Free online CAF to WAV converter

Many audio editors, media players, and hardware devices accept WAV but not Apple’s CAF format. Converting CAF produces a broadly compatible file for editing, production, playback, or archiving.

What the CAF format is

CAF, or Core Audio Format, is Apple’s audio container used by macOS and iOS applications through Core Audio APIs. It supports long recordings, large files, metadata, high sample rates, and codecs including uncompressed PCM, AAC, Apple Lossless, and IMA4.

CAF files can appear in GarageBand and other Apple audio projects, sound-design applications, iOS exports, and audio-processing workflows. The .caf extension does not identify the codec: the container may hold uncompressed, lossless, or lossy audio.

What the WAV format is

WAV is a RIFF-based audio container commonly used for uncompressed, little-endian PCM. Windows, macOS, Linux, digital audio workstations, video editors, game engines, audio analyzers, and hardware samplers support standard PCM WAV files.

WAV is suitable when a program requires standard PCM or when compatibility and frame-accurate editing matter more than file size. A PCM WAV is often much larger than a compressed or lossless CAF file.

How to convert a CAF file to WAV

Using FFmpeg

FFmpeg runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux and handles CAF files containing codecs supported by the installed build.

1. Install FFmpeg from a trusted package for your operating system.
2. Open Terminal, Command Prompt, or PowerShell and change to the folder containing the CAF file.
3. Run ffmpeg -i input.caf -c:a pcm_s16le output.wav.

This creates a standard 16-bit PCM WAV. Quote paths containing spaces, for example ffmpeg -i "My recording.caf" -c:a pcm_s16le "My recording.wav".

For 24-bit output, use -c:a pcm_s24le. Add -ar 48000 to set a 48 kHz sample rate or -ac 2 to set two channels. Do not change the sample rate, bit depth, or channel count unless the receiving application requires it.

Using 101convert

You can convert a file on 101convert.com for free without installing software. Select CAF as the source and WAV as the target, upload the .caf file, start the conversion, and download the resulting .wav file. Do not upload confidential recordings unless the service’s current storage and deletion terms meet your requirements.

Quality and compatibility

Converting AAC or another lossy CAF stream to WAV does not restore data removed during lossy encoding; it only decodes the audio into an uncompressed container. Converting PCM or Apple Lossless CAF to PCM WAV can preserve the decoded samples when the original sample rate, bit depth, and channel layout are retained.

The FFmpeg command using pcm_s16le deliberately outputs 16-bit audio, so it can reduce a higher-bit-depth source. Match the source with pcm_s24le or another appropriate PCM encoder when retaining higher precision matters.

For maximum compatibility, use standard little-endian PCM with the sample rate and channel layout required by the target application. WAV files with unusual codecs, channel layouts, or metadata may be rejected by some programs. Uncompressed size is approximately sample rate × bytes per sample × channel count × duration, plus a small header.