About ALAC Files
Apple Lossless Audio
ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) provides lossless compression for audio, similar to FLAC but native to Apple ecosystem.
Family
Audio Files
Extension
.alac
MIME Type
audio/alac, audio/x-alac
Can Use As
41 4C 41 43 00 01 00 00 4B 41 49 4A
ASCII: ALAC....KAIJ
📈 Target Minimum File Size (Guaranteed ≥ KB)
Lossless JPEG Q100 + standard COM segment padding for government & exam portals
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HOW ALAC CAME TO BE.
Apple Lossless Audio Codec — ALAC — was released in 2004 as Apple’s answer to FLAC, WMA Lossless, and Monkey’s Audio. For the first seven years of its life ALAC was proprietary and Apple-only, carried in .m4a containers on iPods and in iTunes Library imports from CDs. Then in October 2011 Apple quietly open-sourced ALAC under the Apache 2.0 license. Overnight the codec became usable everywhere: FFmpeg added native encoding support within weeks, Android players picked it up, and Hi-Res Lossless streaming on Apple Music (launched 2021) built on the same codec.
ALAC and FLAC are roughly equivalent in compression ratio (both typically shrink PCM audio by 40-60%) and both are genuinely lossless. The choice between them is mostly ecosystem: if you use Apple devices, ALAC is natively supported everywhere; everyone else defaults to FLAC.
Technical Specifications
- MIME type
- audio/mp4 (inside .m4a)
- Extensions
- .m4a (common), .alac
- Container
- ISO Base Media File Format (like MP4)
- Sample rates
- Up to 384 kHz (hi-res); typical 44.1-192 kHz
- License
- Apache 2.0 (since 2011)
Typical Sizes & Weights
3-min song (CD quality)
20-30 MB
Full album (CD, 10 tracks)
250-400 MB
Hi-Res 24-bit/96 kHz song
80-120 MB
STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS.
Strengths
- Lossless — bit-exact with the original PCM.
- 40-60% smaller than uncompressed WAV/AIFF.
- Native Apple ecosystem support (iTunes, Apple Music Lossless).
- Open-source since 2011 — supported in FFmpeg, VLC, Android.
Limitations
- Non-Apple devices support ALAC but rarely make it the default.
- Slower encoding than FLAC on most reference implementations.
- Large files vs lossy alternatives (AAC).
- The .m4a extension is shared with lossy AAC, causing mislabeling.
CURIOSITIES & TRIVIA.
Apple open-sourced ALAC under Apache 2.0 in October 2011 — seven years after shipping it as a closed format.
Every song in Apple Music's "Lossless" and "Hi-Res Lossless" tiers is delivered as ALAC.
ALAC files are wrapped in .m4a containers (like AAC) — the extension alone does not tell you whether audio is lossless or lossy.
A CD-ripped album in ALAC typically runs 250-400 MB; the same in AAC 256 kbps is 60-80 MB.
ALAC and FLAC have roughly equal compression ratios; the choice between them is almost entirely ecosystem-driven.
Specialized Utilities for .ALAC Files
MP3 Audio Compressor — Reduce MP3 File Size
Compress MP3, WAV, M4A, and FLAC audio files by adjusting bitrate (64k, 96k, 128k, 192k), sample rate, and mono/stereo channels.
Online Audio Cutter & Trimmer
Trim MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, and OGG audio tracks to exact start and end timestamps with built-in browser playback and custom bitrate.
Extract Audio from Video
Extract the audio track from any video file and save it as MP3, WAV, or other audio formats. Perfect for creating podcasts, music rips, or voice-only recordings.
Video to MP3 Audio Extractor
Extract high-bitrate MP3 audio tracks from MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, and WebM video recordings in seconds—ideal for podcasts, lectures, and interviews.
CONVERT FROM ALAC
Common Use Cases
Apple Music, iTunes, lossless audio archiving
Related Formats
Popular comparisons
ALAC vs MP3
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
ALAC vs FLAC
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
ALAC vs WAV
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
ALAC vs AAC
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
ALAC vs M4A
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
ALAC vs OGG
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
Popular ALAC conversions
The most-requested destinations when starting from ALAC.
Frequently Asked Questions
ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio) is an audio file format used to store sound recordings — music, voice, podcasts, sound effects. The format defines how the audio samples are compressed (or stored raw), what bitrates are supported, and how metadata such as title, artist, album, and cover art is embedded. It is part of the audio files family.
VLC, foobar2000, and the default media players on Windows and macOS handle ALAC natively. On mobile, iOS Music and Android media apps vary in their support — popular formats work everywhere; niche ones may need a dedicated app. If playback fails on a device, converting to MP3 or AAC usually solves it.
Upload the ALAC to KaijuConverter and pick MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG, or any other target. Our FFmpeg pipeline decodes the audio and re-encodes to the target format at sensible default bitrates (VBR ~190 kbps for music, 96 kbps for speech). Metadata and cover art travel with the audio where both formats support them.
ALAC can be lossy or lossless depending on the specific variant. Lossy variants (smaller files) discard some audio detail during compression in ways tuned to be inaudible; lossless variants preserve every sample exactly but produce larger files. For distribution, lossy at high bitrate is standard; for archival, lossless wins.
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