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Audio File Size Calculator (WAV and PCM)

Enter the recording settings and length to estimate the size of an uncompressed WAV or AIFF file, plus the size at a compressed bitrate.

minutes
kbps

Uncompressed size

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Uncompressed bitrate
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Per hour of recording
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At the compressed bitrate
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Tips for using the audio file size calculator

  • 24-bit recording gives more headroom; 16-bit is fine for final delivery.
  • Multitrack sessions multiply size by the number of tracks; enter tracks as channels.
  • FLAC lossless compression typically shrinks WAV files by 40% to 60%.

How the audio file size calculator works

Uncompressed PCM audio stores every sample for every channel, so its size is easy to calculate exactly.

Bitrate (bits/s) = Sample rate × Bit depth × Channels
File size (bytes) = Bitrate ÷ 8 × Duration in seconds

WAV and AIFF headers add only a few kilobytes. Compressed formats like MP3 and AAC use a fixed or average bitrate instead, so their size is bitrate × duration ÷ 8. Sizes here are in decimal megabytes (1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes); your computer may show binary units, which look about 5% smaller. CD audio is 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo, or 1,411 kbps.

Worked example

A 3-minute stereo recording at 48 kHz and 24-bit runs at 2,304 kbps and takes 51.84 MB. An hour at those settings needs about 1.04 GB. The same 3 minutes as a 320 kbps MP3 is 7.2 MB.

Frequently asked questions

How big is a 3-minute WAV file?

About 31.75 MB at CD quality (44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo) and 51.84 MB at 48 kHz, 24-bit stereo.

What bitrate is CD audio?

1,411.2 kbps.

Does 32-bit float make files bigger?

Yes, a third larger than 24-bit, but it prevents clipping during processing.

How do I estimate MP3 size?

Multiply the bitrate in kbps by seconds and divide by 8,000 to get MB.

Updated October 2026. Results are estimates for education, not financial or medical advice. All math runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.

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