Free online WPL to M3U converter

Windows Media Player playlists often need conversion before they can be used by VLC, Kodi, car stereos, media servers, or software that accepts M3U files. The conversion rewrites playlist references only; it does not copy, transcode, or improve the audio or video files.

WPL and M3U formats

WPL means Windows Media Player Playlist. It is an XML-based playlist format created primarily by Windows Media Player and used to store references to local media files or media URLs, not the media itself.

A .wpl file can reference paths such as C:\Music\Album\Track.mp3, relative locations, or streams. A moved or deleted media file remains unavailable after conversion because the playlist still references its original location.

M3U is a plain-text playlist format. Each media location is usually stored on its own line, making M3U files easy to inspect and edit in a text editor. It is supported by VLC, Kodi, foobar2000, many network players, IPTV applications, and some vehicle media systems.

An extended M3U may start with #EXTM3U and include #EXTINF lines containing a display title and duration. The related .m3u8 extension normally identifies an M3U playlist encoded as UTF-8, which avoids filename problems with accented characters and non-Latin scripts.

Convert the playlist

Use the 101convert.com WPL-to-M3U converter without installing software. Upload the .wpl file, select M3U as the output format, run the conversion, and download the resulting .m3u file.

Conversion preserves the media references where possible, but the resulting file must still use paths valid on the playback device. If the original playlist contains relative entries such as Music\Album\Track.mp3, place the M3U in the corresponding folder structure so those paths resolve correctly.

Convert with VLC offline

1. Open VLC and select Media → Open File, then choose the .wpl file.
2. Open VLC's playlist view and verify that the expected tracks are listed.
3. Select Media → Save Playlist to File.
4. Choose M3U playlist, enter a filename ending in .m3u, and save it.

If the destination explicitly requires .m3u8, create or save an UTF-8 M3U8 playlist rather than merely renaming a non-UTF-8 .m3u file.

Path and compatibility limits

Do not rename playlist.wpl to playlist.m3u. Renaming changes only the extension; the file remains WPL XML, while M3U readers expect line-based entries.

Absolute Windows paths such as C:\Users\Name\Music\Song.mp3 usually fail on a USB drive, NAS, phone, or another computer. Replace them with valid target paths or use relative paths when the playlist and media folders are transferred together. Some non-Windows players also require forward slashes in paths.

Track order and media locations normally transfer. Windows Media Player-specific structure, library data, ratings, and some playlist metadata may not have an M3U equivalent. Neither format contains audio data, so bitrate, codec, album art, and sound quality are unchanged.