How to Cut an MP3 or Any Audio File (Free)

To cut an audio file, open it in an audio cutter, select a part on the waveform, then keep only that part or remove it and join the rest, and save. QuickVeed's free Audio Cutter does this in your browser for MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG, FLAC and video sound, with no upload. Audacity and FFmpeg are free desktop options.

Most audio jobs are one of four: trim silence from the start and end, cut a mistake out of the middle, keep a short section such as a ringtone, or add a fade. This guide covers each, plus the file-format question that trips people up.

The short answer

Open QuickVeed's free Audio Cutter, drop in the file (up to 300 MB and 60 minutes), drag across the waveform to select a part, choose Keep it or Remove it, tick Fade in or Fade out if you like, and save a WAV. To keep MP3 format, use Audacity's export or FFmpeg: ffmpeg -ss 00:00:30 -to 00:01:00 -i in.mp3 -c copy out.mp3.

Key takeaways

• Keep a part to make a clip or ringtone; remove a part to cut a mistake or a pause.
• Removing from the middle sounds smoother with a short crossfade at the join.
• Browsers can read MP3 but not write it, so browser cutters save WAV; convert afterwards if you need MP3.
• Cut from the original file, not from a compressed copy of a copy.

Disclosure: we make QuickVeed and show how to do this in it, along with other ways. Details about other products come from their public pages, checked in October 2026 and linked at the end.

How to cut audio in your browser

QuickVeed's Audio Cutter is free, runs in your browser, never uploads your file and adds no watermark.

1. Open the tool and drop an MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV, OGG, Opus or FLAC file, or a video, up to 300 MB and 60 minutes.
2. Drag across the waveform to select a part, or type the start and end times (to a tenth of a second). Play the selection to check it.
3. Choose Keep it to save only the selection, or Remove it to cut the selection out and join the rest with a smooth crossfade.
4. Tick Fade in and Fade out for one-second fades, choose stereo or mono, and save.

The cut happens instantly; there's no real-time wait. The file is a 16-bit WAV, about 10 MB per stereo minute, or half that in mono. WAV opens in every player and editor; for a smaller file, see the format section below.

If the audio is in a video and you want to keep the picture, use the free video trimmer instead; to get the sound out as a separate file first, use the free audio extractor.

How to cut audio with Audacity or FFmpeg

Audacity (free, Windows, Mac, Linux)

1. Open the file with File > Open (or drag it in).
2. Drag across the waveform to select the part to remove and press Delete, or select the part to keep and use Edit > Remove Special > Trim Audio.
3. Use Effect > Fade In or Fade Out on a selected start or end.
4. Export with File > Export Audio and choose MP3, WAV or another format.

Audacity is the better choice for several edits in one file, for noise reduction, or when you need MP3 output directly. Menu names can differ slightly between versions.

FFmpeg (free, command line)

-c copy is fast and lossless, but it can only cut on the format's own frame boundaries, which in MP3 are a few hundredths of a second apart. Re-encode when the cut must land exactly.

Which format to save: WAV, MP3 or M4A

Every time you save a lossy file (MP3, M4A) you lose a little quality, so keep a WAV or the original until you're finished, and convert once at the end. Browsers can decode MP3 but can't write it without extra software, which is why QuickVeed's cutter saves WAV; the last FFmpeg command above converts it.

Common jobs, step by step

Make a ringtone

Select up to 30 seconds of the song, tick Fade in and Fade out, keep the selection and save. Android accepts common audio files as ringtones from its sound settings. On iPhone, ringtones use the M4R format, which GarageBand can make from the WAV. Use music you have the right to use.

Remove a mistake from a voice recording

Find the mistake on the waveform (it's often a gap followed by a repeated phrase), select from just before the bad take to just before the good one, and choose Remove it. Listen across the join. The crossfade hides small clicks; if the join is still audible, move the cut into a natural pause.

Trim a podcast intro or a voice note

Select from the first word to the last, keep it, and add a short fade out. For a whole episode with many pauses and fillers, a transcript-based editor is faster; see how to remove silence and how to remove filler words.

Record, cut, then use it

If you're recording the audio yourself, the free Voice Recorder records in your browser with noise and echo reduction, a level meter and pause, up to 60 minutes, and saves M4A, WebM or WAV. Cut the result here.

From there: a narration can go under a video, an audio clip can become an audiogram for social media, and any speech can be transcribed and captioned with auto subtitles (transcripts are 1.5 credits a minute, rounded up). If you'd rather not record at all, the AI voice generator turns a script into a voiceover from 7 credits per 1,000 characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do I cut part of an MP3 for free?

Open it in a free cutter such as QuickVeed's Audio Cutter, select the part on the waveform and choose Keep it or Remove it. Audacity and FFmpeg also cut MP3s for free.

How do I remove a section from the middle of an audio file?

Select the section and choose Remove it (in QuickVeed's cutter) or press Delete (in Audacity). The two sides are joined; a short crossfade hides the join.

Can I cut audio without losing quality?

Yes: save as WAV, or with FFmpeg use -c copy to cut an MP3 without re-encoding. Re-saving as MP3 or M4A loses a little each time.

Why does my audio cutter save WAV instead of MP3?

Browsers can read MP3 but can't encode it, so browser tools save WAV. Convert with Audacity or FFmpeg if you need MP3.

How do I cut the audio from a video?

Open the video in QuickVeed's Audio Cutter, which uses its sound track, or extract the audio first with the free audio extractor.

How long can the audio be?

QuickVeed's browser cutter handles files up to 300 MB and 60 minutes. Audacity and FFmpeg handle longer files.

Try it with your own video

Cut your audio for free, then turn a script into a clean voiceover or add captions to the video it belongs to. Paste a short script, pick a voice and judge the voiceover for yourself. QuickVeed plans start at $18/month, and new accounts get a 14-day trial with 75 credits, no card needed. Sign up or see pricing.

Sources

Competitor details in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products and prices change, so confirm with each vendor before you decide.

• FFmpeg filters documentation (concat, drawtext, reverse, areverse, pad, boxblur)
• FFmpeg documentation (-stream_loop and other options)