APE Converter
FileFlip converts APE files into 12 other formats entirely inside your browser, using FFmpeg and WebCodecs compiled to WebAssembly. The APE file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. There is no file-size limit and no account to create.
How do I convert an APE file?#
- Drop your APE file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer.
- Choose the format you want out of it. FileFlip downloads the engine that conversion needs, once, and your browser caches it.
- Conversion starts the moment you pick the format, and the result is yours to download. The work happens in this tab, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued.
Is it safe to convert APE files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts APE files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What happens to a APE file#
FileFlip converts APE into 12 formats with FFmpeg and WebCodecs, all of it inside the browser tab. Each conversion below names the engine it uses, what it downloads, and exactly what that conversion keeps or drops.
| Category | Audio Files |
|---|---|
| File extension | .ape |
| FileFlip support | Read only, so it is a source rather than a target |
| Conversions available | 12 |
| Engines | FFmpeg and WebCodecs |
| Downloaded to your browser | 30.8 MB on the first conversion, then cached |
What is an APE file?#
An APE file holds audio compressed with Monkey's Audio, a lossless codec Matthew T. Ashland released in 2000 that trades slow, CPU-heavy decoding for smaller files than most other lossless formats.
Keep audio as APE when it was already ripped that way for an archive and the extra compression over FLAC actually matters for storage.
Convert APE to FLAC when the file needs to play on a portable player, a car stereo, or any app or device that only recognizes the more common lossless format.
The APE file format reference covers the specification, the programs that open one, and what each conversion keeps or drops.
APE questions people ask#
What creates an APE file?
An APE file is produced by encoding audio with Monkey's Audio, almost always through the ripping and tagging tools popular with Windows-based audio archivists, such as foobar2000 or dBpoweramp. It is rarely the format a recording device or streaming service hands you directly.
What still plays APE files?
foobar2000, JRiver Media Center, and dBpoweramp play APE natively on Windows, and VLC decodes it on any platform. Very few phones, portable players, or smart speakers support Monkey's Audio, which is the main practical drawback compared to FLAC.
Should I convert APE to FLAC or MP3?
Convert APE to FLAC to keep lossless quality while gaining support on far more devices and software; convert to MP3 only if the smaller lossy file size matters more than exact fidelity. Going from APE to FLAC loses nothing, since both are lossless and the original audio data is fully recovered either way.