FLAC
Free Lossless Audio Codec
MIME type: audio/flac
FLAC is the most popular lossless audio compression format. It reduces audio file sizes by 50-70% compared to uncompressed WAV without any quality loss — the decoded audio is bit-for-bit identical to the original.
Advantages
- +Lossless — zero quality degradation
- +50-70% compression vs uncompressed
- +Free and open source
- +Wide device and software support
- +Supports metadata and album art
Limitations
- -Larger than lossy formats (MP3, AAC, OGG)
- -Not supported by all portable devices
- -No DRM support
- -Streaming can be bandwidth-intensive
Common Use Cases
Technical Details
FLAC uses linear prediction to model the audio signal, then encodes the residual with a Rice code. It supports sample rates from 1 Hz to 655,350 Hz, bit depths from 4 to 32 bits, and up to 8 channels. Typical compression ratios are 50-70% for music.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is FLAC better than MP3?
FLAC is lossless (no quality loss) while MP3 is lossy. For archival and critical listening, FLAC is better. For casual listening and storage efficiency, MP3 320kbps is sufficient for most people.
Can I convert FLAC to MP3?
Yes. Use BriskTool's audio converter to convert FLAC to MP3 at any bitrate. Processing happens in your browser using ffmpeg.