| M4A | MP3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy |
| Metadata | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open / royalty-free | - | ✓ |
| Defined by | Apple / MPEG | - |
| Since | - | 1993 |
| Best for | Apple devices and streaming | music and podcasts for any device |
M4A
AAC audio in an MP4 container. Apple's default; better than MP3 at the same bitrate.
MP3
The universal lossy audio format.
Questions
M4A or MP3: which is smaller?
It depends on the content; see our measured benchmarks on the conversion pages.
Can I convert M4A to MP3?
Yes, in your browser, nothing uploaded.
And MP3 to M4A?
Yes, as well.