How to Remove Audio from Video: 5 Quick Methods

When You Need a Silent Video

There are many reasons you might want to remove audio from a video file. Background noise from wind, traffic, or crowds can ruin otherwise good footage. Confidential conversations might be audible in screen recordings. Music copyrights can trigger content claims on social platforms. Or you simply need a clean silent clip for a presentation, social media post, or website background.

Whatever the reason, removing audio from video is a fast operation — often taking just seconds. This guide covers five methods ranging from one-click online tools to precise command-line control, so you can choose the approach that fits your workflow.

Understanding Audio Removal vs. Muting

Before diving into methods, it helps to understand the two fundamentally different approaches:

Stripping audio removes the audio track entirely from the file. The resulting video contains only video data, and the file size decreases by the amount of space the audio occupied (typically 5-15% of the total file size).

Muting audio keeps the audio track but replaces its contents with silence. The file size stays roughly the same, and the video technically still "has" an audio track — it is just silent. This approach is useful when a platform requires an audio track to be present.

Approach	Audio Track Present	File Size Reduction	Re-encoding Needed	Best For
Strip audio (-an flag)	No	Yes (5-15%)	No (copy mode)	Maximum size reduction, general use
Mute audio (silent track)	Yes (silent)	No	Audio only	Platforms requiring audio track
Replace audio	Yes (new audio)	Varies	Audio only	Adding music or narration
Volume to zero	Yes (silent)	No	Yes (audio re-encode)	Quick editing software approach

Method 1: FFmpeg (Instant, No Quality Loss)

FFmpeg provides the fastest and most flexible way to remove audio from video. The -an flag strips all audio tracks without re-encoding the video, making it nearly instantaneous regardless of file size.

Strip All Audio Tracks

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v copy -an output_no_audio.mp4

This command:

• Copies the video stream as-is (-c:v copy) — no re-encoding, no quality loss
• Removes all audio streams (-an)
• Produces a smaller file because the audio data is gone

Processing time: A 2 GB file completes in 5-15 seconds because no encoding occurs.

Keep Specific Audio Tracks, Remove Others

If your video has multiple audio tracks and you want to keep only one:

# List all streams
ffprobe -v error -show_streams -of table input.mp4

# Keep only the first audio track, remove the rest
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -map 0:v -map 0:a:0 -c copy output.mp4

# Keep video and second audio track only
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -map 0:v -map 0:a:1 -c copy output.mp4

Mute Instead of Strip (Keep Silent Audio Track)

Some platforms (like certain social media uploaders) require a video to have an audio track. To create a silent audio track:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v copy \
  -af "volume=0" -c:a aac -b:a 32k \
  output_muted.mp4

Or generate a completely silent audio stream:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -f lavfi -i anullsrc=r=44100:cl=stereo \
  -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 32k -shortest \
  output_silent_track.mp4

Remove Audio from a Specific Time Range

To mute only a portion of the video (for example, to silence a section with unwanted speech while keeping the rest of the audio):

# Mute audio between 30 seconds and 1 minute
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v copy \
  -af "volume=enable='between(t,30,60)':volume=0" \
  -c:a aac -b:a 192k output.mp4

For more precise editing of specific sections, see our guide on how to trim and cut video or use the video trimmer.

Method 2: Online Mute Video Tool (No Software Required)

For users who prefer a visual interface without installing software, the mute video tool provides one-click audio removal directly in the browser.

Steps:

1. Navigate to the mute video tool
2. Upload your video file (supports MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM, and more)
3. The tool processes the file and removes the audio track
4. Download the silent video

This method handles format detection and audio stripping automatically. For more control over the output format, use the Video Converter with audio disabled.

Method 3: VLC Media Player (Free Desktop App)

VLC is not just a player — it includes conversion capabilities that can strip audio during export.

Steps:

1. Open VLC and go to Media > Convert / Save (or press Ctrl+R)
2. Add your video file and click Convert / Save
3. Under Profile, select Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4)
4. Click the wrench icon to edit the profile
5. Go to the Audio codec tab and uncheck Audio
6. Click Save, choose your output location, and click Start

VLC re-encodes the video during this process, so it takes longer than FFmpeg's copy method and introduces a generation of quality loss. Use VLC only if you do not have FFmpeg installed.

Method 4: Video Editing Software

All major video editors support audio removal as a basic operation.

Adobe Premiere Pro

1. Import your clip to the timeline
2. Right-click the clip and select Unlink
3. Click on the audio portion of the clip to select it
4. Press Delete
5. Export normally

DaVinci Resolve (Free)

1. Import your clip to the timeline
2. Right-click the clip and select Link Clips to unlink audio and video
3. Click the audio track to select it
4. Press Delete or Backspace
5. Export with Deliver page settings

iMovie (macOS/iOS)

1. Add your clip to the timeline
2. Select the clip
3. Click Detach Audio from the right-click menu
4. Select the now-separate audio clip and delete it
5. Export

CapCut (Mobile/Desktop, Free)

1. Import your video
2. Select the clip on the timeline
3. Tap Volume and set it to 0
4. Export

Method 5: Batch Remove Audio from Multiple Files

If you need to remove audio from an entire folder of videos, automate the process:

Bash Script

#!/bin/bash
mkdir -p no_audio

for file in *.mp4; do
  [ -f "$file" ] || continue
  echo "Removing audio: $file"
  ffmpeg -i "$file" -c:v copy -an "no_audio/${file}" -y 2>/dev/null
  echo "Done: $file -> no_audio/${file}"
done

echo "All files processed."

PowerShell Script (Windows)

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "no_audio"

Get-ChildItem -Filter "*.mp4" | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Host "Removing audio: $($_.Name)"
    ffmpeg -i $_.FullName -c:v copy -an "no_audio\$($_.Name)" -y 2>$null
}

Write-Host "All files processed."

For broader batch processing capabilities, see our batch processing guide and how to batch convert files guide.

Use Cases and Format Considerations

Different scenarios call for different approaches:

Scenario	Recommended Method	Notes
Removing background noise	Strip audio (FFmpeg -an)	Fast, lossless for video
Copyright music removal	Strip and replace audio	Replace with royalty-free track
Screen recording cleanup	Online mute tool	Quick, no install needed
Social media silent post	Mute (keep silent track)	Some platforms need audio track
Website background video	Strip audio (FFmpeg -an)	Reduces bandwidth, autoplay friendly
Presentation embed	Strip audio	Smaller file for PowerPoint
GIF creation source	Not needed (GIFs have no audio)	Audio auto-removed in GIF conversion

For creating GIFs from your silent video, see our guide on how to create a GIF from video or use the GIF maker tool.

Replacing Audio Instead of Removing

Sometimes you want to swap the audio rather than remove it entirely — replacing noisy ambient sound with music, narration, or a different audio track:

# Replace audio with a music file
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i music.mp3 \
  -map 0:v -map 1:a \
  -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 192k \
  -shortest output.mp4

The -map 0:v takes video from the first input, -map 1:a takes audio from the second input, and -shortest ends the output when the shorter stream finishes.

# Mix original audio with background music
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i music.mp3 \
  -filter_complex "[0:a][1:a]amix=inputs=2:duration=first:dropout_transition=2[a]" \
  -map 0:v -map "[a]" \
  -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 192k output.mp4

For more on working with audio in video, see our guides on how to extract audio from video and how to convert video to audio.

File Size Impact of Audio Removal

Removing audio always reduces file size, but the reduction depends on the audio codec and bitrate:

Audio Format	Typical Bitrate	Size per Minute	Savings (10 min video)
AAC 128 kbps	128 kbps	0.96 MB	~9.6 MB
AAC 256 kbps	256 kbps	1.92 MB	~19.2 MB
AC3 (5.1)	448 kbps	3.36 MB	~33.6 MB
PCM (uncompressed)	1536 kbps	11.5 MB	~115 MB
FLAC (lossless)	~800 kbps	6 MB	~60 MB

For high-bitrate surround sound or uncompressed audio, removing the audio track can save significant space. This is especially useful when preparing videos for the web, where every megabyte affects loading time. For more compression techniques, see our compress video without losing quality guide or use the video compressor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will removing audio degrade video quality?

Not if you use the copy method (-c:v copy in FFmpeg or the mute video tool). The video stream is transferred byte-for-byte without re-encoding. Only methods that re-encode the video (like VLC export or editing software) introduce potential quality changes.

Can I remove audio from a video on my phone?

Yes. CapCut, InShot, and iMovie all support setting audio volume to zero. You can also use the mute video tool from any mobile browser.

How do I remove audio from just part of a video?

Use FFmpeg's volume filter with a time range (volume=enable='between(t,start,end)':volume=0) or use a video editor to select and delete the audio from a specific portion of the timeline.

Can I undo audio removal?

No, once audio is stripped from a file, it cannot be recovered from that file. Always keep your original file as a backup, or extract the audio first using the extract audio tool.

Conclusion

Removing audio from video is one of the simplest video operations. FFmpeg with the -an flag is the fastest and highest quality approach — it takes seconds and introduces zero quality loss to the video. The mute video tool provides the same functionality without any software installation. For more complex scenarios involving partial muting, audio replacement, or batch processing, FFmpeg commands give you full control.

Remember to extract the audio before deleting it if you might need it later. For related audio and video processing tasks, explore our guides on how to convert MP4 to MP3, how to add subtitles to video, and how to convert video to audio.