Convert WAV to ALAC — Free Online Converter

WAV stores uncompressed PCM audio in Microsoft's RIFF container, typically at 44.1 kHz/16-bit for CD quality — producing files around 10 MB per minute for stereo audio. ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) is Apple's lossless compression codec, open-sourced in 2011, that reduces file sizes by approximately 40-60% compared to raw PCM while preserving every single audio sample bit-for-bit. ALAC files live inside the M4A (MPEG-4 Part 14) container.

Converting WAV to ALAC gives you significant storage savings without any audio quality compromise, and the output is natively supported across the entire Apple ecosystem — iPhone, iPad, Mac, HomePod, Apple TV, and AirPods Max all decode ALAC with hardware acceleration.

If you maintain a large WAV music library and use Apple devices, ALAC cuts your storage requirements nearly in half while guaranteeing zero quality loss. Unlike FLAC, ALAC plays natively on every Apple device without third-party apps — it is the format Apple Music uses for its Lossless tier. The M4A container also offers better metadata support than WAV, including embedded album art, lyrics, and chapter markers.

For archival purposes, ALAC provides the same bit-perfect audio reproduction as WAV with smaller footprint. If you ever need to convert back, ALAC-to-WAV produces files identical to the originals. This makes ALAC ideal for Apple-ecosystem users who want lossless quality without WAV's storage overhead.

FFmpeg decodes the WAV RIFF header and reads the raw PCM sample data, then encodes it using the ALAC encoder (-c:a alac) into an M4A container. ALAC uses linear prediction and entropy coding to achieve lossless compression — the algorithm predicts each sample based on preceding samples and encodes only the prediction error. Compression ratios vary with content: simple waveforms (speech, solo instruments) compress more than complex, full-bandwidth music. The output preserves the original sample rate, bit depth (16-bit or 24-bit), and channel layout.