Convert MOV to MP3
Save the sound of an iPhone or Mac video as an MP3.
MOV is the format of the videos you record with an iPhone or iPad and of screen recordings made with QuickTime on a Mac. Convert a MOV to MP3 to keep only its sound (a voice note filmed on your phone, a concert, a class or a meeting you recorded) as an MP3 that plays on any phone, computer or car.
How to convert MOV to MP3
- Select your MOV video (up to 100 MB).
- Click “Convert to MP3”.
- Wait a few seconds while we extract the audio.
- Download the MP3.
The audio of an iPhone video, on its own
The Photos app on the iPhone doesn’t let you save just the sound of a video, and a MOV file is far larger than its audio. As an MP3, the recording of a talk or a rehearsal takes up a fraction of the space and can be sent through any messaging app, added to a playlist or opened in an audio editor.
On a Mac, QuickTime Player can export the audio of a video (File › Export As › Audio Only), but it saves it as M4A, which some older players, cars and websites don’t accept. MP3 works everywhere.
What you get
- The first audio track of the video, with its channels (mono or stereo) and its sample rate.
- High-quality variable bitrate MP3 (around 190 kbit/s on average): for speech and music it sounds the same as the video.
- No metadata: the MP3 doesn’t keep the date, the iPhone model or the place where the video was recorded.
The video’s image, subtitles and any additional audio tracks are left out.
Limitations
- One video at a time, up to 100 MB. The iPhone records at a very high bitrate: according to its own camera settings, a minute of 4K video at 30 fps takes up about 170 MB, so 100 MB is roughly 35 seconds of 4K or a minute and a half in 1080p. For long recordings, trim the video first in the Photos app.
- A video with no sound (for example, a screen recording made without the microphone) can’t be converted.
- If your video is an MP4, use MP4 to MP3. To get photos from the video instead of its sound, use MOV to JPG.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my iPhone video too large to convert?
Because the iPhone records at a very high bitrate: a minute of 4K video takes up around 170 MB. Trim the video in the Photos app before converting it, or record in 1080p when you only need the sound.
Is MP3 better than the M4A that QuickTime exports?
Not in sound quality: both are compressed formats and sound alike. MP3 is more compatible, though: it plays on old players, car stereos and websites that don’t accept M4A.
Does the MP3 keep the stereo sound of my iPhone video?
Yes. Recent iPhones record video with stereo sound, and the MP3 keeps both channels. If the original audio is mono, the MP3 is mono too.
Does it work with screen recordings made on a Mac?
Yes, as long as the recording has sound. QuickTime only records audio if you choose a microphone in the recording options; without it, the MOV has no audio track to convert.