Convert WMA to FLAC Online
Transform your WMA files into FLAC format with our online converter. FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) provides lossless compression, preserving the decoded audio without any quality loss. While this conversion cannot restore quality lost during WMA encoding, FLAC ensures no further degradation and provides a future-proof archival format.
Our converter decodes WMA audio and repackages it in the FLAC container. The resulting file will be larger than the WMA source but uses an open, well-supported format suitable for long-term archival.
Why Convert WMA to FLAC?
FLAC is an open-source format with universal software support across all operating systems. Unlike WMA which requires Microsoft codecs, FLAC plays natively on Linux, macOS, and most modern media players. For archiving purposes, FLAC provides better long-term accessibility.
High-end audio players and streaming services increasingly support FLAC. Converting your WMA collection to FLAC ensures compatibility with audiophile equipment and services like Tidal or Qobuz that prioritize lossless formats.
Common Use Cases
- Format migration — move from proprietary WMA to open standard
- Audio archiving — FLAC ensures future accessibility
- Hi-Fi playback — compatibility with audiophile equipment
- Linux migration — FLAC has native support on all Linux distributions
Important Note
Converting WMA to FLAC does not improve audio quality. WMA is a lossy format—quality lost during original encoding cannot be recovered. FLAC simply preserves whatever quality the WMA contains without further loss. For true lossless audio, start with uncompressed sources like CD rips.
However, converting to FLAC does prevent further quality loss. Each time you convert between lossy formats (WMA to MP3, MP3 to AAC), quality degrades. FLAC acts as a stable master copy—you can convert from FLAC to any format without accumulating compression artifacts.
How the Conversion Works
Converting WMA to FLAC involves decoding the Windows Media Audio stream to uncompressed PCM data, then re-encoding using FLAC's lossless compression. The FLAC encoder uses prediction algorithms to efficiently store audio data without discarding any information.
The resulting FLAC file contains an exact copy of the decoded WMA audio. While larger than the WMA source, it ensures no further quality loss during editing or future format conversions. FLAC's open-source nature also guarantees long-term format accessibility.
File Size Considerations
FLAC files will be significantly larger than WMA—typically 2-4 times the size. A 4 MB WMA file might become 10-16 MB as FLAC. This is the trade-off for lossless storage. Ensure you have adequate storage before converting large music libraries. For portable use where space matters, keep the WMA or convert to MP3/AAC instead.
FLAC's compression level (0-8) doesn't affect audio quality—only file size and encoding speed. Level 5 (default) provides good balance. Higher levels take longer to encode but produce slightly smaller files. All levels decode at the same speed.
FLAC as Intermediate Format
FLAC serves well as an intermediate format for audio editing and conversion. Convert WMA to FLAC once, then export to any format without accumulating compression artifacts. This workflow is especially useful if you need the same audio in multiple formats (MP3 for phones, AAC for streaming, WAV for editing).
Related Tools
- FLAC to WMA — convert back to Windows format
- WMA to WAV — uncompressed format
- FLAC to MP3 — convert for portable devices