YouTube to M4A Converter

Y2WAV saves the audio of any YouTube video as an M4A file. Paste the link, click Convert, then use the red Download button. No account, no software and no limit on how many files you convert.

M4A is the audio format Apple uses by default. The files are small, they sound a little better than MP3 at the same size, and they play on iPhone, iPad and Mac without any extra app. Like MP3, M4A is a compressed format, so it's made for listening rather than editing.

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How to convert a YouTube video to M4A?

  1. Open YouTube and copy the link of the video you want.
  2. Paste the link above and click the red "Convert to M4A" button.
  3. When it's done, click "Download M4A File" to save it to your device.

What is M4A?

An M4A file is audio stored in the MP4 container, almost always encoded with AAC. AAC is the same kind of audio that Apple Music, the iTunes Store and YouTube itself use. It was designed as the successor to MP3, so at the same file size it usually keeps a bit more detail.

Despite the Apple connection, M4A isn't Apple-only. Windows, Android, VLC and many car stereos play it too.

Quality and file size

YouTube stores music as compressed audio, usually Opus or AAC at around 128 to 160 kbps. Y2WAV gives you an M4A at about 128 kbps, which sounds the same as the video for normal listening. No converter can make it sound better than YouTube's own audio.

Expect roughly 1 MB per minute, so a four-minute song is about 4 MB. That's around ten times smaller than WAV, which makes M4A a good choice for phones with little free space.

Using M4A on Apple devices

  • iPhone and iPad: the file goes to the Files app, where you can play it straight away.
  • Mac: drag the file into the Music app to add it to your library, then sync it to your iPhone if you like.
  • Ringtones: an iPhone ringtone is an M4A file renamed to .m4r and no longer than 40 seconds. GarageBand on iPhone can also turn an audio file into a ringtone.

Which format should you pick?

  • M4A for listening on Apple devices, or anywhere you want small files that still sound good.
  • MP3 for the oldest car stereos and players. If a device won't play your M4A, the MP3 version will.
  • WAV if you're going to edit, mix or DJ with the audio. Use our YouTube to WAV converter for that.
  • FLAC for a music archive where you don't want any extra compression. A lossless FLAC file is about half the size of WAV.

Tips for better results

  • Use the official upload. Re-uploads are often recompressed or slightly sped up. The artist's own channel, or the auto-generated "Artist - Topic" channel, usually has the cleanest audio.
  • Any YouTube link works. A youtu.be share link from the app, a Shorts link or a YouTube Music link are all fine.
  • Download straight away. Files are deleted from our server about 30 minutes after conversion. If the link has expired, just convert again.

Frequently asked questions

Is M4A better than MP3?

At the same file size, usually a little. Most people won't hear a difference on phone speakers or earbuds. MP3's only real advantage is that every old device plays it.

Is M4A lossless?

Not the files we make. M4A can hold lossless audio (ALAC), but ours use AAC, which is compressed. If you need a lossless file, choose WAV or FLAC.

Will M4A play on Android and Windows?

Yes. Android, Windows 10 and 11, VLC and most music apps play M4A without anything extra.

Why did a video fail to convert?

Usually because it's private, deleted, age-restricted, members-only or blocked in some countries. No converter can download those. If a normal public video fails, try again after a minute.

All YouTube Converters

Choose from any format below:

🎵 WAV 🎵 FLAC 🎵 MP3 🎵 OGG

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