Convert FLAC to WAV online
Convert a FLAC file into a WAV file: these are different formats, so the two files are never bit-for-bit identical to each other, no matter the settings. FLAC stores audio compressed without loss; in this tool, the resulting WAV holds that same audio as uncompressed 16-bit PCM. If your source FLAC is already 16-bit and you keep its original sample rate, the same audio samples are preserved without applying any lossy codec; if it's higher bit depth or you change the sample rate, even the samples no longer match exactly. The WAV also takes up considerably more disk space than the FLAC.
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FLAC compresses audio without discarding information, the same way a ZIP file shrinks a document without losing data. This tool decodes the FLAC and writes the result as 16-bit PCM WAV: if the source is already 16-bit and you don't change the sample rate, the same samples are carried over without applying lossy compression (the WAV file itself still isn't a duplicate of the FLAC, since each format organizes the data differently, but the audio samples it holds are the same). If the source FLAC has a higher bit depth (for example, a 24-bit FLAC, common in high-resolution tracks), it gets reduced to 16-bit. If you pick a sample rate other than the original one in the advanced options, the audio is resampled: picking a higher rate doesn't add new information or improve the audio, it just recalculates it at more points per second. Converting to WAV doesn't improve the recording or recover information that wasn't already in the FLAC: it's useful for compatibility or editing, not because WAV "sounds better" on its own.
Use cases
- Get a WAV version of a FLAC track for a car stereo or older device that doesn't support FLAC.
- Import audio into a DAW or hardware sampler that only reads WAV.
- Prepare FLAC music for software that has no FLAC decoder at all.
How it works
- 1
Upload your FLAC file
Drop the file in or select it from your device.
- 2
Click Convert
ffmpeg.wasm decodes the FLAC and writes it out as 16-bit PCM WAV directly in your browser.
- 3
Download the WAV
Once it's done, download the resulting file.
Technical details
Uses ffmpeg.wasm in your browser to decode the FLAC and encode the result as signed 16-bit little-endian PCM (pcm_s16le) inside an uncompressed WAV container. By default the original sample rate and channel count are kept; if you pick a different sample rate under "Advanced options", ffmpeg resamples the audio before writing it. The resulting WAV is larger than the FLAC because, unlike FLAC, it applies no compression at all.
Frequently asked questions
Does the conversion preserve the exact quality of the original FLAC?
The WAV file is never a bit-for-bit duplicate of the FLAC, since they're different formats with different structures. That said, if your FLAC is 16-bit and you don't change the sample rate, the audio samples the WAV holds are the same ones, carried over without applying any lossy codec. If the FLAC is higher than 16-bit or you change the sample rate, even the samples no longer match the original.
Why does the WAV weigh more than the FLAC?
Because FLAC compresses audio without loss (typically shrinking it by 40 to 60%), while the WAV this tool produces applies no compression at all: it holds the audio samples as uncompressed PCM. Taking up more space doesn't mean it sounds better — it's just the difference between a compressed and an uncompressed format.
What happens if my FLAC is 24-bit?
It gets reduced to 16-bit, because this tool always produces 16-bit PCM WAV — there's no option to choose or keep a different bit depth. If you need to keep 24-bit, this conversion isn't the right option.
What happens if I change the sample rate?
If you pick a sample rate other than the original one in the advanced options, the audio is resampled: it's still a valid WAV, but it no longer holds exactly the same samples as the original FLAC. Picking a higher rate doesn't add new information or improve the audio — it just recalculates it at more points per second.