Convert MOV to AAC — Free Online Tool
Extract and convert the audio track from a MOV file into a standalone AAC file using Apple's native audio codec. This is ideal for stripping audio from QuickTime recordings or Final Cut Pro exports while preserving the high-quality AAC encoding that MOV files already use internally.
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FFmpeg Command
Copy this command to run the same conversion locally with FFmpeg on your desktop. Download FFmpeg
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Note: Browser-based encoding uses approximate quality targets. For precise CRF compression, copy the FFmpeg command above and run it on your desktop.
Estimated output:
Conversion Complete!
DownloadHow It Works
MOV files are Apple QuickTime containers that commonly store audio encoded with the AAC codec. When converting to AAC, FFmpeg reads the MOV container, discards any video, subtitle, and chapter streams, and extracts (or transcodes) the audio stream into a bare .aac audio file. If the source audio is already AAC-encoded inside the MOV — which is the default for most QuickTime recordings and iPhone videos — the conversion still runs through the AAC encoder at 128k bitrate by default. The output is a raw AAC bitstream file (.aac), which is not wrapped in an MP4 or M4A container, making it a lightweight and universally decodable audio file. No video re-encoding takes place at any point.
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
ffmpeg
|
Invokes the FFmpeg command-line tool, which is the engine running inside this browser-based converter via WebAssembly (FFmpeg.wasm). The same binary is used locally when you run the command on your desktop. |
-i input.mov
|
Specifies the input file — a MOV (QuickTime) container that may contain video, audio, subtitles, and chapter tracks. FFmpeg reads all available streams from this file before applying any output filters or codec settings. |
-c:a aac
|
Sets the audio codec for the output to AAC using FFmpeg's built-in AAC encoder. This encodes (or re-encodes) the audio stream from the MOV file into the AAC format, which is the only codec supported in a raw .aac output file. |
-b:a 128k
|
Sets the target audio bitrate to 128 kilobits per second, which is the default and strikes a balance between file size and audio quality suitable for voice, podcast, and general-purpose content. Increase to 192k or 256k for music or high-fidelity audio. |
output.aac
|
Defines the output filename and format. The .aac extension tells FFmpeg to write a raw AAC bitstream file rather than wrapping the audio in a container like MP4 or M4A. No video or metadata streams from the source MOV are included in this output. |
Common Use Cases
- Extracting a voice-over or narration track from a Final Cut Pro MOV export to deliver to a podcast host or audio editor
- Pulling the audio from an iPhone screen recording saved as a MOV for use as a standalone audio clip
- Stripping the audio from a QuickTime interview recording to create an AAC file for streaming or podcast distribution
- Extracting the music or sound design from a MOV video deliverable to archive the audio separately
- Converting the audio track of a MOV file to AAC for direct playback on Apple devices or import into iTunes without the video overhead
- Isolating the audio commentary from a MOV gameplay capture to upload as an audio-only file
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the source. If the audio inside the MOV is already AAC-encoded (which is the default for most QuickTime recordings and iPhone-captured videos), re-encoding it to AAC at 128k introduces a second generation of lossy compression, which can subtly degrade quality. For best results, match or exceed the original bitrate, or consider using a higher bitrate like 192k or 256k. If the MOV contains lossless audio such as FLAC or PCM, the conversion to AAC at 128k will be a one-time lossy encode from a lossless source, which is a clean and acceptable workflow.
A raw .aac file is an uncontainerized AAC bitstream, while .m4a is AAC audio wrapped inside an MP4 container. Both use the same underlying audio codec, but .m4a includes container metadata like track titles and album art. The FFmpeg command here produces a raw .aac bitstream, which is simpler and more universally compatible for basic audio playback and streaming. If you need metadata support or iTunes compatibility, you can change the output filename to output.m4a in the FFmpeg command and add -movflags +faststart for streaming-ready output.
Yes — if the MOV file has no audio track, FFmpeg will produce an empty or zero-byte output file and may throw a warning indicating no audio streams were found. MOV files from screen recorders, animation renders, or silent video exports may not include audio. You can verify whether a MOV has audio before converting by running ffprobe input.mov and checking for an audio stream in the output.
All non-audio streams are automatically dropped. The FFmpeg command does not include a video codec flag (-c:v) or a subtitle copy flag, so FFmpeg defaults to excluding video from the .aac output since raw AAC containers cannot hold video. Chapter markers and subtitle tracks embedded in the MOV are similarly discarded. The output is a pure audio file with no video, chapter, or subtitle data.
Replace the value after -b:a with your desired bitrate. For example, to encode at 256k for higher fidelity, use: ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:a aac -b:a 256k output.aac. The AAC format supports bitrates from 64k (suitable for speech) up to 320k (suitable for high-fidelity music). For most speech and podcast content, 96k to 128k is sufficient, while music or cinematic audio benefits from 192k or higher.
Yes. On macOS or Linux, you can use a shell loop: for f in *.mov; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:a aac -b:a 128k "${f%.mov}.aac"; done. On Windows Command Prompt, use: for %f in (*.mov) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:a aac -b:a 128k "%~nf.aac". This processes every MOV file in the current directory and outputs a matching .aac file for each, making it efficient for bulk audio extraction from a QuickTime export folder.
Technical Notes
MOV is a flexible container format developed by Apple that supports a wide range of audio codecs internally, including AAC, FLAC, PCM, MP3, and Opus. When the source MOV contains AAC audio — as is typical for videos recorded on iPhones, QuickTime screen recordings, or Final Cut Pro exports — the FFmpeg command re-encodes the audio using the native FFmpeg AAC encoder at 128k bitrate by default. The output is a raw AAC bitstream (.aac), not an MPEG-4 container (.m4a), which means metadata fields such as artist, album, and track title embedded in the MOV are not preserved in the output. The raw AAC format also lacks seeking optimization that container formats provide, which is generally acceptable for short audio clips but can affect scrubbing behavior in some players for long files. For multi-track MOV files — common in professional video production workflows — FFmpeg's default behavior is to select the first audio track only; additional audio tracks are silently ignored unless explicitly mapped with the -map flag.