Audio Converter

Make Your WMA Files Play Everywhere

WMA is a Microsoft-only format that stops working the moment you leave Windows. AAC plays on every iPhone, Android phone, browser, and streaming platform. Upload your WMA file and get a universally compatible AAC in seconds.

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Free Tool

Audio Format Converter

Upload any audio file, choose an output format, and download the converted result. Supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG, ALAC, WMA, Opus and M4A.

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Play Your Windows Media Library on iPhone and Android

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Play Your Windows Media Library on iPhone and Android

WMA files created in Windows Media Player, ripped from CD collections, or downloaded from legacy Microsoft services will not play on an iPhone or in Apple Music without conversion. AAC is the native audio codec for both iOS and Android, and imports directly into Apple Music, Spotify, and every other mobile music player. Converting WMA to AAC means your entire library travels with you on any device.

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The Codec Behind Apple Music, YouTube, and Every Streaming Platform

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The Codec Behind Apple Music, YouTube, and Every Streaming Platform

AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is the default delivery codec for Apple Music, YouTube audio tracks, and most podcast platforms. It achieves near-transparent quality at 256 kbps with file sizes that are a fraction of uncompressed alternatives. Converting WMA to AAC aligns your audio with the format that the entire streaming ecosystem is already built around, giving you the widest compatibility without any additional steps.

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Rescue a Legacy Zune or Windows Media Player Collection

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Rescue a Legacy Zune or Windows Media Player Collection

The Microsoft Zune marketplace, Windows Media Player CD ripping, and corporate training audio libraries all produced WMA files. As Windows-centric hardware ages out, those libraries need a new home. Converting to AAC gives each track a widely supported container that imports into Apple Music, plays on Android, and uploads to any content platform without compatibility errors.

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How It Works

Three steps from WMA to a universally playable AAC

Upload your WMA file

Drop any WMA file onto the tool or click to browse. Files from Windows Media Player, Zune, Windows Media Center, or any application that outputs WMA are accepted.

Convert to AAC

Click "Convert". FFmpeg decodes the WMA stream to PCM and re-encodes it as AAC at a high bitrate, preserving as much of the original audio quality as possible.

Download your AAC file

Preview the output in the browser player, then download your .aac file ready for iPhone, Apple Music, Android, YouTube, or any podcast platform.

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Deep Dive

WMA vs AAC: Windows-Only Codec vs Universal Standard

WMA is Microsoft's proprietary format, optimised for the Windows ecosystem. AAC is the open successor to MP3, adopted by Apple, Google, YouTube, and every major streaming platform as their default delivery codec.

Windows media users, commuters, and content creators working with audio files

WMA: Microsoft Proprietary, Limited Outside Windows

WMA (Windows Media Audio) is a lossy audio codec developed by Microsoft as part of the Windows Media framework. It is natively supported in Windows Media Player, Xbox, and Windows-based applications. Outside the Microsoft ecosystem, WMA support is patchy: Apple devices, the iOS Music app, and Apple Music do not import WMA files. Most Android music players require a third-party codec or conversion to play WMA. The format was designed for Windows and remains tied to it.

TypeLossy compression, Microsoft proprietary

iPhone / Apple MusicNot playable without conversion

AndroidLimited native support; varies by device and player

WMA works well within Windows. Outside it, conversion to a cross-platform codec like AAC is typically required.

AAC: The Universal Successor to MP3

AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) was developed by the MPEG group as the successor to MP3, with better quality at the same bitrate and support for more audio channels. It is the native codec for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and every iOS and macOS application. Android supports AAC natively across all versions. YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and most podcast platforms use AAC or AAC-derived codecs in their delivery pipelines. At 256 kbps, AAC is considered transparent by most listeners in blind tests.

TypeLossy compression (psychoacoustic), open standard

Typical bitrate128 to 320 kbps; 256 kbps considered transparent

Device supportNative on all iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows devices

AAC is the safest format choice for any audio that needs to play on phones, tablets, computers, and streaming platforms.

Quality: What Lossy-to-Lossy Conversion Actually Means

Both WMA and AAC are lossy codecs that discard audio data the ear cannot perceive. Converting WMA to AAC chains two lossy passes: the first was applied when the WMA was originally encoded, and the second is applied when re-encoding to AAC. The quality ceiling is already set by the original WMA encoding. At a high AAC bitrate (256 kbps), the additional quality loss from the second pass is small for most content. At lower bitrates (128 kbps and below), artefacts may be more noticeable, especially on complex musical material.

High-bitrate WMA (256+ kbps)Re-encoding at 256 kbps AAC preserves most of the quality

Low-bitrate WMA (128 kbps)Some additional artefacts possible; still usable for most speech content

Best practiceUse the highest available AAC bitrate to minimise the second-pass penalty

Keep your original WMA files. You cannot recover audio quality lost in the first encoding pass from the converted AAC.

AAC vs WMA: Feature and Compatibility Comparison

AAC surpasses WMA on most technical dimensions: it achieves better quality at the same bitrate, supports more audio channels (up to 48), and is natively supported on every major modern platform. WMA retains an advantage only within Windows Media Player and Xbox, and on legacy hardware manufactured before AAC became widespread. For any use case involving mobile devices, streaming, or cross-platform sharing, AAC is the better format.

AAC at 128 kbpsRoughly equivalent to WMA at 160-192 kbps quality

Cross-platformAAC is native on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and in every major browser

StreamingAAC is the primary delivery codec for Apple Music, YouTube, and most podcast platforms

Our converter uses FFmpeg to decode WMA and re-encode as AAC at a high bitrate, minimising the quality impact of the lossy-to-lossy conversion.

Benefits

Why Convert WMA to AAC

📱

Plays on iPhone and Android

AAC is the native audio codec for both iOS and Android. Converted files play in every music app, browser, and media player without additional software.

🌐

Compatible with Every Platform

Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, and virtually every modern streaming service and podcast host accept AAC. WMA is rejected by most of them.

🎵

Better Quality per Kilobit

AAC achieves near-identical quality to WMA at lower bitrates, using more efficient psychoacoustic models developed after WMA was designed.

⚡

Fast, Server-Side Conversion

Conversion runs on dedicated FFmpeg servers. Most WMA files are ready to download in under 30 seconds.

Who Uses It

Who Converts WMA to AAC

Windows-to-mobile switchers with WMA libraries, Zune owners moving to iPhone, podcasters working with legacy recordings, and anyone whose audio pipeline was built on Windows and now needs to reach a cross-platform audience.

Windows switchers, Zune owners, podcasters, and video editors converting WMA to AAC

Windows-to-Mobile Switchers with WMA Libraries

People who have accumulated music libraries in Windows Media Player over the years as WMA files find those files unplayable on their iPhone or current Android phone without conversion. Converting the library to AAC gives every track a format that plays natively on any mobile device without additional apps or workarounds.

Zune Library Owners Moving to iPhone

The Microsoft Zune player and Zune marketplace used WMA as the primary audio format. Users with legacy Zune collections who have switched to iPhone can convert their WMA tracks to AAC for direct playback in the iOS Music app or import into Apple Music.

Target formatAAC at 256 kbps recommended for music; 128 kbps for speech

Podcasters with Legacy WMA Recordings

Corporate training recordings, radio archives, and early podcast episodes were often exported in WMA. Most podcast hosting platforms do not accept WMA and require MP3 or AAC. Converting legacy WMA recordings to AAC makes them uploadable to any modern hosting platform without reprocessing the original audio source.

Video Editors Adding WMA Audio Tracks to Projects

Video editing software on Mac and mobile platforms typically does not support WMA imports. Converting WMA source audio to AAC makes it importable into Final Cut Pro, iMovie, DaVinci Resolve, and Adobe Premiere on any platform, and ensures the exported video file carries a universally supported audio track.

Content Creators Uploading to YouTube or Social Media

YouTube and most social media platforms accept AAC inside MP4 video containers but are inconsistent with WMA. Creators who have WMA commentary, music beds, or voiceover recordings can convert to AAC before adding them to a video project or uploading standalone audio content.

Corporate IT Teams Migrating Windows Audio Archives

Organizations moving from Windows-centric infrastructure to cloud or Apple hardware often have WMA audio archives: training recordings, internal presentations, and media assets. Converting to AAC makes those assets playable and distributable across the entire organization regardless of device platform.

Converts using FFmpeg on dedicated servers.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does converting WMA to AAC reduce audio quality?

Yes. Both WMA and AAC are lossy formats, so converting between them applies a second round of perceptual compression on top of the original WMA encoding. At a high AAC bitrate (256 kbps), the additional quality loss is small and typically not noticeable for most content. At lower bitrates (128 kbps and below), some artefacts may appear on complex musical material. Keep your original WMA files as a master copy since the quality of the original WMA encoding cannot be recovered from the AAC output.

Why does WMA not play on iPhone or Apple Music?

WMA is a Microsoft proprietary codec that Apple has never included in its audio stack. iTunes and Apple Music only support AAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF, and Apple Lossless (ALAC). Converting to AAC produces a file that imports directly into Apple Music and plays natively on every Apple device.

What bitrate should I use when converting WMA to AAC?

The converter uses a high AAC bitrate to minimise the quality impact of re-encoding. For reference, 256 kbps AAC is considered transparent for most music content, and 128 kbps is acceptable for speech and podcasts. If your original WMA was encoded at a low bitrate, the output quality ceiling is already set by that original encoding regardless of the AAC bitrate used.

Will the converted AAC file play on Android?

Yes. AAC is natively supported across all versions of Android and plays in every major Android media player, streaming app, and browser. It is the same codec used internally by YouTube, Spotify, and most Android-native audio applications.

What is the difference between WMA and AAC?

WMA (Windows Media Audio) is a Microsoft proprietary lossy codec built for the Windows ecosystem. AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is an open standard developed by the MPEG group as the successor to MP3. AAC achieves better audio quality at the same bitrate, supports more audio channels, and is natively supported on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and in every major browser and streaming platform. WMA is primarily useful only within Windows and Xbox.

Is there a file size limit?

The upload limit is 100 MB per file. Most WMA audio files are well within this range.

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Upload your WMA file above and get a compact, universally compatible AAC in seconds.