MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3

Writable

audio · also known as MP3

MP3 is a digital audio format, formally known as MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III. A third variant, known as MPEG 2.5, which supports lower bit rates implemented by the LAME MP3 encoder among others, but is not a recognised standard.

Identify it

Extensions	`.mp3`
MIME types	`audio/mpeg`
Signatures	`494433` at byte 0 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 with ID3v2 Tag)
PRONOM	`fmt/134`
Wikidata	`Q42591`
Library of Congress	`fdd000012fdd000105`
Apple UTI	`public.mp3`

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Open it

A Better CD EncoderOpen sourcewrites · Artistic License 1.0 / GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
FFmpegOpen sourcereads and writes · LGPL-2.1-or-later / GPL-2.0-or-later
KinoOpen sourcewrites · GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
LAMEOpen sourcewrites · GNU General Public License, version 2.0 / GNU Library General Public License, version 2.0
Q191782Open sourcereads and writes · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
Q240192Open sourcewrites · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
Q6928182Open sourcereads and writes · GNU General Public License
SoXOpen sourcereads and writes · GNU General Public License
CuttermaranOpen sourcewrites · GNU General Public License
TooLAMEOpen sourcewrites · GNU Lesser General Public License
AmarokOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
AndroidOpen sourcereads · Apache Software License 2.0 / GNU General Public License, version 2.0
Apache TikaOpen sourcereads · Apache Software License 2.0
AquadOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
ClementineOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
DevILOpen sourcereads · GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1
DokielOpen sourcereads · CeCILL / GNU General Public License, version 3.0 / GNU Lesser General Public License, version 3.0 / Mozilla Public License, version 2.0
EasyTAGOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
Ex FalsoOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
ExifToolOpen sourcereads · Artistic License / GNU General Public License, version 1.0 or later
FlowplayerOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
GravemanOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
jPlayerOpen sourcereads · MIT License
Kid3Open sourcereads · GNU General Public License / GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
LiquidsoapOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
Mozilla FirefoxOpen sourcereads · Mozilla Public License, version 2.0
Music on ConsoleOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
NulloyOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
OpaleOpen sourcereads · CeCILL / GNU General Public License, version 3.0 / GNU Lesser General Public License, version 3.0 / Mozilla Public License, version 2.0
OpenFLOpen sourcereads · MIT License
PhotoRecOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
Q117725Open sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
Q141674392Open sourcereads · Apache Software License 2.0 / MIT License
Q1576579Open sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
Q3898244Open sourcereads · BSD licenses / GNU General Public License / GNU Lesser General Public License
SongRecOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
SweepOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
The Freesound ProjectOpen sourcereads · Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported / Creative Commons CC0 License
TopazeOpen sourcereads · CeCILL / GNU General Public License, version 3.0 / GNU Lesser General Public License, version 3.0 / Mozilla Public License, version 2.0
VLC media playerOpen sourcereads · GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 or later

And 80 more in the JSON record.

Convert it

To	With	Fidelity	Command and losses
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) 1.2.1	FFmpeg	Lossless	`ffmpeg -i in.mp3 out.flac` Lossless for decoded audio; a lossy source stays as degraded as it was. WAV may reduce bit depth or drop metadata.
Waveform Audio	FFmpeg	Lossless	`ffmpeg -i in.mp3 out.wav` Lossless for decoded audio; a lossy source stays as degraded as it was. WAV may reduce bit depth or drop metadata.
Matroska 1-4	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.mp3 out.mkv` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
MPEG-4 Part 14	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.mp3 out.mp4` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
Ogg	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.mp3 out.ogg` Lossy re-encoding.
WebM	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.mp3 out.webm` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.

Sources

From Converters (FFmpeg, ImageMagick, Pandoc, LibreOffice), Just Solve the File Format Problem (File Formats Wiki), PRONOM, Wikidata. Updated 2026-10-24.

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