Free online ALAC to OGG converter

A media player, game engine, Linux application, or web workflow may require OGG audio instead of Apple’s ALAC. Converting creates a smaller Vorbis or Opus file for playback or sharing while preserving the ALAC original for archival use.

What the ALAC format is

ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) compresses audio without discarding the source data. It is associated with Apple Music lossless downloads and streams, iTunes and Music libraries, macOS audio workflows, and applications that support Apple lossless encoding.

ALAC is commonly stored in an .m4a container, although the extension identifies the container rather than the codec. ALAC preserves the source PCM quality but usually produces larger files than lossy Vorbis or Opus.

What the OGG format is

OGG is an open multimedia container, not a single audio codec. Ogg files most commonly contain Vorbis or Opus audio. Vorbis has broad support in desktop software, games, and open-source applications; Opus generally provides better efficiency at low and medium bitrates, particularly for speech and streaming.

Check the receiving software before choosing the codec: support for “OGG” may mean Ogg Vorbis only, while some applications also accept Ogg Opus. OGG is useful when the target accepts an open format or when reduced file size matters more than lossless preservation.

How to convert ALAC to OGG

Using 101convert.com

1. Open the converter on 101convert.com and upload the ALAC-containing .m4a file.
2. Select OGG as the output format. If the converter offers a codec choice, select Vorbis for the widest compatibility or Opus for better low-bitrate efficiency.
3. Choose the available quality or bitrate setting, start the conversion, and download the resulting .ogg file.

Uploading is appropriate for files that do not contain sensitive audio or metadata. Large files may be limited by the site or by the connection, and tags such as artwork or custom metadata may not transfer completely.

Using FFmpeg

FFmpeg converts an ALAC track in an .m4a file directly. In a terminal opened in the source folder, run:

ffmpeg -i "input.m4a" -map_metadata 0 -c:a libvorbis -q:a 6 "output.ogg"

For Vorbis, -q:a uses a quality scale from 0 to 10. 4 produces a smaller file, 6 is a common high-quality setting, and 8 increases the bitrate and file size. These settings are targets rather than guarantees; the result depends on the source audio.

To create Ogg Opus instead, use:

ffmpeg -i "input.m4a" -map_metadata 0 -c:a libopus -b:a 128k "output.ogg"

For music, approximately 96k to 160k may be suitable when the receiving software supports Opus. Quote filenames containing spaces. Repeat the command for each file, or use a shell script for batch conversion.

Using a desktop converter

fre:ac provides a graphical batch workflow on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Add the ALAC files, choose Ogg Vorbis Encoder as the output encoder, set the quality and destination folder, then start encoding. Use FFmpeg instead when you need explicit control over Vorbis versus Opus, metadata mapping, or scripted batch processing.

Quality and compatibility

Converting ALAC to Vorbis or Opus is lossy: the encoder removes information, and converting the result back to ALAC cannot restore it. Convert from the original ALAC rather than from an already compressed MP3, AAC, or OGG file to avoid another generation of loss.

Keep the ALAC files for archival storage. Use Vorbis when the target explicitly expects Ogg Vorbis; use Opus when it supports Ogg Opus and lower bitrate or smaller size is the priority. Sample rate, channel layout, cover art, gapless playback data, and other metadata may be changed or omitted by the target encoder, so inspect the output in the intended application.