The Best Audio Converter for Mac: 7 Free and Paid Options (2026)

Apple’s own guide describes the route: set the format under Import Settings, select songs, then choose File → Convert → Create a version in that format. The guide names AAC, MP3, AIFF and WAV. You can select many songs at once, so it is a real batch tool for anything already in your library.

It wins on tags and artwork. In our M4A to MP3 guide the Music app was the route that kept both text tags and the embedded cover. It also creates a new copy beside the original rather than replacing it, which Apple documents as both versions appearing in your library.

Limits: it works on songs in your library, so a folder of loose files has to be imported first, and it offers a short list of formats (FLAC and OGG are not in it). Apple also warns that converting between compressed formats, such as MP3 to AAC, may reduce quality, and that only iTunes Plus purchases can be converted. Pick this one unless you hit one of those walls.

MediaHuman’s page describes a free app for macOS, Windows and Linux. You add files, choose an output format and click Start. It lists MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, FLAC, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV, converts several files at once, can keep your folder structure, can pull the audio track out of a video, and can split a lossless album with a CUE sheet.

Compared with the Music app it handles FLAC and OGG, and it works on loose files with no library import. If a file has tags but no cover, the page says it tries to find artwork through online services, so the app does make network requests for that. The page does not document exactly which tag fields carry over, so check one converted file before you run a hundred.

It is free, so MediaHuman is the obvious second stop if the Music app is too narrow for you.

ffmpeg’s own site calls it a multimedia framework with command-line tools that decode, encode and transcode a wide range of media. If a format exists, ffmpeg almost certainly reads it. One thing to know before you start: the project provides source code only and links third-party macOS builds, so installing it is your job.

It is also unforgiving. In our FLAC to MP3 guide, a plain command inflated a 33,236-byte cover into a 393,721-byte PNG, and adding -c:v copy kept the cover byte-identical. Same tool, very different result, depending on one flag. That is the trade: nothing else on this list can do more, and nothing else lets you quietly do it wrong.

Choose it if you are comfortable in Terminal or need to script a recurring job. Our batch convert audio guide has working loops and the tag-handling results for each route.

Smol is our app. For audio it compresses to AAC, M4A, MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG and Opus, and converts to M4A, MP3, WAV, FLAC and OGG, with bitrate from 16 to 512 kbps and sample rate from 8 to 192 kHz. You drop files or whole folders in, mix in other file types if you like, and get a copy with a _compressed suffix beside each original by default. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account.

Where it fits: if audio is one job among several. The same window compresses images and PDFs and video, so you stop keeping one app per file type. In our batch audio guide, Smol took fourteen 30-second AAC files to MP3 in 2,822 ms on an M2 Pro; a tuned ffmpeg loop took 2,805 ms on the same files. Speed is not the reason to buy it. Not having to write the loop is.

Where it loses, and we measured it: Smol keeps text tags but drops embedded album art. If your library depends on covers, use the Music app or ffmpeg with -c:v copy. It has no CD ripping, no CUE splitting and no tag editor. It is macOS only, needs macOS 13 or later on Apple Silicon (14 on Intel), and costs more than every free tool above it.

Solo is $29 for one Mac, Team is $49 for three, with free updates and no subscription. There is no free trial and purchases are not refundable.

XLD’s page describes a tool for decoding, converting and playing lossless audio. It reads FLAC, Monkey’s Audio, WavPack, TTA and Apple Lossless among others, and writes WAVE, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, MP3 (through LAME), Apple Lossless, FLAC, HE-AAC, WavPack and Opus.

Its strengths are the ones audiophiles ask for: splitting an album image by CUE sheet, ripping CDs with a secure engine and AccurateRip verification, a tag editor with metadata lookups, and cover-art handling. It accepts folders and ships a command-line version. It is a Universal Binary, so it runs natively on Apple Silicon.

The interface is utilitarian and the whole app assumes you care about lossless. If you only need to turn a few WAV files into MP3, it is more than you need. If you have a collection of FLAC and CUE images, nothing here is a better fit.

Permute’s own page says it converts among more than 100 formats, including MP3, AAC and FLAC, and handles video, images and PDFs as well. Files go into a drag-and-drop queue, and the page says its editing tools work individually or in bulk. Permute 4 is listed at $14.99 as a one-time license, and a free trial comes with the full-version download.

Check the requirements before you buy. Permute 4 needs macOS 26 or later and Apple Silicon. The page points older systems and Intel Macs to Permute 3. It also notes that the Mac App Store build differs from the direct download because of Apple’s sandbox rules.

Compared with Smol, it is cheaper and has a free trial. Compared with MediaHuman it costs money but is broader than audio. Its page does not describe tag or cover handling, so test one file first.

fre:ac describes itself as a free audio converter and CD ripper with no adware. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and Haiku, converts between MP3, M4A/AAC, FLAC, WMA, Opus, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, Monkey’s Audio and WavPack, and lists multi-core optimized MP3, M4A/AAC, Opus and Speex encoders and a CD ripper with CDDB lookups. The interface comes in 43 languages.

Its download page lists version 1.1.7 from 5 March 2023 as the latest release. Check the project’s site for current macOS support before you rely on it.

It earns a place because it is free, open source and the same app on every platform, which matters if you share files across a mixed household or office. On a Mac-only setup, MediaHuman and the Music app will feel more at home.