Audio File Size Calculator

1. Choose the sample rate, such as 44.1 kHz for CD quality.
2. Choose the bit depth, such as 16 or 24-bit.
3. Choose the number of channels, mono or stereo.
4. Enter the length in minutes and read the file size and bitrate.

Audio file size is how much storage a recording takes. For uncompressed formats such as WAV or AIFF, the size depends only on the sample rate, bit depth, number of channels and length, because every sample is stored in full.

Knowing the size in advance helps you plan storage for a session, choose a format for delivery, and understand why high-resolution audio needs far more space than a voice memo. It also explains the trade-off at the heart of digital audio: every step up in fidelity, whether a higher sample rate, a deeper bit depth or more channels, buys quality at the direct cost of storage and transfer time.

1. Multiply the sample rate by the bit depth for the bits per second in one channel.
2. Multiply by the number of channels.
3. Multiply by the length in seconds for total bits.
4. Divide by eight for bytes, then by 1,048,576 for megabytes.

The bitrate is the same product without the length: sample rate times bit depth times channels, usually quoted in kilobits per second.

Take one minute of CD-quality stereo: 44,100 samples per second, 16 bits each, two channels. That is 44,100 times 16 times 2, or 1,411,200 bits per second, which is a 1411 kbps bitrate. Over 60 seconds it is 84,672,000 bytes, about 10.1 megabytes. A three-minute song is roughly 30 megabytes uncompressed, which is why compressed formats like MP3 became so popular. That same song at 96 kHz and 24-bit would balloon to nearly 100 megabytes, which is the sort of jump that quickly fills a memory card during a long recording session and makes planning storage ahead of time worthwhile.

Sample Rate

Higher rates capture more detail and more data, so 96 kHz files are more than double the size of 44.1 kHz.

Bit Depth

Moving from 16 to 24-bit adds half again to the size, and 32-bit float doubles it versus 16.

Channels

Stereo is twice the size of mono, and surround formats multiply further with each channel.

Length

Size scales directly with duration, so a long recording at high quality grows quickly.

This is the size of one minute of audio at each setting, in stereo.

Compressed formats such as MP3 or AAC are far smaller, but this calculator covers uncompressed PCM, the raw data before any codec.

Planning Storage

Estimate the space a recording session or archive will need before you start.

Choosing a Format

Weigh quality against size when picking a sample rate and bit depth for delivery.

Managing Uploads

Check whether a file will fit an upload or email limit before exporting it.

1. Ignoring Channels

Forgetting that stereo doubles mono is a common way to underestimate size.

2. Confusing Bits and Bytes

Bitrate is in bits per second; divide by eight to get bytes for the file size.

3. Mixing Up KHz and Hz

44.1 kHz is 44,100 samples per second; using 44.1 by mistake throws the size off by a thousand.

4. Applying It to MP3s

This is for uncompressed audio; compressed formats use a codec and are much smaller.

The maths is exact for uncompressed PCM audio, so the size and bitrate are precise. Container overhead and compression are not included.

Multiply sample rate by bit depth by channels by seconds, then divide by eight for bytes. One minute of CD-quality stereo is about 10.1 megabytes.

About 10.1 megabytes: 44,100 samples per second, 16-bit, two channels, gives a 1411 kbps bitrate over 60 seconds.

Bitrate is the data per second, sample rate times bit depth times channels. CD-quality stereo is 1411 kilobits per second.

Higher sample rates and bit depths store far more data per second. A 96 kHz 24-bit stereo file is roughly three times a CD-quality one.

Yes. Each channel is stored in full, so stereo is twice mono, and surround formats are larger still.

No. MP3, AAC and similar formats use compression and are much smaller. This calculator covers uncompressed WAV and PCM audio.

Divide by eight, since there are eight bits in a byte. Bitrate is in bits per second, while file size is measured in bytes.

About 100 minutes of CD-quality stereo, since each minute is roughly 10 megabytes and a gigabyte is 1024 megabytes.

No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.

• Pulse-code modulation (PCM) (Wikipedia).
• WAV audio format (Wikipedia).
• Audio bit depth (Wikipedia).