How do WAV and AACcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
Waveform Audio File Format
WAV is an uncompressed audio format that stores raw audio data at full quality. It's the standard format for professional audio editing, music production, and any application where quality is paramount.
Advanced Audio Coding
AAC is the successor to MP3, offering better sound quality at lower bitrates. It's the default audio format for Apple Music, YouTube, and most streaming platforms.
| Specification | WAV | AAC |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Waveform Audio File Format | Advanced Audio Coding |
| Extension | .wav | .aac |
| MIME type | audio/wav | audio/aac |
| Category | Audio | Audio |
| Developer | Microsoft / IBM | ISO / Fraunhofer / Dolby / Sony / Nokia |
| Year introduced | 1991 | 1997 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy |
WAV preserves full audio quality with no compression artifacts. AAC offers much smaller files at the cost of some quality. For casual listening, AAC is fine. For production or archival, use WAV.
Need to switch formats? Convert for free with SquishConvert.