Guides

How to make audio files smaller

Updated 21 October 2026

Tool for this guide: Compress audio

Short answer: open compress audio, add your files and lower the bitrate. For speech, tick Mono and choose 64 kbps: voice notes, lectures and podcasts stay clear at about 0.5 MB per minute. Music needs 96–128 kbps stereo.

Size per minute

So a one-hour lecture at 64 kbps is about 29 MB, small enough to email in many services.

Step by step

1. Open compress audio and add any common audio files.
2. Choose a bitrate. Tick Mono for speech.
3. Download as MP3 or M4A.

Everything is compressed in your browser, so nothing is uploaded.

Why mono helps speech

Mono doesn't make a file smaller on its own: the size depends on the bitrate. But mono spends the whole bitrate on one channel, so speech sounds clearer at low bitrates like 32–64 kbps. That lets you pick a lower bitrate for the same quality.

More ways to save space

• Cut silence and mistakes with trim audio.
• Convert from WAV with convert audio; WAV is about ten times bigger than MP3.
• Extract audio from a video instead of sending the video: video to MP3.

Questions

What bitrate should I use for a podcast?

64 kbps mono for speech-only shows, 96–128 kbps stereo if there's music.

Will people hear the difference?

At 64 kbps mono, speech sounds clear. Music at that bitrate sounds noticeably duller, so keep it at 128 kbps.