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MP4 to M4A Converter — Free, Online, No Upload

Strip the video, keep the music — MP4 to M4A is the fastest way to rip a soundtrack for your Apple library.

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Need the reverse?M4A → MP4

How to convert MP4 to M4A online

  1. 1

    Drop your MP4 file

    Drag your MPEG-4 Part 14 file onto the box above, or click it to pick a file.

  2. 2

    Wait a few seconds

    Conversion starts on its own and runs on your device, not on a server.

  3. 3

    Download your M4A

    Click Download to save the MPEG-4 Audio file.

MP4 vs M4A: format overview

MP4

MPEG-4 Part 14

Moving Picture Experts Group · 2001

Compression
lossy
Transparency
No
  • ✓ Universal compatibility across all platforms
  • ✓ Excellent compression with H.264/H.265
  • ✗ H.264 has royalty implications
M4A

MPEG-4 Audio

Apple / MPEG Group · 2001

Compression
lossy
Transparency
No
  • ✓ Better quality than MP3 at same bitrate (AAC codec)
  • ✓ Native Apple ecosystem support

MP4 magic bytes: 00 00 00 xx 66 74 79 70

M4A magic bytes: 00 00 00 xx 66 74 79 70 4D 34 41

Why convert MP4 to M4A?

Someone sent you a video of a live performance, a spoken word recording, or a music session as an MP4. You want to add just the audio to your Apple Music library, sync it to your iPhone, or import it into GarageBand — but iTunes and Apple Music don't recognize raw MP4 files as audio. The solution is M4A: Apple's audio-only container, which is structurally identical to MP4 but carries only the audio track.

Converting MP4 to M4A is essentially a container rename. The AAC audio stream already inside your MP4 is remuxed directly into the M4A file without any re-encoding — which means the operation is near-instant and completely lossless. No quality is lost, no compression artifacts are added. Apple Music, iTunes, GarageBand, Logic Pro, and every iOS and macOS app that handles audio accept M4A without any fuss.

The M4A file will be significantly smaller than the original MP4 because the video track is discarded entirely. Only the sound is kept, so the M4A's size depends on the length: 192 kbps AAC is about 1.4 MB per minute. Drag it into Apple Music and it syncs to your iPhone on the next backup, or AirDrop it directly to any Apple device.

Quality & file size: MP4 to M4A

Typical sizes: MP4 100–300 MB (1 minute 1080p); M4A 3–6 MB (3-minute song).

M4A output is encoded at 192 kbps.

Re-encoding one lossy format into another adds a second round of compression.

Frequently asked questions

Is converting MP4 to M4A lossless?
Yes — M4A is simply an MP4 container with only the audio track retained. No re-encoding occurs; the AAC audio data inside the MP4 is remuxed directly into the M4A file.
How do I add the M4A to iTunes or Apple Music?
Drag the M4A file into iTunes or Apple Music, or use File → Import. It will appear in your library immediately and can be synced to iPhone or iPad.

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