WAV vs AIFF: Comparing Two Uncompressed Audio Formats

WAV and AIFF are both uncompressed audio formats, storing audio data with no compression loss whatsoever, which means neither one discards a single bit of the original recording. The real difference between them is largely historical and platform-based: WAV emerged from Microsoft and IBM for Windows, and AIFF from Apple for Mac, and that origin still shapes which one shows up where today.

Both preserve full audio fidelity

Neither WAV nor AIFF applies any lossy compression — both store the complete, uncompressed audio waveform exactly as captured, which is why both are common choices in professional audio production and recording, where preserving every bit of the original signal matters more than file size. There's no meaningful quality difference between an audio file saved as WAV versus the same recording saved as AIFF; both are, functionally, storing the identical uncompressed data in a slightly different container structure.

Where the platform split actually comes from

WAV was developed by Microsoft and IBM and has long been the default uncompressed format on Windows, while AIFF was developed by Apple and holds the equivalent position on Mac. Both formats are supported across both platforms today — modern Windows and Mac software generally opens either one without issue — but the platform association persists in practice, particularly in professional audio software where a given studio's tools and workflow conventions were often built up around one platform's default.

File size is identical for identical audio

Since both are uncompressed, storing the same audio (same sample rate, bit depth, and length) produces essentially the same file size in WAV or AIFF — there's no efficiency advantage to picking one over the other on that basis. This is genuinely a case where the format choice doesn't affect quality or size at all; it's purely about which container your specific software or workflow expects.

A practical way to decide

If you're working primarily on Windows or with software that defaults to WAV, there's no reason to fight that default — use WAV. If you're on Mac or working with software built around AIFF, the same logic applies in reverse. For collaboration across platforms, check what the other party's software actually expects before assuming; modern software on either platform typically handles both formats, but a specific workflow or plugin occasionally has a stated preference worth confirming rather than guessing.

Since both formats are uncompressed, converting between WAV and AIFF (or from a compressed format like MP3 into either one, when you need the uncompressed original for further editing) doesn't lose any additional quality in the process. MP3 to WAV and the audio converter handle these conversions directly in your browser.