Do you only want to keep the audio part of a video file? You can do that by extracting the audio from your video. There are many third-party apps and built-in tools to perform this extraction process.

The following article covers how to extract the audio from a video file on Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, and the web. So, whatever platform you're using, we've got you covered.

1. How to Extract the Audio From a Video on Windows

One of the quickest ways to extract the audio from a video file on a Windows PC is to use the VLC Media Player. Although VLC is a free media player app, it has some secret features, including conversion options built into it as well.

You can use those conversion options to convert your video file into an audio file. Here, we show how to do just that:

  1. Launch VLC Media Player, click Media at the top, and select Convert/Save.
    Extract audio from video VLC media player menu
  2. You'll see a box on your screen. In this box, click Add, and add the video that you want to extract the audio from. Then, hit Convert/Save.
  3. On the resulting screen, choose Audio - MP3 from the Profile dropdown menu. This will convert your video to an MP3 audio file, but you're free to choose any other audio format if you want.
  4. To customize more options, click the wrench icon next to the profile.
  5. When you're back to the main box, click Browse next to Destination file and choose the folder to save your audio file in. Make sure to add .mp3 after your file name if you've chosen the MP3 format. VLC doesn't seem to do this automatically.
  6. Click Start and VLC will begin to extract the audio from your video.
    Extract the audio from video using VLC

Depending on the length of the video, the conversion process could take several minutes to complete.

2. How to Extract the Audio From a Video on a Mac

Depending on the file format you prefer for your resulting audio file, you have a few ways to turn your video into an audio file on a Mac.

Extract the Audio and Save It as M4A

You can use the built-in QuickTime Player app on your Mac to turn your videos into audio files. However, you are only limited to the M4A file format for your resulting files, which is not a common format for audio files.

If you're fine with that, here's how you perform the extraction process:

  1. Open your video with QuickTime Player.
  2. Click the File menu and select Export As > Audio Only.
    Extract the audio from video using QuickTime
  3. Choose a folder to save the resulting file and click Save.

If you're concerned about the file format, you can always use an online tool like CloudConvert to quickly convert M4A files to MP3 or AAC. However, if you want to extract the audio from a video without needing conversion, you can consider the following option.

Extract the Audio and Save It in Various Formats

If you want more file formats for your resulting file, you can use a third-party app like Smart Converter to get that on your Mac. This free app gives you tons of file formats to choose from and supports many video formats as inputs.

Here's how you use this app to turn your videos into audio:

  1. Install the Smart Converter app on your Mac.
  2. Open the app and drag and drop your video onto the app interface.
  3. Click More and select MP3 Audio to turn your video into an MP3 file. Feel free to choose any other audio option if you'd like.
    Extract the audio from video using Smart Converter
  4. Click Convert and the app will start extracting the audio from your video.
  5. When it's done, click Show File to access your audio file in Finder.

3. How to Extract the Audio From a Video on an iPhone

Media Converter is a free, ad-supported app that you can use to extract the audio from a video on your iPhone. It's quick and supports many file formats.

You can use it as follows:

  1. Open the app and tap + (plus) at the top.
  2. Select Photos Library, allow the app to access your phone's storage, and choose the video you want to extract the audio from.
  3. Tap your video in the list and select Extract Audio.
  4. Choose the resulting file format from the Format dropdown. Configure other options if you want, and tap Start Conversion.

4. How to Extract the Audio From a Video on Android

On Android, you can use the free Video to MP3 Converter app to extract the audio from your video files. You have several file formats to choose from for your resulting file.

Here's how you use the app:

  1. Open the app and tap Video to Audio.
  2. Allow the app to access your device storage.
  3. Select the video you want to extract the audio from.
  4. Select the resulting audio format from the Format dropdown menu, choose an option from the Bit Rate menu, and tap Convert to start the conversion process.
  5. The app will notify you when your audio file is ready. At that point, you can tap Play to listen to your audio file.
  6. To access your converted files in the future, go to the main app interface, tap Output, and select the Video to audio option from the top bar.

5. How to Extract the Audio From a Video Online

If you don't want to install an app on your device, you can always use an online audio converter instead. There are many online tools to help you do that, and Online Audio Converter is one of them.

This tool lets you upload your video file from multiple sources, allowing you to turn your video into an audio file in various different file formats.

If you're ready, here's how to download only the audio from a video file using this online tool:

  1. Head over to the Online Audio Converter site in your browser.
  2. Click the Open files button and add your video file.
  3. Select one of the audio formats for your file.
  4. Click Advanced settings if you'd like to configure some extra options for your file.
    Extract the audio from video online
  5. Finally, click Convert to turn your video into an audio file.

Video to Audio Conversion Made Easy

The next time you come across a video that you only like the audio portion of—let's say, a podcast—you can use one of the methods we discussed to turn your video into an audio-only file. Due to the lack of video content, these audio-only files will be much smaller in size, making them easier to share with your friends.

And in case you're looking to convert other types of files, there are many online tools to help you do that as well.