WMA VS MP3, Which One Better?

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WMA VS MP3, Which One Better?

18 March 2021 Amanda J. Brook Senior Product Manager

Summary
Digital audio has many codec. Two of the most popular audio formats are WMA and MP3. Both of these two formats have high compatibility and enable users to customize the compression way. Then what are the differences between these two formats and their own characteristics? Following will answer all these questions.

Content

WMA vs MP3

1. Compatibility
2. Quality
3. Size

Conclusion of WMA vs MP3

Convert Audio to WMA or MP3

WMA vs MP3

1. Compatibility

As the common audio format, MP3 is widely accepted in almost all operation system. Besides, most music players, mobile phones, smart TV and car stereo supports to play audio in MP3 format. However, although WMA can be played in most OS and players, it gets a poor compatibility in old digital players and electronics which were released before WMA getting popular. In other words, the compatibility of WMA is poorer than that of MP3.

2. Quality

Both WMA and MP3 are lossy audio compression formats and they also provide selectable bitrate. Common bitrate are 128, 160,192 and 256 Kbps. The maximum bitrate of these two audio formats is 320 Kbps. Comparing with the original sound source, the standards of audio quality are subjective. In fact, the quality of audios in these two formats could be similar with the bitrate above 128 Kbps. However, the quality of WMA would be better if the bitrate is lower than 64 Kbps, because MP3 will loss many details like high frequency.

3. Size

With the low bitrate, file size of audios in WMA and MP3 are similar. For example, 5 minutes WMA audio with 64 Kbps is about 2.6 MB while MP3 with same bitrate is about 2.4 MB. But MP3 has higher compression rate. Like with bitrate of 192 Kbps, file size of WMA is about 10.4 MB while MP3 is 7.2 MB. File size of WMA will rise to about 20.8 MB while the size of MP3 is 12.1 MB with the bitrate of 320 Kbps. So, if you want to save the disk space and get a better quality at the same time, MP3 would be a better choice.

Conclusion of WMA vs MP3

MP3

Pros: MP3 could provide a satisfied quality with a suitable bitrate. And the file size is just 1/10 of the lossless audio. Besides, it is with a good compatibility which makes it could be played in almost all players and devices.

Cons: MP3 provides a poorer performance than that of WMA when audios in bitrate lower than 64 Kbps. Also, audio in MP3 can not perform many details in original one.

WMA

Pros: Provides better quality and performance with lower bitrate like 64 Kbps than MP3.

Cons: Get a good support in Windows system but poor in other OS and devices.

Convert Audio to WMA or MP3

No matter the target audio format you want to convert to is MP3 or WMA, you need to draw support from specific software. It is recommended to use Renee Audio Tools when you want to make the audio format conversion. Specialized in audio editing, Renee Audio Tools not only supports format conversion, but also provides audio editing functions like cutting, combine. Fulfill different needs of users.

Professional Audio Editor – Renee Audio Tools

CutterArbitrarily cut and clip audios in MP3, ACC, FLAC and APE formats. Many effects, such as fade in/out, speed adjustment, music mixing and volume adjustment, are available.

ConverterConvert music files between all audio formats, including MP3, M4A, ACC, OGG, AAC, FLAC and the others. It can also convert the video format into MP3.

RecorderRecord computer sounds from streaming media and microphone at the same time and output into multiple audio formats.

JoinerMerge music files into one regardless the original file formats. The output format and quality can be set, too.

CD BurnerBurn multiple music files into CD, DVD and also make APE or BIN image file.

Compatible with: Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP (32bit/64bit)

CutterArbitrarily cut and clip audios in diffrent formats. Many effects, such as fade in/out, speed adjustment, music mixing, are available.

ConverterConvert music files between all audio formats, including MP3, M4A, ACC, OGG, AAC, FLAC and the others. It can also convert the video format into MP3.

RecorderRecord computer sounds from streaming media and microphone at the same time and output into multiple audio formats.

Full Version Download

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① Download and install Renee Audio Tools.

② Open and go into [Converter].

③ Click [Add files] to add the target file.

Wma vs mp3 click to select the target audio files in renee audio converter

④ Select MP3 as the output format. Then, click [Start] to convert WMA to MP3.

how to convert wma and add music to iphone

Whole process of converting audio format with Renee Audio Tools is easy and convenience. Besides, users can also edit the audio with tools like cutting, combine in Renee Audio Tools. Fit for both greenhand and professionals.

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