UTILS.
100% in-browser
💾

Audio File Size Calculator

Estimate audio file size for uncompressed WAV/PCM or compressed MP3/AAC, plus data rate and how long a memory card can record.

Sizes use binary units (1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes). Fill the card field for max record time.

About this tool

Estimate how big an audio recording will be, or how long one will fit on a card, entirely in your browser. It covers uncompressed PCM/WAV using sample rate, bit depth and channels, and compressed formats like MP3, AAC or FLAC using a fixed bitrate. Enter a duration to get the file size, or a card size to get the maximum recording time. Nothing is uploaded.

For uncompressed audio the size in bytes is sample rate × (bit depth ÷ 8) × channels × seconds. For compressed audio it is bitrate (kbps) × 1000 × seconds ÷ 8. The data rate is the bytes-per-second value scaled to kbps, and the maximum recording time is the target card size divided by that byte rate. Sizes are shown in binary units, so 1 MB is 1,048,576 bytes.

As a check, CD-quality stereo — 44,100 Hz, 16-bit, 2 channels — for 60 seconds is about 10.09 MB at a 1,411 kbps data rate. Use this to plan session storage, pick a bitrate for a target size, or see how many minutes a recorder will capture before its card fills up.

Frequently asked questions

How is uncompressed file size calculated?
Size in bytes = sample rate × (bit depth ÷ 8) × channels × duration in seconds. For CD audio that is 44100 × 2 × 2 × seconds.
How is compressed size worked out?
For MP3, AAC or FLAC at a set bitrate: bytes = bitrate in kbps × 1000 × seconds ÷ 8. Real variable-bitrate files may differ slightly.
Are MB binary or decimal here?
Binary — 1 KB is 1024 bytes and 1 MB is 1,048,576 bytes, matching how most operating systems report file sizes and card capacity.
How do I find maximum recording time?
Enter your card or free space in MB in the card field; the tool divides it by the data rate to show how long you can record before it fills.

More tools