FLAC
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FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, an audio format similar to MP3, but lossless, meaning that audio is compressed in FLAC without any loss in quality. This is similar to how Zip works, except with FLAC you will get much better compression because it is designed...
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Country of Origin
United States
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- BSD
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FLAC information
Developed by
Josh Coalson Licensing
Open Source and Free product.Written in
Rating
Average rating of 5Alternatives
8 alternatives listedSupported Languages
AlternativeTo Category
Audio & MusicGitHub repository
- 1,967 Stars
- 315 Forks
- 49 Open Issues
- Updated Jun 13, 2025
Comments and Reviews
The best audio codec and file format (IMHO)
FLAC is an excellent lossless audio format for music. While MP3 is very popular and is compatible on various devices and media players, it is based on lossy compression where the quality difference can be noticed. I moved from MP3 to Ogg Vorbis, but now FLAC. Yes, the files are bigger but the quality is far superior.
In my opinion, the best patent-free audio codec and audio file format. Good compression support, save in some cases, more audio data, compared to wav.
Oh, and if any of you is afraid of FLAC being open-source, consider that Apple released a Beatles complete works using FLAC 24 bit (a bit pricy, between 250 and 350 euros), quality higher than that of ordinary CDs.
I was moving my discs on my SE Xperia X10 running Android and I was using OGG Vorbis with what I call(ed) quasi-insanely high quality, that is using -q 9 (targets 320kb/s). And I've decided to give FLAC a spin: it kicks ass! I think I'll stop caring about the size of FLACs (on an average CD, around 350MB, compared to about 160MB for Vorbis -q 9). The sound is crystal clear in my Phillips Stretch headphones.
On Android support for FLAC tags is patchy, and you can use Extended Media Scanner to fix it (worked for me).