How to Extract Audio from a Video on Mac (MP3, M4A, or WAV)

You have a video on your Mac (a screen recording, a Zoom call, an iPhone clip you AirDropped over, or an MP4 a client sent) and you only need the sound. macOS can do this without installing anything, and there are a few better options when you need MP3, batch conversion, or the words instead of the audio.

This guide covers four ways to extract audio from a video on a Mac, from the built-in one-click method to FFmpeg, plus how to go straight to a transcript when that's what you're really after.

Quick answer

• Fastest, built in: open the video in QuickTime Player and choose File > Export As > Audio Only. You get an M4A file.
• Need MP3 or a batch of files: use the Music app's converter, or FFmpeg in Terminal.
• Need the text, not the audio: upload the video to a transcription tool and skip the audio file entirely.

Before you start: M4A, MP3, or WAV?

Most videos recorded on an iPhone or Mac store their audio as AAC inside an MP4 or MOV file. That gives you three sensible choices:

• M4A (AAC): small, high quality, and plays on every Apple device. Extracting to M4A usually keeps the original audio with no extra loss. Best default.
• MP3: plays everywhere, including older car stereos and some web uploaders. Converting from AAC re-encodes the audio, so choose 192 kbps or higher.
• WAV: uncompressed and large. Pick it only if you're about to edit the audio in a DAW or need a lossless master.

If you're unsure, start with M4A. More detail in MP3 vs WAV for extracted audio.

Method 1: QuickTime Player (built in, no install)

QuickTime ships with every Mac and is the quickest route:

1. Right-click the video in Finder and choose Open With > QuickTime Player.
2. Optional: choose Edit > Trim to cut the start and end so you only keep the part you need.
3. Choose File > Export As > Audio Only.
4. Pick a name and location and click Save.

You get an .m4a file. If QuickTime greys out Audio Only, the file may use a codec QuickTime can't read (some MKV and WebM files). Use Method 3 instead.

Method 2: The Music app (when you need MP3)

The Music app can convert the M4A from Method 1 into MP3:

1. Open Music and go to Music > Settings > Files > Import Settings.
2. Set Import Using to MP3 Encoder and choose High Quality (192 kbps) or a custom higher bitrate.
3. Drag your M4A into the Music library.
4. Select it and choose File > Convert > Create MP3 Version.
5. Right-click the new copy and choose Show in Finder.

This is handy for a few files. For a whole folder, FFmpeg is much faster. If you only need to turn an MP4 into MP3 occasionally, our MP4 to MP3 on Mac guide walks through it in more detail.

Method 3: FFmpeg in Terminal (best quality and batch control)

FFmpeg is free and handles almost every video format, including MKV and WebM. If you use Homebrew, install it with brew install ffmpeg.

To copy the original audio track out of an MP4 with no re-encoding:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a copy output.m4a

To make a high-quality MP3:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 output.mp3

To convert every MP4 in the current folder to MP3:

for f in *.mp4; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -vn -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 "${f%.mp4}.mp3"; done

The -vn flag drops the video. -c:a copy keeps the audio exactly as it is, which is why it's lossless and fast. See extracting audio without losing quality for when copying works and when you need to re-encode.

Method 4: Skip the audio file and get the transcript

A lot of people extract audio only so they can transcribe it: interview answers, lecture notes, a podcast episode, or quotes for an article. If that's you, the audio file is an extra step you don't need.

1. Open SkyScribe in Safari or Chrome.
2. Upload the MP4 or MOV directly, or paste a YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or X link if the video is online.
3. Get a timestamped transcript you can edit, search, and copy.
4. Export it as plain text, or as an SRT or VTT file if you need captions.

The video to text tool and the audio to text tool both handle this from the same upload. If you already have an MP3, see MP3 to text online.

Troubleshooting

• "Audio Only" is missing in QuickTime. The video uses a format QuickTime doesn't support. Use FFmpeg, or upload the file for transcription.
• The extracted audio is silent. Some screen recordings save system audio and microphone audio as separate tracks, or none at all. Check the original video plays with sound first.
• The MP3 sounds worse than the video. You re-encoded at a low bitrate. Re-export at 192 kbps or higher, or keep M4A.
• The file is huge. You probably exported WAV. Convert it to M4A or MP3 unless you need lossless audio for editing.
• Only part of the video has audio. Trim first in QuickTime, then export, so you don't carry long silent sections.

Doing the same thing on other devices

• On iPhone, the extract audio from iPhone video guide shows how to do it without extra apps.
• On Android, see how to extract audio from a video on Android.
• In DaVinci Resolve, see exporting MP3 from DaVinci Resolve.

FAQ

Can I extract audio from a video on Mac for free? Yes. QuickTime Player and the Music app are built into macOS, and FFmpeg is free.

Does extracting audio reduce quality? Not if you export M4A from an AAC source or use FFmpeg with -c:a copy. Converting to MP3 re-encodes the audio, so use a high bitrate.

Can I extract audio from a YouTube video on Mac? For videos you don't own, the safer path is to paste the link into a transcription tool and work with the transcript. Downloading audio from YouTube can break its terms of service. More in YouTube to text instead of MP3.

What's the fastest way to turn a Mac video into text? Upload the video file straight to a transcription tool. You skip the export step and get a searchable, timestamped transcript in a few minutes.