An audio converter for Mac that does folders, not files
MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, ALAC, OGG, Opus, WMA, AIFF and more. Convert to MP3 for universal playback or to ALAC for lossless Apple Music. Batch a whole folder, control the bitrate, all on your Mac.
$29 once, updates included. No account, no subscription, works offline. Need 2, 5 or 10 Macs?
Convert any audio to MP3
MP3 plays on every device, app, and player. Pick your source format below, or read the full guide on how to convert audio on Mac.
Lossless, Apple Music & ringtones
Make editable WAV, lossless FLAC/ALAC for Apple Music, or a custom iPhone ringtone.
Every audio format Picmal handles
Picmal reads and writes all of these, and converts between any two of them.
Lossless
Keeps every sample. Bigger files, no quality loss, safe to convert again later.
- WAV Waveform Audio
- FLAC Free Lossless Audio Codec
- AIFF Audio Interchange File Format
- ALAC Apple Lossless Audio Codec
- APE Monkey's Audio
Compressed
Throws away what you are unlikely to hear. Much smaller files, and what every phone and car stereo expects.
- MP3 MPEG-1 Audio Layer III
- M4A MPEG-4 Audio
- AAC Advanced Audio Coding
- OGG Ogg Vorbis
- WMA Windows Media Audio
- Opus Opus Audio
- M4R iPhone Ringtone
- EAC3 Enhanced AC-3 (Dolby Digital Plus)
- MKA Matroska Audio
Batch convert a folder of audio files
This is the part most audio converters on the Mac get wrong. They open one file, convert it, and ask you to do the next one. That is fine for a single voice memo. It is not fine for a ripped album or a season of interviews.
Drag in a whole folder and Picmal converts every file in one pass, with the same bitrate and sample rate applied across all of them, each with its own progress. Hundreds of files, one click, no queue and no upload limit because nothing is uploading.
The settings carry too. Set 320 kbps VBR once and it applies to the whole batch, so a converted album stays consistent instead of drifting file to file.
Lossless or compressed?
Worth getting right before you convert a library, because you cannot get quality back once it is gone. Lossless formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF) keep every sample. Convert between them as many times as you like and the audio is identical. Compressed formats (MP3, AAC, Opus, OGG) discard detail to save space.
The rule I use: archive in lossless, listen in compressed. Keep the FLAC or ALAC copy of anything you ripped or recorded, then make MP3s from it whenever you need something that plays everywhere. Going the other way, MP3 to FLAC, gains you nothing. The detail was thrown away at the first step and a bigger file will not bring it back.
For an Apple Music library, ALAC is the one you want. It is lossless and it lands as a normal .m4a, so Music treats it like any other track. FLAC to ALAC is the usual route.
Why not just use an online audio converter?
You can drop a file on a website and get it back in another format. For one file, that works. It stops working the moment you have an album, or the file is a client recording, an interview, or something under NDA that you would rather not hand to a stranger's server.
Online converters upload the audio, process it somewhere you cannot see, and hand it back, usually with a size cap, a queue, and an ad wall. Audio files are big, so you feel every one of those limits. Picmal runs the conversion on your Mac. No upload, no queue, no file-size limit, and the recording never leaves the machine.
It is $29 once, updates included. Not a subscription you forget to cancel.
Related guides
How to convert audio on Mac
Convert audio files on your Mac: M4A, FLAC, WAV, AAC, OGG to MP3 and back. Four methods with Picmal, the Music app, VLC, and FFmpeg. Batch a folder, no upload.
Compress audio on Mac without wrecking it
The bitrate and the mode are yours to pick, mono when it is just a voice. Smaller files that still sound right.
Extract audio from a video
Pull the sound out of an MP4 or a MOV and save it as MP3, M4A or WAV.
Convert FLAC to ALAC for Apple Music
Apple Music won't import FLAC. Convert a lossless library to ALAC on your Mac with XLD, the Music app, afconvert, ffmpeg, or a batch app. Tags and album art kept. Tested on macOS 27.
What people are
saying about Picmal
"Clean and easy to use. Perfect for quickly converting images without unnecessary extras."
"Everything works as expected - great app!"
"Great app! Simple and easy to use."
"It works perfectly now! Thanks and good work. It's really the kind of utility that I find very useful. I know that there are tons of free online tools doing the same thing but it's so much faster that way."
"Wonderfully simple app! I struggled with converting my images from one format to another constantly with online free tools. Picmal makes it effortless. Worth the money to avoid the hassle for sure!"
"You did a great job here! I like how easy Picmal is to use, and the frequent upgrades show that you are very committed to improving this beautiful software."
"It's a Mac-assed Mac App. Focused, customizable, flexible, well designed and super fast. 10+ times a day I need to convert a file for use on a website. Picmal makes that process a joy. My favorite conversion is taking a multipage PDF and converting each page to an individual image with one click (something even Preview can't do)."
"I really like these kinds of tools: simple interface, focused functions, one-time purchase, and continuous updates."
"Been enjoying the app! Thanks for the very handy utility."
"I f* love this app. Just so you know. Keep building!"
"Clean and easy to use. Perfect for quickly converting images without unnecessary extras."
"Everything works as expected - great app!"
"Great app! Simple and easy to use."
"It works perfectly now! Thanks and good work. It's really the kind of utility that I find very useful. I know that there are tons of free online tools doing the same thing but it's so much faster that way."
"Wonderfully simple app! I struggled with converting my images from one format to another constantly with online free tools. Picmal makes it effortless. Worth the money to avoid the hassle for sure!"
"You did a great job here! I like how easy Picmal is to use, and the frequent upgrades show that you are very committed to improving this beautiful software."
"It's a Mac-assed Mac App. Focused, customizable, flexible, well designed and super fast. 10+ times a day I need to convert a file for use on a website. Picmal makes that process a joy. My favorite conversion is taking a multipage PDF and converting each page to an individual image with one click (something even Preview can't do)."
"I really like these kinds of tools: simple interface, focused functions, one-time purchase, and continuous updates."
"Been enjoying the app! Thanks for the very handy utility."
"I f* love this app. Just so you know. Keep building!"
Pay once and you're all set
Already own Picmal? Add more Macs
How many Macs?
2 Macs is $10 more
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Convert, compress and edit images, video, audio and PDFs
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Everything runs on your Mac, nothing gets uploaded
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Use it on 1 Mac
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Command line tool, Raycast extension and watched folders
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Free updates forever, no subscription
14-day refund, no questions asked. Needs macOS 15 or later.
More than 10 Macs? Email me.
Prices in USD, tax added at checkout, paid securely via Stripe.
How does the license work?
You pay once and keep it. No renewals, no subscriptions. Your license activates on the number of Macs you bought it for, and you can move it to another Mac whenever you want.
I bought Picmal and now I need more Macs. Can I upgrade?
Yes, and you only pay the difference. Going from 1 Mac to 2 is $10, 2 to 5 is $50, 5 to 10 is $60, and every other jump works the same way. Enter your license key here and the same key covers more Macs. The offer never expires, so starting small is never the wrong call.
What happens if I get a new Mac?
Open Picmal on your old Mac, go to Picmal → Register license to deactivate, then activate on the new one. Takes about ten seconds.
Do you offer student or country discounts?
Yes. I want Picmal to be affordable wherever you are. Students and educators get 40% off: verify your school email on the education page and the code lands in your inbox. If the price is steep for your country, checkout already adjusts it for you. If it still doesn't work, email support@picmal.app and tell me where you are, and I'll send a code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Something not covered here? Write to support@picmal.app
Which audio formats can Picmal convert?
Picmal reads and writes MP3, AAC/M4A, ALAC, WAV, FLAC, OGG, Opus, AIFF, AC3, WMA and many more. It converts between any of them and can compress with bitrate control.
Can Picmal create lossless audio for Apple Music?
Yes. Convert FLAC, WAV, or AIFF to ALAC (Apple Lossless) and you get a bit-perfect .m4a, exactly the lossless format Apple Music expects for your library.
Can I control the audio quality and bitrate?
Yes. Pick a bitrate and VBR/ABR/CBR mode, set sample rate (up to 96 kHz) and bit depth (16/24/32-bit), or force mono to roughly halve the size of voice recordings.
Is there a file-size limit or upload?
No. Picmal runs entirely on your Mac. No uploads, no queues, no per-file limits. Convert files of any size, fully offline.
Can I batch convert a whole folder of audio files?
Yes. Drag in many files or an entire folder and Picmal converts them all in one pass, each with its own progress. Bitrate and sample rate apply across the whole batch, so a converted album stays consistent.
What is the best audio converter for Mac?
It depends on what you need. macOS already converts a single file for free: Music can make an MP3, and the afconvert command handles most formats. Picmal is worth it when you have a folder rather than one file, want bitrate and sample-rate control, and would rather not upload the audio anywhere.
Can macOS convert audio without an app?
Yes, for simple cases. Music converts to MP3 or AAC through File > Convert, and afconvert in Terminal covers WAV, AIFF, M4A and more. Neither one handles FLAC, OGG or Opus, and neither batches a folder with consistent settings.
Does converting audio lose quality?
Between lossless formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF) no, the audio is identical. Converting to MP3, AAC or Opus discards detail, so pick your bitrate deliberately. Converting a compressed file back to lossless does not recover anything.
Do my files leave my Mac?
No. All conversion happens locally. Picmal works completely offline. Your audio never touches a server.