it into the upload area or clicking to browse.
Choose your output settings. The default settings work great for most files.
Click Convert and download your .flac file when it's ready.
About ALAC to FLAC Conversion
ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) are both lossless audio codecs with similar compression ratios (40-60% vs raw PCM). ALAC is Apple's format, native to iOS, macOS, and Apple Music. FLAC is the open-source universal standard, native to Android, Linux, Windows 10+, and every major music platform (Bandcamp, Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon Music HD).
Converting ALAC to FLAC is a lossless-to-lossless transfer — the output is bit-for-bit identical to the original pre-compression audio. This is the standard migration path when moving from an Apple-centric music library to a cross-platform or open-source ecosystem.
Why Convert ALAC to FLAC?
FLAC has vastly broader device and platform support than ALAC. Android plays FLAC natively; it requires third-party apps for ALAC. Linux, Windows 10+, Bandcamp, Tidal, Qobuz, and virtually every music server (Plex, Roon, Jellyfin) support FLAC natively. ALAC is limited to Apple devices and software.
FLAC's metadata system (Vorbis comments) supports unlimited custom fields, embedded album art, ReplayGain values, and cue sheets. For organized music libraries on non-Apple platforms, FLAC is the superior format. The conversion preserves every audio sample perfectly — only the container and compression algorithm change.
Common Use Cases
- Migrating an Apple Music / iTunes ALAC library to cross-platform FLAC format
- Preparing ALAC masters for Bandcamp, Tidal, or other lossless distribution platforms
- Converting ALAC collections for Android device playback
- Building a FLAC music server library for Plex, Roon, or Jellyfin from ALAC sources
- Creating open-format lossless archives from Apple-ecosystem ALAC collections
How It Works
FFmpeg decodes ALAC from its M4A container to PCM (lossless decode — bit-perfect), then encodes using the FLAC encoder. The entire pipeline is lossless: ALAC→PCM→FLAC produces output identical to the original pre-ALAC audio. FLAC compression levels 0-8 affect only encoding speed and file size, not quality. Metadata from M4A atoms is mapped to Vorbis comments. Album art from the covr atom is re-embedded as a FLAC picture metadata block. An MD5 checksum is stored in the FLAC header for integrity verification.
Quality & Performance
The conversion is perfectly lossless end-to-end. ALAC decodes to the exact original PCM, and FLAC encodes it losslessly. The output is bit-for-bit identical to the original pre-compression audio. File sizes are nearly identical between ALAC and FLAC since both achieve similar compression ratios. You can verify lossless integrity by comparing MD5 checksums.
Device Compatibility
| Device | ALAC | FLAC |
|---|---|---|
| Windows PC | Partial | Partial |
| macOS | Native | Partial |
| iPhone/iPad | Native | Partial |
| Android | Partial | Native |
| Linux | Partial | Native |
| Web Browser | No | No |
Recommended Settings by Platform
Spotify
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 320 kbps
OGG Vorbis preferred
Apple Music
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 256 kbps
AAC format required
SoundCloud
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 128 kbps
Lossless FLAC/WAV for best quality
Podcast
Resolution: N/A
Bitrate: 128 kbps
MP3 mono for spoken word
Tips for Best Results
- 1Verify lossless integrity by comparing MD5 checksums of decoded PCM from both ALAC and FLAC files
- 2Use FLAC compression level 5 for optimal speed/size balance during bulk conversion
- 3Map M4A metadata to Vorbis comments to preserve library organization after migration
- 4Add ReplayGain tags to FLAC during conversion for normalized playback volume
- 5Batch convert entire ALAC libraries to FLAC when migrating from Apple to cross-platform ecosystems
Related Conversions
ALAC to FLAC is a perfect lossless format migration. Every audio sample is preserved exactly while gaining universal device and platform compatibility.