MP4
MP4 video
MP4 is the video container everything plays. It normally holds H.264 video and AAC audio, a pairing that phones, browsers, TVs and social networks all accept.
Opens in Every phone, browser, TV, console and editor
MP4 converterMP4 to M4A converter, without the upload.
Pull the audio out of an MP4 video as an M4A. It is converted in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Drop MP4 files here
or choose from your computer paste with Ctrl V
from Photos or Files
Ready · other file types work too0 bytes uploaded, ever
Convert to
- On your device · nothing is uploaded
- No account, no email
- Batch and ZIP download
- Free
- M4A: sound only
How to convert MP4 to M4A
Add your MP4 videos
Drop MP4 files onto the box above, or click it to choose them. ToAny reads the file's contents to detect the type, so a wrong extension does not matter.
M4A is already chosen
Press Convert. Open Options first if you want to change the defaults. The work happens in this tab and can take a while for large files.
Download
Save the M4A, or download everything as one ZIP if you converted several files.
Why ToAny
Private by construction
The MP4 to M4A converter is part of this page and runs inside your browser. Your videos are never sent to ToAny or to anyone else.
No upload, no queue
Nothing has to travel to a server and back, so work starts the moment you press Convert. How long it takes depends on your device and the size of the file.
Free, without an account
No sign-up, no email address and no watermark. Add several files and download them together as a ZIP.
MP4 to M4A: what to expect
MP4 is a delivery format: other tools sometimes need audio only, a GIF, or a different container. M4A sounds better than MP3 at the same file size and is native to Apple devices. MP4 is at home in sharing and uploading video anywhere; M4A is the usual choice for music and voice memos on Apple devices. The M4A contains the soundtrack only; the picture is dropped.
The defaults suit most files. Under Options you can choose the bitrate and trim the start and end. This is demanding work for a browser: a long or high-resolution file can take several minutes, and your device does all of it, so keep the tab open.
The conversion uses your browser's own video and audio codecs (WebCodecs), with hardware acceleration where the device has it; the file is read from disk as it goes and can be up to 2 GB. Where the browser lacks a codec, the page falls back to the compatibility engine. M4A is written at 192 kbps unless you choose another bitrate.
MP4 vs M4A
M4A
M4A audio
M4A is an MP4 file that contains only audio, usually AAC. iPhone Voice Memos and the iTunes Store use it. It sounds better than MP3 at the same size but is not accepted everywhere MP3 is.
Opens in Apple devices, Android, current browsers; some car stereos and older players do not
M4A converter| MP4MP4 video | M4AM4A audio | |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | MPEG-4 Part 14 | MPEG-4 Audio |
| Type | Video container | Audio |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy (AAC); lossless when it holds ALAC |
| Usually contains | H.264 or H.265 video with AAC audio | AAC, sometimes Apple Lossless |
| Introduced | 2001, by the Moving Picture Experts Group | The early 2000s, by the Moving Picture Experts Group (popularised by Apple) |
| Opens in | Every phone, browser, TV, console and editor | Apple devices, Android, current browsers; some car stereos and older players do not |
| Best for | Sharing and uploading video anywhere | Music and voice memos on Apple devices |
| File extension | .mp4 | .m4a |
Questions
Are my videos uploaded anywhere?
No. The MP4 to M4A conversion runs inside your browser, on your own phone or computer. The file is not sent to ToAny or to anyone else.
Does converting MP4 to M4A reduce quality?
The soundtrack is re-encoded as M4A. M4A is lossy, but at a normal bitrate the difference is hard to hear. You can choose the bitrate under Options.
Can I convert several MP4 files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like, convert them together and download each result or all of them as one ZIP.
How do I convert MP4 to M4A on Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android?
The steps are the same everywhere because ToAny runs in the web browser: open this page in a current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, add the MP4 file, press Convert and save the M4A. There is nothing to install.
Is there a file size limit?
Yes. Files up to 2 GB are accepted. Beyond that the limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded; a computer copes with large files better than a phone.