How to play a .MP3 file online
Three steps, no player to install.
Choose your file
Drop your .MP3 file on the box above, or click Choose file. Big files are fine.
It opens right away
Your .MP3 file plays straight from your device, with its title, artist and cover art shown when they are inside.
Play, loop, capture
Use the waveform to jump around, loop a section, change the speed or save any frame as a PNG image.
What is a .MP3 file?
Everything worth knowing about MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer III.
An MP3 file is a compressed audio recording: a song, podcast, audiobook, or ringtone. Almost every device plays it without extra software: double-click on Windows to open Media Player, on Mac it goes to the Music app, and phones handle it natively. For editing or converting, use free VLC or Audacity.
Programs that open .MP3 files
- Windows
- VLC media player, Audacity, Windows Media Player / Media Player (built-in)
- macOS
- VLC media player, Audacity, Music (built-in)
- Linux
- VLC media player, Audacity
- Android
- Built-in music player / VLC for Android
- iOS
- Files / VLC for iOS
| Full name | MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer III |
|---|---|
| Developer | Fraunhofer IIS / Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) |
| First released | MPEG-1 Audio Layer III standardized 1993 (ISO/IEC 11172-3); MPEG-2 extension 1995 |
| Category | Audio & Video |
| MIME type | audio/mpeg |
| Signature | FF FB (MPEG audio frame sync (11 set bits); OR "ID3" (0x49 0x44 0x33) when an ID3v2 tag is present) |
Related viewers
Other free tools to open and preview your files.
Is my .MP3 file uploaded anywhere?
No. Your .MP3 file is played for you. Waveforms, tags and snapshots are all computed on the fly,.
Why does a file show audio but no picture (or not play at all)?
A container like MP4, MOV or MKV can hold many codecs. If your browser lacks the codec inside (for example H.265 or AC-3 audio), the player tells you and offers the Media Converter, which can turn it into a format that plays everywhere.
Can I play AVI, WMV, FLV or MKV files?
Browsers don't play these old or exotic containers natively. Open them in the Media Converter: it inspects every track and converts the file to MP4, WEBM or MP3.
How do I loop part of a song for practice?
Press A at the start of the part, B at its end, and the section repeats. Combine it with a slower speed (0.5× or 0.75×) to learn tricky passages.
How do I save a still image from a video?
Pause on the frame you want and press the camera button (or S). The frame is saved as a full-resolution PNG image.
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