Wav File Size
Calculator
Results
- File size (bytes)
- 42,336,000
- File size (MB, 10⁶ bytes)
- 42.336
- Bitrate (kbit/s)
- 1,411.2
Music and audio results
| File size (bytes) | 42,336,000 |
| File size (MB, 10⁶ bytes) | 42.336 |
| Bitrate (kbit/s) | 1,411.2 |
formula-map diagram
- File size (bytes)
- 42,336,000
- File size (MB, 10⁶ bytes)
- 42.336
- Bitrate (kbit/s)
- 1,411.2
Musical and acoustic relationship
Formula
bytes = sample rate × bit depth ÷ 8 × channels × seconds= 42336000
Note
This result is a simplified model: it applies the displayed standard formula to the values you entered, assuming twelve-tone equal temperament, a speed of sound of 343 m/s in dry air at 20 °C, an ideal free field with no reflections or air absorption, purely resistive speaker loads and Sabine's diffuse-field assumption. Real rooms, instruments, codecs and amplifiers depart from these idealisations, so measure with proper instruments for critical work.
More in Music and audio
See all →Frequently asked questions
How is uncompressed WAV file size calculated?+
The formula is sample rate x bit depth x number of channels x duration in seconds, divided by 8 to get bytes. A 1-minute stereo WAV at 44.1 kHz/16-bit comes out to about 10.6 MB, since it stores every sample at full resolution with no compression.
Why is a WAV file so much larger than an MP3 of the same song?+
WAV stores every single sample uncompressed, while MP3 uses lossy compression that discards audio information deemed less audible to human hearing, typically shrinking file size by a factor of 10 or more. That's the core tradeoff: WAV preserves full fidelity at the cost of storage space.
How much does bit depth affect the file size?+
Bit depth scales file size linearly, so going from 16-bit to 24-bit increases size by exactly 50%, and going to 32-bit float roughly doubles it compared to 16-bit. Higher bit depth increases dynamic range and headroom for processing, not the audible sample rate range.
Why does stereo take up exactly twice the space of mono?+
A stereo file stores two independent channels of audio data (left and right) at the same sample rate and bit depth as a mono file, which is one channel, so it simply doubles the total number of samples stored per second. This is a direct multiplication in the file size formula, not an approximation.
Why would I choose WAV over a compressed format for recording or mixing?+
WAV avoids the generational quality loss and processing artifacts that repeated compression/decompression can introduce, which matters when a track will be edited, mixed, and re-exported multiple times before final release. Compressed formats are generally reserved for final distribution, not the working files during production.