Best Audio Format for Podcasts
Record your podcast in WAV at 44.1 kHz for a lossless master. Edit in WAV to avoid cumulative quality loss. Publish as MP3 at 128 kbps mono, which is the standard format that every podcast platform supports. This three-stage approach gives you the best quality at every step.
Start RecordingRecording: Use WAV
Always record your raw podcast audio in WAV format at 44.1 kHz sample rate and 16-bit depth. This gives you a lossless master file that preserves everything your microphone captured. Mono is fine for a single speaker. Stereo only matters if you are recording two microphones through a mixer into separate left and right channels. The files will be large (about 50 MB per 10 minutes for mono), but storage is cheap and you can always compress later. You cannot un-compress.
Editing: Stay Lossless
When you import your recording into an editor (Audacity, Hindenburg, Adobe Audition, GarageBand), keep working in WAV or your editor's native lossless format. Every time you export to MP3 and re-import for further editing, the audio degrades slightly. If you need to make three rounds of edits across multiple sessions, that is three rounds of compression artifacts stacking up. Save your project file and only export to MP3 once, as the final step.
Publishing: MP3 128 kbps Mono
Export your final episode as MP3 at 128 kbps constant bitrate, mono. This is the standard that Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and every other platform expects. The file will be about 56 MB per hour, which downloads quickly and streams reliably even on slow connections. Mono is correct for single-speaker shows and standard for most interview formats too. Higher bitrates (192, 256 kbps) offer marginally better quality but double or triple the file size with no audible benefit for speech.
- Format: MP3
- Bitrate: 128 kbps constant (CBR)
- Channels: Mono
- Sample rate: 44.1 kHz
- File size: ~56 MB per hour
What About AAC?
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is technically a better codec than MP3. It produces higher quality at the same bitrate. Apple Podcasts and Spotify both support AAC. However, MP3 remains the safer choice because it is universally supported by every podcast app, car stereo, and media player. Some smaller podcast apps and older devices handle MP3 better than AAC. Unless you have a specific reason to use AAC, stick with MP3 for maximum compatibility.
Frequently asked questions
Can I upload WAV files to my podcast host?
Most podcast hosts accept WAV uploads and will transcode to MP3 on their end. However, uploading a 300 MB WAV over a home internet connection is slow. It is better to export to MP3 yourself so you control the quality settings and the upload is 5-10x faster.
Is 64 kbps good enough for a podcast?
64 kbps is usable for speech-only content but sounds noticeably compressed. Most listeners will not complain, but side-by-side with 128 kbps, the difference is clear. Since the file size savings are small (28 MB vs 56 MB per hour), 128 kbps is the better default.
What sample rate should I use?
44.1 kHz is the standard for audio-only podcasts. 48 kHz is the standard for video. If you produce both audio and video versions of your podcast, record at 48 kHz to avoid sample rate conversion artifacts. If audio only, 44.1 kHz is perfect.
Should my podcast be mono or stereo?
Mono for almost every podcast. Stereo doubles the file size and provides no benefit for a single voice or a standard interview. The only reason to use stereo is if you intentionally pan different speakers to left and right channels, which most listeners find annoying on headphones.