MP3 vs FLAC — which should you use?
MP3 is lossy, compact, and universally compatible. FLAC is lossless, twice as big, and ideal for archival. Pick based on whether it is the master or a day-to-day copy.
Quick verdict
- Music archival or master storage → FLAC
- Daily listening on phones, cars, Bluetooth → MP3 (or AAC)
- Podcasts and broadcast distribution → MP3 (maximum compatibility)
Side-by-side
| Property | MP3 | FLAC |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless |
| Quality | Bitrate-dependent | Identical to source |
| File size | ~1 MB per minute at 128 kbps | ~5–8 MB per minute |
| Playback | Effectively universal | Broadly supported (Safari 14+, iOS 11+) |
| Licensing | Patents expired; historically fraught | Royalty-free |
Practical guidance
- Keep masters as FLAC; you can always transcode down to any delivery format without quality loss.
- Streaming platforms now favour AAC or Opus, but MP3 survives as the compatibility baseline.