MOV to MP3 Converter
Pull the soundtrack off a MOV recording and keep it as MP3.
Up to 50 MB per file. Sign up free to convert files up to 100 MB.
| File name | Size | Convert to |
|---|
Checking files and selected output formats.
MOV to MP3: audio out of a QuickTime file
MOV carries its audio as AAC in almost every case, since that is what Apple devices and cameras record. Extracting to MP3 means decoding that AAC and re-encoding, a second lossy generation, not a copy. The video track is simply discarded, which is why the output is a fraction of the original size.
Convert to keep the sound from a recording, an interview, a lecture, a piece of music, without carrying the video. Encode at a higher bitrate than feels necessary to offset the second pass.
MOV vs MP3: Side-by-side
Technical comparison of the two formats, useful for deciding which to use, or for confirming what changes during conversion.
| Property | MOV | MP3 |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | QuickTime Movie | MPEG-1 Audio Layer III |
| Year introduced | 1991 | 1993 |
| Developer / standard body | Apple | Fraunhofer / MPEG |
| MIME type | video/quicktime | audio/mpeg |
| File extension | .mov | .mp3 |
| Compression | H.264, ProRes, or others | Lossy (MDCT) |
| Color / data depth | 8/10/12-bit | N/A (audio) |
| Max dimensions / size | Codec-dependent | Up to 320 kbps bitrate |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | No | No |
| Standard / specification | Apple QuickTime | ISO/IEC 11172-3 |
| Best for | Apple ecosystem, video editing (Final Cut, Premiere) | Universal audio compatibility, playable on every device |