Convert OGG to AIF
.ogg is Xiph.Org's open, royalty-free audio file — by convention a Vorbis-only one — and it is the default export of most open-source audio tools and game engines. .aif is Apple's Audio Interchange File Format, an uncompressed container that Logic Pro, GarageBand, Pro Tools and hardware samplers read natively and Ogg-aware software often does not. This page decodes the Vorbis stream and writes it out as raw PCM, which is a compatibility move rather than a quality one. Below are both formats in detail, what the four codec choices actually write, and the questions people ask before they click.
OGG at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ogg — by extension convention, Ogg Vorbis |
| Developed by | Xiph.Org Foundation |
| Extension status | Registered under audio/ogg in RFC 5334 (September 2008), kept as a backwards-compatible specialisation for Vorbis-only files |
| Container | Ogg |
| Usual payload | Vorbis; the same RFC registers .oga as the general-purpose Ogg audio extension and .spx for Speex |
| Compression | Lossy |
| Metadata | Vorbis comments (title, artist, album) |
| Licensing | Royalty-free, open specification |
| Native playback | Chrome, Firefox and Edge; Vorbis appears in Android's supported formats; no native iOS decoder |
| Typical home | Game audio, web audio, Wikimedia media, Linux desktops |
AIF at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Audio Interchange File Format |
| Developed by | Apple, which describes it as a cross-platform audio file format built from "chunks" of information |
| Specification | AIFF version 1.3, dated 4 January 1989, built on Electronic Arts' EA IFF 85 chunk structure |
| File structure | An IFF FORM whose type is AIFF, holding a Common chunk and a Sound Data chunk |
| Payload | Uncompressed linear PCM only — anything else requires the AIFF-C variant |
| Byte order | Big-endian |
| Written here as | 16-bit big-endian PCM by default |
| Data rate at CD settings | 1,411 kbps at 16-bit / 44.1 kHz / stereo, about 10 MB per minute |
| Extension family | .aif and .aiff are the same format; .aifc is AIFF-C, with FORM type AIFC and an added FVER chunk |
| Native playback | macOS, Logic Pro, GarageBand, Pro Tools, most DAWs and samplers; not listed among Android's supported formats |
How to Convert OGG to AIF
- Upload Your OGG File: Drag your
.oggonto the page or click "Add Files" to browse. Queue several game assets or clips and they all convert with the same settings. - Leave Audio Codec on PCM 16-bit Big Endian: This is the setting the page opens on and the only one that produces a plain AIFF file. The other three write AIFF-C, which some older importers refuse.
- Set Audio Sample Rate, Audio Channel or Trim: Both Audio Sample Rate and Audio Channel sit on "Original", decoding the source with no resampling. Set the rate explicitly (44100 or 48000 Hz) if your session runs at a fixed rate. Trim takes a start time and a duration; its Duration box opens at 10, so an untouched Trim clips the output to ten seconds.
- Convert and Download: Click Convert and save your
.aif, individually or as a ZIP. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, converted on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours. No sign-up, no watermark.
What Each Audio Codec Choice Writes
There is no bitrate or quality control on this page, because AIF stores raw samples rather than a compressed stream. The Audio Codec dropdown picks the sample format, and that quietly decides whether you get a plain AIFF or an AIFF-C file — the 1989 AIFF specification allows uncompressed big-endian PCM only, while byte-swapped PCM (sowt) and the G.711 companded formats were introduced by AIFF-C in 1991.
| Audio Codec | Sample format written | Resulting FORM type |
Data rate vs the default |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCM 16-bit Big Endian (the default) | 16-bit linear, big-endian | AIFF — plain AIFF |
Baseline: 1,411 kbps at CD settings |
| PCM 16-bit Little Endian | 16-bit linear, byte-swapped (sowt) |
AIFC — AIFF-C |
Same as the default |
| PCM A-law | 8-bit G.711 A-law | AIFC — AIFF-C |
About half |
| PCM mu-law | 8-bit G.711 µ-law | AIFC — AIFF-C |
About half |
For music, samples and edit sources, leave it on the default. A-law and µ-law halve the file but drop to 8-bit companded audio designed for telephony, with far less dynamic range than any musical material deserves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is .aif the same as .aiff?
Yes. Both hold the identical Audio Interchange File Format data — a big-endian PCM Sound Data chunk plus a Common chunk describing sample rate and bit depth. The three-letter spelling is a holdover from the old DOS 8.3 filename limit, and macOS tends to write the four-letter version. Any application that reads one reads the other, so pick whichever extension your tool asks for; our OGG to AIFF page produces exactly the same audio under the longer name.
Why is there no bitrate or quality setting on this page?
Because AIF has no bitrate to choose. It stores uncompressed linear PCM, so the data rate is arithmetic: bit depth × sample rate × channels. That is why the File Compression section you see on lossy targets such as MP3 or AAC is not shown here at all. The only controls that affect the output are Audio Codec, Audio Channel, Audio Sample Rate and Trim.
Will the AIF sound better than the original OGG?
No — and that is a property of the source, not a limitation of the tool. Vorbis is lossy and permanently discarded detail when the .ogg was encoded. Decoding it to uncompressed PCM reproduces exactly what remains, faithfully and without further loss, but nothing can rebuild what was thrown away. What you gain is a lossless working copy: you can cut, fade, pitch-shift and re-export it repeatedly without stacking a new lossy generation on top each time you save.
How much bigger will the AIF be?
Roughly ten times the size of a typical Vorbis file, sometimes more. Uncompressed 16-bit stereo audio at 44.1 kHz runs 1,411 kbps — about 10 MB per minute, or 605 MB per hour — regardless of how simple or complex the music is. A three-minute track that was 3 MB as an .ogg lands near 30 MB as an AIF. Setting Audio Channel to Mono halves that for voice material, and trimming before converting saves the rest.
Which Audio Codec should I leave selected?
PCM 16-bit Big Endian, the pre-selected choice, unless a specific tool tells you otherwise. It is the only option that produces a plain AIFF file; the other three write AIFF-C, which is a valid format but one that older importers and some hardware samplers reject. If a tool explicitly asks for sowt or Intel-order AIFF, pick PCM 16-bit Little Endian. If it asks for the AIFF-C container by name, use OGG to AIFC so the extension matches the contents.
Should I convert to AIF or WAV for my DAW?
Both store identical PCM and both are lossless, so it comes down to house style. AIF uses Electronic Arts' IFF chunk layout and is big-endian, making it the traditional choice on macOS and in Logic, GarageBand and older Apple-centric samplers. WAV uses Microsoft's RIFF layout and is little-endian, and is the safer default on Windows or in a mixed studio. If your session is already full of WAVs, use OGG to WAV and keep everything consistent.
My .ogg won't convert — what would cause that?
Three things account for almost all failures. First, audio cached by a streaming service is normally encrypted rather than a playable Ogg file, so no converter can decode it. Second, a partially downloaded or truncated .ogg has an incomplete bitstream and will fail part-way through. Third, some files named .ogg actually contain Opus, FLAC or Speex rather than Vorbis; those are handled the same way, but if the extension has been renamed by hand the file may not be a valid Ogg stream at all. Re-downloading from the original source usually resolves it.
How are my files handled, and how long are they kept?
Your OGG is uploaded over an encrypted connection, decoded and written out as AIF on our servers, and both the upload and the finished file are deleted automatically after a few hours. There is no sign-up, no watermark, and files are never shared or made public. Because uncompressed output is roughly ten times the source size, the practical limit on long recordings is transfer time rather than the conversion. Going the other direction, back to a small open file, is handled by AIF to OGG; other targets from the same source are listed on the OGG converter hub.