What is FLAC and When Should You Use It?
FLAC — Free Lossless Audio Codec — is one of the most important audio formats for anyone who cares about audio quality. It compresses audio files by 40–60% compared to WAV while preserving every single bit of audio data. No quality loss, smaller files. This guide explains what that means in practice and when FLAC is the right choice.
What 'Lossless' Actually Means
When audio is compressed losslessly, the compressed file decodes to a bit-identical copy of the original. No audio information is discarded — ever. This is fundamentally different from MP3 or AAC, which permanently remove audio data (typically high frequencies and quieter sounds the human ear is less sensitive to) in order to achieve smaller file sizes.
A WAV file and a FLAC file of the same source recording will produce identical audio output when decoded. The only difference is that FLAC is 40–60% smaller. This makes FLAC strictly superior to WAV for storage and archival — same quality, half the size.
FLAC vs WAV vs MP3: Which Should You Use?
WAV: Uncompressed lossless audio. Every DAW and professional tool accepts WAV. Use WAV for active projects — recording sessions, editing timelines, and anywhere where the fastest read/write speed matters more than storage efficiency.
FLAC: Lossless with compression. Use FLAC for long-term archival, music collections, and any situation where you want lossless quality with smaller files. Plex, Jellyfin, Kodi, and audiophile players like foobar2000 all support FLAC natively.
MP3: Lossy compression. Use MP3 for distribution, sharing, podcast hosting, and any situation where file size matters and the audio won't be edited further. The quality difference between a high-bitrate MP3 (192–320 kbps) and a FLAC file is inaudible to most people in everyday listening.
- Archive your music collection as FLAC — it is lossless and half the size of WAV
- Distribute podcasts and music as MP3 — universally compatible and small
- Use WAV in your DAW — fastest read/write, no decode overhead
- Convert FLAC to MP3 for your phone — saves storage with minimal quality loss
- Never convert MP3 to FLAC hoping to improve quality — the lost data is gone permanently
FLAC Limitations: What It Can't Do
FLAC's main limitation is iOS. Apple does not support FLAC natively on iPhone or iPad — Apple's equivalent is ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), which achieves similar compression but is Apple-only. If you use an iPhone as your primary music player, convert FLAC to M4A (AAC) for your mobile library or to ALAC using iTunes.
FLAC is also not suitable for streaming or podcast distribution — its files are much larger than MP3 or AAC at comparable quality, and most podcast platforms and streaming services require compressed formats for upload.