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AIFF vs M4A

A quick, plain-English comparison of the AIFF and M4A file formats — and how to convert between them, free and in your browser.

AIFFM4A
Categoryaudioaudio
Extension.aiff.m4a
MIME typeaudio/aiffaudio/mp4
Converts to17 formats17 formats
Direction hereread & writeread & write

AIFF

Apple/SGI uncompressed audio interchange.

About AIFF

M4A

MPEG-4 audio container (AAC/ALAC).

About M4A

Convert between AIFF and M4A

AIFF vs M4A: frequently asked questions

What's the difference between AIFF and M4A?

Apple/SGI uncompressed audio interchange. MPEG-4 audio container (AAC/ALAC).

Should I use AIFF or M4A?

Both are audio formats — the right one depends on compatibility, quality and file size for your use. Whichever you have, you can convert it to the other below in seconds.

How do I convert AIFF to M4A?

Open the AIFF-to-M4A converter, drop your AIFF file in, and download the M4A. We auto-detect the real format from the file's bytes, so a mislabeled file still works.

Browse all supported formats →