MP3 vs WAV vs OGG: Which Audio Format Should You Use?

By Thiago · Updated September 25, 2026 · 3 min read

MP3, WAV and OGG can all hold the same song, but they are built for different jobs. One is for listening everywhere, one is for editing and one is popular in games and on the web. Here is how to choose.

The short answer

• Listening, sharing, podcasts, phones and car stereos: MP3.
• Recording, editing, mixing and anything you will process further: WAV.
• Game development, web apps and open-source software: OGG.

Side-by-side comparison

WAV: the uncompressed original

WAV stores audio as raw samples, with nothing thrown away. CD-quality audio (44.1 kHz, 16-bit, stereo) takes about 10 MB per minute. That size is the price of perfect fidelity, and it's why WAV is the standard in recording studios, video editors, DJ software and samplers. Editing a WAV and saving it again never adds compression artifacts.

When ConvertKiwi creates a WAV, it uses standard 16-bit PCM at the original sample rate of the source. Every audio program accepts that.

MP3: the format that plays everywhere

MP3 uses a psychoacoustic model to remove sounds that human ears barely perceive, like very quiet sounds hidden behind loud ones. At good settings, most people can't tell an MP3 from the original in normal listening, at about a tenth of the size.

ConvertKiwi encodes MP3s with the LAME encoder at its "V2" variable-bitrate setting, which usually averages around 170–210 kbps. The encoder spends more data on complex passages and less on simple ones. It is a widely recommended setting for music that sounds transparent to most listeners.

OGG: open and efficient

OGG is a container, and the audio inside is usually encoded with Vorbis, an open, royalty-free codec. At the same file size, Vorbis often sounds as good as or better than MP3, especially at medium bitrates. Game engines like Unity and Godot, many web apps and Linux software use it. Its weak spot is compatibility: some Apple software and older devices don't play it.

We encode OGG at Vorbis quality 5, roughly 160 kbps. That's a good balance for music and sound effects.

Can converting improve quality?

No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. Converting an MP3 to WAV gives you a big file that sounds exactly like the MP3. The detail the MP3 discarded isn't restored. It is still worth doing when an editor or device requires WAV, because further edits then won't add another layer of compression.

The same logic applies in the other direction: every conversion from one lossy format to another (for example MP3 to OGG) loses a little quality. When you can, convert from the best source you have, ideally a WAV or the original recording.

Which conversion do you need?

• A WAV recording is too large to send: WAV to MP3 makes it about 10 times smaller.
• An editor or DJ app only accepts WAV: MP3 to WAV.
• A game engine or web project needs OGG: MP3 to OGG.
• You have M4A, AAC, FLAC or a video and want MP3: the MP3 converter accepts all of them.

What about FLAC and AAC?

FLAC is lossless like WAV but compressed, typically to about half the size, and it's popular for music archives. AAC (often in .m4a files) is the lossy format used by Apple Music and YouTube, and it's slightly more efficient than MP3. Both can be converted to MP3 with the MP3 converter when a device doesn't support them.