WMA to ALAC Converter

Convert WMA files to ALAC format online for free. No installation or registration required.

Quick Answer: How to Convert WMA to ALAC

WMA is Microsoft's Windows Media Audio family of codecs, while ALAC is Apple Lossless — FLAC's counterpart inside the MP4/M4A container. Converting WMA to ALAC wraps or re-encodes your audio into the ALAC structure, but be aware: quality lost when the WMA was created stays lost — a ALAC made from a lossy source is a perfect copy of an imperfect original. Run it free at practicalwebtools.com/convert/audio/wma-to-alac: drop in your WMA, adjust settings if you like, and download the ALAC — no signup, no upload, everything stays on your device.

WMA vs ALAC: Which One and Why

WMA is Microsoft's Windows Media Audio family of codecs, launched by Microsoft in 1999 to compete with MP3 and later AAC. ALAC is Apple Lossless — FLAC's counterpart inside the MP4/M4A container, released by Apple in 2004; open-sourced under Apache 2.0 in 2011. People reach for WMA mainly for legacy Windows media libraries, some voice recorders, while ALAC is the usual choice for Apple Music lossless streaming, ripping CDs for the Apple ecosystem, iPhone/local-library audiophile setups. WMA's headline strength: good quality at low bitrates (64–128 kbps). ALAC's: perfect fidelity inside the iTunes/Apple Music pipeline. On the other side of the ledger, WMA limitation: near-zero support on Apple devices — and ALAC limitation: no advantage over FLAC outside the Apple world.

How to Convert WMA to ALAC Online

  1. 1

    Add your WMA file: Drag and drop it into the converter, or click to browse. WMA files up to the size limit are accepted, and nothing is uploaded — processing runs locally in your browser.

  2. 2

    Set ALAC options: The converter re-encodes into ALAC, which is lossless — roughly 40–60% of original size, comparable to FLAC. Set quality to maximum since you're going lossless — no reason to trim bits you already have.

  3. 3

    Download the ALAC: Conversion runs on your device. When it completes, download the ALAC file — repeat for as many files as you need, free and unlimited.

Key Facts

  • WMA: launched by Microsoft in 1999 to compete with MP3 and later AAC, lossy (Standard and Pro variants); WMA Lossless also exists.
  • ALAC: released by Apple in 2004; open-sourced under Apache 2.0 in 2011, lossless — roughly 40–60% of original size, comparable to FLAC.
  • Converting WMA → ALAC cannot restore what the WMA encoding already discarded — the ALAC is a faithful copy of the WMA, not of the original recording.
  • WMA strength: good quality at low bitrates (64–128 kbps).
  • ALAC strength: perfect fidelity inside the iTunes/Apple Music pipeline.
  • WMA limitation to know: near-zero support on Apple devices.
  • ALAC limitation to know: no advantage over FLAC outside the Apple world.
  • Fun fact: Apple Music streams ALAC up to 24-bit/192 kHz — but AirPods re-compress it to AAC over Bluetooth, so lossless is only audible on wired or Wi-Fi playback

Format Background

WMA

WMA — launched by Microsoft in 1999 to compete with MP3 and later AAC. WMA Pro supports high-resolution multichannel audio, but most hardware labeled "WMA" decodes only the original 1999 codec

ALAC

ALAC — released by Apple in 2004; open-sourced under Apache 2.0 in 2011. Apple Music streams ALAC up to 24-bit/192 kHz — but AirPods re-compress it to AAC over Bluetooth, so lossless is only audible on wired or Wi-Fi playback

Frequently Asked Questions

Will converting WMA to ALAC lose quality?

The ALAC output preserves everything present in your WMA file — but WMA is lossy (Standard and Pro variants); WMA Lossless also exists, so information discarded when that file was made is gone for good. You get a bit-perfect copy of what you have, not a restoration of the original recording.

Are my files uploaded anywhere during WMA → ALAC conversion?

No. This converter runs on WebAssembly inside your browser — your WMA file is read from disk, processed by your device's CPU, and the ALAC is written back locally. There is no server upload at any point, which also means no size-based throttling or waiting in queue.

Does converting WMA to ALAC restore lost quality?

No — and this trips up a lot of people. WMA is lossy (Standard and Pro variants); WMA Lossless also exists: the data it discarded at creation time cannot be reconstructed by any converter. A ALAC from a WMA source sounds exactly as good as the WMA, no better. The reasons to convert anyway are compatibility, editing headroom, and future-proofing — not restoration.

What devices and apps play ALAC files?

iOS, macOS, iTunes, Apple TV, HomePod; most modern browsers via MSE. No advantage over FLAC outside the Apple world — worth knowing before you standardize on it.

Can I convert several WMA files at once?

Yes — the converter processes a queue of files in one session, each entirely on your device. Batch mode is handy when moving a library into ALAC; just remember each file re-encodes independently, so set your quality once and it applies to all.

Related Converters

WMA to MP3WMA to WAVWMA to OGGWMA to AACMP3 to ALACWAV to ALACOGG to ALACAAC to ALAC

Read More

Guides and explainers on the Practical Web Tools blog cover audio and video formats in depth — or browse every audio converters pair from the hub.