Turn AIFF files into FLAC
Convert an AIFF into a FLAC right here on the page. FLAC is the usual choice for archiving CD rips without losing anything. The practical difference is that the result opens anywhere, which AIFF files do not. Your file never leaves your computer.
Need the other direction? Convert FLAC to AIFF
How to convert AIFF to FLAC
- 1 Drop your AIFF .aiff or .aif or .aifc file onto the page, or click to browse for it.
- 2 Check the options. Nothing is thrown away on the way to FLAC, so there is no quality dial to set.
- 3 Convert. The work happens on your own machine, so how long it takes depends on your computer and the file.
- 4 Download the FLAC, or add more files and do the whole set in one go.
Why convert AIFF to FLAC
- An AIFF will not open in a browser, so anything going onto a web page, into a document or into a message has to become a FLAC first.
- Identical to the recording at roughly half the size of a WAV.
- Fast decoding and good tagging with embedded artwork.
- High resolution audio distribution.
- AIFF: less universally supported on Windows and web.
AIFF compared with FLAC
How the two formats differ on the things that decide whether a conversion is worth making.
| Property | AIFF | FLAC |
|---|---|---|
| File extension | .aiff | .flac |
| Compression | Uncompressed | Lossless |
| Colour depth | 8 to 32 bit, any sample rate | Up to 32-bit, up to 655 kHz |
| Typical file size | Largest | Larger |
| Browser support | Some browsers | All current browsers |
| Introduced | 1988 | 2001 |
| Developed by | Apple | Xiph.Org Foundation |
Quality and what changes
Both sides are lossless, so every pixel survives the trip intact and converting back returns the same image. What changes is the size and what the file can carry: FLAC compresses the same data with a different algorithm, so the size can move in either direction.
- One FLAC limitation to keep in mind: much larger than MP3, AAC or Opus.
Questions about AIFF to FLAC
Is my AIFF file uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole thing runs inside the browser tab you already have open. Your AIFF is read straight from your own disk, converted on your machine and handed back as a FLAC. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored and there is no account.
Is there a file size limit?
There is no server-side limit because no server sees the file. The real ceiling is your device memory, since the input and the output both have to fit in the tab. A few hundred megabytes is usually fine on a desktop machine and considerably less on a phone.
Can I convert several AIFF files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and they are processed one after another, then offered as separate FLAC downloads or as a single ZIP. Speed depends on your own processor rather than on a queue.
Does the converter work offline?
Yes, after the page has loaded once. The engine is cached by the browser, so you can disconnect, reload and keep converting. That falls out of doing the work locally rather than being a separate mode you switch on.