FormatDrop
Audio Format

AIFF

Audio Interchange File Format

AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) is Apple's uncompressed audio format, developed in 1988. Like WAV, it's lossless and stores raw PCM audio data — what you hear is the full, unaltered waveform with no compression. AIFF is the native lossless format for Logic Pro, GarageBand, and other Apple audio applications. It's the professional-grade audio equivalent of a RAW photo.

What is AIFF?

AIFF was developed by Apple in 1988, based on the IFF container format originally created by Electronic Arts. It stores uncompressed PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) audio — the same digital audio format used on CDs. An AIFF file at CD quality is 44.1 kHz sample rate, 16-bit depth, stereo — identical in audio data to a WAV file at the same settings. There's also AIFF-C (AIFF Compressed), which supports compressed audio including ACE2, ACE8, MAC3, and MAC6 codecs, though the compressed variant is rarely used today. AIFF supports sample rates from 8 kHz to 192 kHz and bit depths of 8, 16, 20, 24, and 32 bits. It stores metadata as IFF chunks — including name, author, copyright, annotation, MIDI data, and audio recording markers. Logic Pro uses AIFF as its native audio render format. iTunes and Apple Music have historically used AIFF as the import format for lossless audio. Pro Tools and other professional DAWs on Mac fully support AIFF. Like WAV, AIFF files are large: CD-quality stereo AIFF is approximately 10 MB per minute of audio.

AIFF pros and cons

Advantages

  • Bit-perfect lossless audio — no compression artifacts
  • Native Apple format — ideal for Logic Pro, GarageBand, Final Cut Pro
  • Supports high-resolution audio up to 192 kHz / 32-bit
  • Supports robust metadata embedding
  • Universal support in professional audio software
  • No generation loss on repeated encode/decode

Limitations

  • Very large files — ~10 MB per minute at CD quality
  • Not widely supported on Android devices without apps
  • Less common than WAV outside Apple ecosystem
  • Not supported by most streaming services for upload
  • Larger than FLAC for the same audio (FLAC compresses losslessly, AIFF does not)

When should you convert AIFF files?

Convert AIFF to FLAC when you want lossless audio at smaller file sizes (FLAC is typically 50–60% the size of AIFF at identical audio quality). Convert AIFF to MP3 or AAC for sharing, streaming, or device storage where file size matters and perfect lossless quality isn't required. Convert AIFF to WAV when sharing with Windows-based audio engineers — WAV is more universally supported across DAWs on all platforms. Keep AIFF as the working format when producing in Logic Pro or GarageBand — round-tripping to other formats and back introduces unnecessary conversion steps.

Convert AIFF files

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AIFF FAQ

What's the difference between AIFF and WAV?
AIFF and WAV are functionally nearly identical — both are uncompressed PCM audio containers at the same quality. The main differences: AIFF is Apple's format (better native support on Mac/iOS), WAV is Microsoft's format (better native support on Windows). AIFF supports slightly richer metadata. WAV is slightly more universally supported across all DAWs and audio software. In practice, you can use either for professional audio work and the quality will be identical.
Is AIFF better than FLAC?
In terms of audio quality: identical — both are lossless. FLAC is compressed (typically 50–60% smaller than AIFF for the same audio), while AIFF is uncompressed. FLAC requires decoding during playback, but modern hardware makes this trivial. AIFF is better for: recording and editing in DAWs (lower CPU overhead during multitrack editing). FLAC is better for: long-term storage and music libraries (smaller files, identical quality). For finished music you want to archive: FLAC. For working session files in Logic Pro: AIFF.
Can I play AIFF on Windows?
Windows does not natively support AIFF in Windows Media Player. Options: (1) Use VLC Media Player, which plays AIFF natively on Windows. (2) Use foobar2000 (free, excellent Windows audio player with AIFF support). (3) Use iTunes/Apple Music for Windows, which supports AIFF. (4) Convert to WAV or FLAC for Windows-native playback without additional software.
Does iTunes support AIFF?
Yes — iTunes (now Apple Music on Mac) supports AIFF natively for import, playback, and library storage. AIFF tracks in your Apple Music library are counted as lossless. Apple Music also syncs AIFF tracks to Apple devices over iCloud Music Library. For iPhones, AIFF may be transcoded to AAC during sync if the device storage format requires it.

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