Whether you want to turn a video interview into an audio podcast or pull background music from a YouTube video, extracting audio from video files requires a video-to-audio converter. 

But here's the catch: not all converters are created equal. Some can mess up the quality or slow your computer. Ahead, we’ll share the 10 best free and paid video to audio converters to use, whatever your use case.

5 best free video-to-audio converters

1. Descript

Best: Overall free video to audio converter

Descript is an all-in-one software for video editing and audio editing. It works on Apple Mac, Windows, and Linux. Using Descript, you can convert a video to any format, including GIF and MP3 formats. 

To extract audio from a video, just upload your video to the editor and convert it. Then you can export, save, or publish your audio. Choose to export audio files as MP3, M4A, and lossless WAV formats.

Features:

• Automated transcriptions
• Voice-cloning technology to fix audio mistakes
• Automatic filler word removal
• Studio Sound to remove unwanted background noise
• A built-in library of background music and sound effects

Pros:

• Easy-to-use interface for quick conversions
• High-quality audio output without compromising the original video's quality.
• Supports popular formats like MP3, WAV, and M4A.

Cons:

• Doesn’t support certain video formats including AVI, FLV, MKV, MXF, MTS, OGV, WEBM, or WMV

If you're looking for a tool to convert audio from video and edit, optimize, and publish that audio, check out Descript.

‎2. Freemake Video Converter

Best: For beginners

Freemake Video Converter is a simple and intuitive converter tool with over 103 million users. Its free desktop app converts from almost any visual file type to audio format. Simply paste your video link into the tool or upload your file, and your audio file is only a few seconds away. 

Features:

• Supports 500+ video formats, including popular ones like MP4, MPEG, AVI, MKV, and WMV
• Convert videos from popular platforms like Vimeo, Facebook, and Dailymotion
• Basic editing tools, including trimming, rotating, and adding subtitles to videos
• Choose the desired audio format and quality

Pros:

• Burn files onto a disc or ISO files
• Merge multiple audio files into one
• Convert files in batches
• Compatible with smartphones, tablets, and game consoles

Cons:

• Lacks advanced editing options found in other tools 
• The free version includes ads, which can be annoying and may prompt users to upgrade to the paid version
• Includes a watermark unless you upgrade
• Doesn’t support the conversion of 4K videos

3. VLC

Best: For batch conversion

Along with playing various multimedia files, VLC Media Player can convert videos to audio without extra software. This tool is super user-friendly, which makes the conversion process easy. It converts videos to various audio formats, including MP3, OGG, WAV, and FLAC. You can use VLC on various operating systems like macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Features:

• Has batch conversion feature
• Offers options to customize bitrate, channels, and sample rate for the output audio
• Can stream and convert online video streams
• High-quality audio output with customizable settings

Pros:

• Free and open-source (no ads or hidden costs)
• Offers video and audio stream download options
• Provides customizable conversion profiles
• Lets you see the output during conversion
• Features popular codecs

Cons:

• Lacks advanced editing capabilities for video and audio files
• The conversion speed might isn’t as fast as specialized conversion tools

4. Audacity

Best: Open-source converter

Audacity is an open-source audio editing software that lets you convert video files into high-quality audio. It’s known for its user-friendly interface and editing tools, like noise reduction, equalization, and sound effects. Audacity is also available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Features:

• Supports all popular file formats like mp3, m4a, AIFF, and WAV
• Edit and convert multiple files at the same time
• Provides a visual representation of the audio frequencies, useful for detailed editing
• Supports various plugins to extend its functionality

Pros:

• Free and open-source
• Maintains high audio quality in the converted files

Cons:

• Requires the extraction of audio from the video file before importing it into Audacity, which can be an extra step compared to other converters
• The extensive features may be daunting for beginners
• Cannot play or preview video files within the software

5. Any Video Converter

Best: For fast conversions

With its user-friendly interface and fast conversion speeds, Any Video Converter is a top free online video converter. You can turn videos into a variety of popular audio formats like MP3, AAC, and WAV. 

Any Video Converter also offers presets for different devices, ensuring optimal playback on smartphones, tablets, and more. It also comes with basic editing features including trimming, cropping, and adding effects to videos, if you need to refine your video before extracting the audio. 

Features:

• Supports downloading and converting videos from online platforms like YouTube and Vimeo
• Conversion of multiple videos with batch processing
• Allows users to adjust audio settings like bitrate and sample rate

Pros:

• Has an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate for users of all skill levels
• Uses hardware acceleration to achieve fast conversion speeds without compromising quality
• Produces excellent audio and video quality in the converted files

Cons:

• The free version has limitations, such as a watermark on converted videos and restricted access to some features
• The installer may include optional adware, so users need to be cautious during installation
• Can be demanding on system resources, especially during batch conversions or when using hardware acceleration

Read more: The best free video editing software with no watermark: Top 10 picks

Top 4 paid video-to-audio converters

Software	Best
Movavi Video Converter	For high resolution audio
Wondershare UniConverter	Choice of audio formats
WinX HD Video Converter	For HD video
Prism	Intuitive interface

1. Movavi Video Converter

Best: For high resolution audio

Movavi Video Converter is a user-friendly software designed for fast and efficient video and audio conversion. Known for its speed and versatility, Movavi is a popular choice among users looking to convert videos to audio formats with high resolution. 

Features:

• Converts between a wide range of video and audio formats, including MP3, AAC, and WAV
• Delivers fast conversion speeds without sacrificing quality
• Has basic editing features like trimming, cropping, rotating, and adjusting audio levels

Pros:

• Easy-to-understand user interface
• Batch converts video files to audio
• Suitable for a wide range of conversion and editing tasks beyond just video-to-audio conversion
• High-quality audio and video output

Cons:

• The free trial version has limitations like a restricted conversion time
• It lacks some advanced trim mode and clip pre-trimming features found in more specialized software

2. Wondershare UniConverter

Best: Choice of audio formats

Wondershare UniConverter is a comprehensive video conversion tool that offers a wide array of features for converting, editing, and enhancing multimedia files. It supports 1,000+ video/audio formats like MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, MP3, WAV, WMA, and M4A. It also uses GPU acceleration to achieve fast conversion speeds without compromising quality.

Features:

• Convert videos by pasting URLs
• Screen recording tool for capturing video and audio
• Multi-device compatibility

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Excellent audio quality in the converted files
• Suitable for a wide range of multimedia tasks beyond video-to-audio conversion
• Offers solid video editing features

Cons:

• Isn’t compatible with Linux
• The free trial has limitations like restricted conversion time
• Higher pricing compared to other converters
• Many users may not need extensive editing features

3. WinX HD Video Converter

Best: For HD video

WinX HD Video Converter is a robust video conversion tool that excels in converting high-definition videos to various audio formats. It offers support for over 370 input formats and 420 output formats, like MP4, AVI, WMV, and FLV. You can also convert videos to fit device specs such as iPhone, iPad, Android, and Xbox.

Features:

• Allows video download from more than 1000 websites
• Built-in video editor to trim, crop, merge, add subtitles, and more
• Batch conversion mode 
• Capable of converting 4K and 8K videos to audio

Pros:

• Easy-to-use interface
• Fast conversion speed
• Wide range of input and output formats supported
• High-quality video conversion up to 4K resolution
• Built-in video editor with various editing options

Cons:

• It requires a subscription to use all features
• Advanced features like hardware acceleration are only available in the more expensive version 
• Some bugs and errors reported by users
• No option for customizing video settings during the conversion process

4. Prism

Best: Intuitive converter 

Prism Video Converter is a popular choice among users looking to quickly and easily convert their video files to audio formats without any hassle. It provides an easy to drag-and-drop interface to upload files and convert them to formats like MOV, MPG, VOB, and ASF, as well as the more popular types like MP4.

Features:

• Preview your video and any changes made to it before conversion
• Change your output settings
• Batch conversion

Pros:

• User-friendly and clear interface
• Delivers quick conversion speeds, allowing for efficient processing of files

Cons:

• Constant popups show up to check if you're commercializing the free version
• Lacks some of the more advanced features found in other software
• Free version has some limitations like restricted format support

How to turn a video into an audio file

Descript makes it simple to extract audio from video. Using the intuitive software, you can easily convert video files to multiple formats, including mp3 files. 

1. Install and open Descript

Sign up and download Descript. The free plan includes up to one hour of transcription a month. Once you set up an account, you’ll see a button to download and install the application on your desktop.

2. Create a new project

From your dashboard, click the + New button and select Project from the dropdown menu. Give your new project a name, then press the Create Project button.

3. Import the video file

Drag and drop the video file into the box with the microphone icon. Or, you can press the Choose a File button to browse to the video file location.

4. Export the audio file

Once the file loads, click the Publish button, then the Export tab. In the File Export group, select the Audio button.

Select your preferred audio file format, like M4A, WAV, or MP3 format. M3 and M4A are smaller files, with MP3 being the most universally compatible. WAV files are much bigger, but they offer lossless audio quality.

Learn more: How to convert video to audio: A step-by-step guide

The best way to convert video files to audio 

The easiest way to convert videos to audio files without losing quality is with Descript. Whether you’re creating content for a podcast, TikTok, or LinkedIn video, Descript quickly transforms videos into audio files. 

Plus, you can even generate a transcript of your audio to add subtitles to your project. Create memorable audio content with Descript’s video to audio converter. Sign up for free today and take advantage of premium features. 

Best video-to-audio converter FAQs

What is the best video-to-audio converter?

The best video-to-audio converter combines ease of use, quality output, and versatile features. Descript converts videos to audio, and offers transcription and editing tools, making it the best choice.

What is the best free software to convert video to audio?

Descript stands out as the best free software to convert video to audio. It has a generous free plan that includes premium features like a video to MP3 converter, transcription, and audio editing tools. 

When should I use a video-to-audio converter?

You should use a video-to-audio converter when you need to extract audio from a video file for purposes including: 

• Creating a podcast from a video interview
• Extracting a song from a music video
• Obtaining the audio track for easier listening or editing