Free online AIF to AIFF converter

Some audio editors, samplers, and legacy applications recognize only the .aiff extension and reject an otherwise compatible .aif file. For standard AIFF audio, changing the extension is usually sufficient; AIFF-C or incompatible audio requires an actual export or transcode.

What the AIF format is

.aif is a filename extension commonly used for Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF), an Apple-developed audio container based on the IFF standard. It normally contains uncompressed linear PCM audio and can store sample rate, channel count, sample size, markers, and other metadata.

Audio editors and digital audio workstations such as Audacity, Adobe Audition, Logic Pro, and Pro Tools may create or open AIF files. The shorter .aif and longer .aiff extensions usually identify the same container; neither extension describes a separate codec.

What the AIFF format is

.aiff is the longer filename extension for Audio Interchange File Format. AIFF is used in recording, editing, mastering, sound design, and archival exchange because uncompressed PCM preserves the source samples without lossy compression.

AIFF can contain mono, stereo, and multichannel audio, high sample rates, various sample sizes, cue points, and metadata. It is substantially larger than MP3 or AAC: files with identical sample rate, channel count, and bit depth have approximately the same audio-data size regardless of whether they use .aif or .aiff. AIFF commonly stores PCM samples in big-endian form, although AIFF-C can use other codecs and is a distinct variant.

How to convert AIF to AIFF

Check the source first. Open the file in an audio editor or media-information utility and verify that it is standard AIFF containing uncompressed PCM. If it is standard AIFF, make a copy and rename recording.aif to recording.aiff. Renaming changes only the filename extension and does not modify the audio or metadata.

On Windows, enable View → Show → File name extensions in File Explorer before renaming; otherwise, you might create recording.aiff.aif. On macOS, select the file, press Return, replace .aif with .aiff, and confirm the extension change. Test the renamed copy in the target application before replacing the original.

Conversion with an audio editor

Use this method when the target application does not accept a renamed file, when the source is AIFF-C, or when you need to change audio parameters.

1. Open the AIF file in Audacity, Adobe Audition, Logic Pro, or another editor that supports AIFF.
2. Choose the application’s export command, such as File → Export Audio.
3. Select AIFF as the output format and save with the .aiff extension.
4. Retain the original sample rate, channel layout, and bit depth unless the receiving software specifies different settings.

Audacity supports AIFF export on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The website’s built-in converter can also convert the file on 101convert.com for free without installing software; use an actual conversion when a simple rename is not accepted.

Conversion with FFmpeg

For a standard AIFF file, FFmpeg can copy the existing audio stream without re-encoding:

ffmpeg -i recording.aif -c:a copy recording.aiff

If the source is AIFF-C or the stream cannot be copied into a standard AIFF file, export uncompressed PCM instead:

ffmpeg -i recording.aif -c:a pcm_s16be recording.aiff

pcm_s16be produces 16-bit big-endian PCM. Use pcm_s24be or pcm_s32be only when the required bit depth is known and the receiving application supports it. FFmpeg preserves the input sample rate and channel count unless options such as -ar or -ac are supplied.

Quality and compatibility limits

Renaming a standard AIF file and stream-copying it do not create generation loss. Exporting AIFF-C to PCM, changing bit depth, changing sample rate, or changing channel count creates new audio data and can reduce fidelity or alter the channel layout.

Metadata and markers are not handled identically by every editor or converter, so retain the original file when cue points, embedded artwork, broadcast metadata, or proprietary tags matter. If a correctly named AIFF file still fails to open, check whether the receiving software requires a particular PCM bit depth, channel configuration, or a WAV file instead.