Top 8 Best File Converters to Convert Files to MP3

Despite its age, MP3 is still considered one of the best audio formats out there and by far the most popular one. It might not be the absolute best in terms of quality but its small size and versatility make it the top choice for a lot of music lovers around the world. Thanks to platforms like YouTube, you no longer have to keep music videos on your computer as you can easily watch them online at any time, so why not convert them to MP3 files instead? Sure, you’ll need a good file converter to MP3 in order to do that but don’t worry because today we’re going to talk all about MP3 conversion and give you some recommendations regarding the best tools for that particular job.

Part 1: The Most Powerful File to MP3 Converters

DVDFab Video Converter

If you’re looking for the top file converter to MP3 you might want to start with DVDFab Video Converter. Just as its name suggests, this is a tool that can convert between various different video formats, however, that’s not all. The software also acts as a great video to MP3 file converter that supports all the most popular video formats, including AVI, MP4, MKV, WMV, and many more. You also have several choices when it comes to audio formats. Although this article is focused on file to MP3 conversion, you can also convert to other formats like M4A, WMA, WAV, FLAC, and others.

DVDFab Video Converter is available on both Windows and Mac, comes with features like batch conversion and file merging, and includes a number of very useful editing and customization tools that will help you shape files to your specific needs. Here’s a quick example of how it works:

1. Open DVDFab 11 and go to the Converter module found in the top menu. Next, drag & drop the file you want to convert into the center area or use the aptly named Add buttons to navigate to that file’s location.

2. Go to the Profile Switcher to select the format of the output. In this example we want to use the tool as a file converter to MP3 so we’re going to pick Format-> Audio -> MP3 to achieve that. If you want to convert to a different audio format simply choose a different option under the Audio tab. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in video-to-video conversion simply go to Format -> Video instead and use the filters to pick a suitable format.

3. Before you fire up the file to MP3 converter you may want to click the Advanced Settings button to make changes to the output. Here you can find a menu that allows you to choose things like the sample rate, bit rate, split, channels, codec type, and volume. Make all the changes you deem necessary and then click the OK button.

4. Use the bottom menu to pick a different destination folder if needed and then click the Start button to begin the conversion process. Wait until the software finishes processing the file and then go to the destination folder to enjoy your new MP3.

DVDFab YouTube to MP3

Now that you know how to convert your local files to MP3, it’s worth mentioning that you can also directly convert files directly from YouTube using a different tool. The tool in question is called DVDFab YouTube to MP3 and does exactly what you would expect. This YouTube file convert to MP3 is extremely easy to use as it only requires you to copy and paste the URL of the video you want to convert and then it takes care of everything else automatically. With YouTube to MP3 you can also download and convert entire YouTube playlists in one go and can even convert multiple videos at a time. Some of the features are reserved for the premium version but it’s well worth the asking price.

Part 2: Free File Converter Software to Convert Files to MP3

Free Video to Audio Converter

Simply named Free Video to Audio Converter, this free software actually features two components, one of which is a CD ripping tool. That can come in handy but what you’re probably more interested in is the file converter to MP3. The tool comes with many audio quality presents and a few basic tools that let you trim the file, add tags and files, choose the encoding method and more. Not a bad tool to try if you’re looking for a free file convert to MP3.

DVDVideoSoft Free Video to MP3 Converter

The free video to MP3 converter is one of DVDVideoSoft’s most popular products and with good reason. The tool features a very minimalistic interface and is very easy to use. The downside is that you don’t have a lot of options to work with but the file converter to MP3 does have a few quality presents as well as a couple of other output formats like WMA and WAV.

Free MP3 Video Converter

Free MP3 Video Converter is a very lightweight and simple to use tool. While it may not have too much to offer in terms of interesting features, the software is reliable and does a decent enough job at converting video files to MP3s. The interface is fairly outdated as this tool has received any updates in a while, however, Free MP3 Video Converter remains a good choice if you’re looking for a straightforward file to MP3 converter.

Part 3: Online File Converters to Convert Files to MP3

123Apps Audio Converter

A great online file converter to MP3 that also supports a few other formats and offers four different quality presents. The tool also comes with fade-in and fade-out effects, a fast mode, reverse, and can even be used to try to remove voices from audio tracks. In addition, Online Audio Converter also lets you edit the metadata of any file you convert, which is always a useful feature to have.

Online-Convert

Online-Convert has been around for a long time and looks a bit outdated by today’s standards but can still do the job reasonably well. The interface is a bit convoluted, however, it does offer support for over 50 formats, including MP3 and offers a very precise trimming tool. The online file converter to MP3 also lets you change the audio channels, sampling rate, bitrate, and can be used to try to normalize the audio.

OnlineVideoConverter

A very straightforward online conversion tool that can easily handle both video and audio conversion. There aren’t as many formats to work with compared to other tools but it does have the basic ones like MP4, AVI, WMV, FLAC, and of course MP3. In terms of extra options, you can only trim the video and pick the audio quality but that’s usually enough for most users so it’s not a huge drawback.

Conclusion

Finding the perfect file converter to MP3 can be a challenging task if you don’t know where to look. There are plenty of online tools out there but most of them don’t offer a lot of extra features and pretty much all of them contain nasty ads. As far as the free downloadable tools are concerned, many of them will attempt to install additional software on your machine or lock even basic features behind a paywall. In short, if you want the best of the best it’s a good idea to go straight for a professional tool like DVDFab Video Converter and pair it with a free one like DVDFab YouTube to MP3 to get the most out of it.