How to cut an MP3
- Click the yellow area and pick the song or audio file, or drag it onto the page.
- Drag the yellow handles over the waveform to mark the part you want. You can also type the start and end times (for example,
1:05.5). - Click Play selection to check it. Clicking anywhere on the waveform plays from that point.
- Turn on Fade in and Fade out if you want the sound to rise at the start and fade away at the end.
- Choose the format and click Cut and download.
You can fine-tune with the keyboard: click a handle and use the arrow keys (0.1-second steps; 1 second with Shift). You can also drag the whole selection by holding it in the middle.
How to make a ringtone
Pick the chorus or your favorite part, use the quick length buttons (15, 20, 30 or 40 seconds) and turn on both fades. A ringtone that starts and ends smoothly sounds much better than a hard cut in the middle of the song.
- Android: save as MP3. Copy the file to the phone’s Ringtones folder (or open it in the Files app) and pick it under Settings → Sound → Phone ringtone. Many phones also let you choose any MP3 straight from the ringtone screen.
- iPhone: save as iPhone (M4R), 40 seconds or less. On a computer, connect the iPhone and drag the file onto it in Finder (Mac) or in the Apple Devices app / iTunes (Windows). Without a computer, you can import the file into GarageBand on the iPhone and export it as a ringtone.
The formats
| Format | When to use it | Size of 30 s |
|---|---|---|
| MP3 | Android ringtones, alarms, notifications, sharing, video soundtracks | about 700 KB at 192 kbps |
| M4R | iPhone ringtones (AAC, the same codec as Apple Music) | about 700 KB |
| WAV | Editing later in another app without losing anything | about 5 MB |
For MP3 quality, 192 kbps is the right balance for music. 128 kbps is enough for voice, podcasts and voice messages. 320 kbps only helps if the original file was high quality to begin with.
What else it’s for
- Taking just one part of a long recording: a quote from a meeting, a section of a recorded class, a clip from a podcast.
- Preparing the music for a presentation, a dance routine or a video so it starts at the right moment.
- Removing silence from the start and end of a recording.
- Making a custom alarm or notification sound from any song.
M4A, WAV, OGG, FLAC and other files open too. The clip is saved in the format you choose, so the cutter also works for converting part of an audio file to MP3.
Your audio never leaves your device
Many MP3 cutter sites upload your file to a server, process it there and send it back. Here, your browser opens the audio, draws the waveform and saves the cut on your own computer or phone. Nothing is uploaded: once the page has loaded, it even works offline. No sign-up, no watermark and no usage limit.
Frequently asked questions
Does cutting lower the quality?
An MP3 is always encoded again after cutting, but at 192 kbps the difference isn’t noticeable to the listener. To lose nothing at all, save as WAV.
Why is the iPhone (M4R) option disabled?
Some browsers, such as Firefox, can’t encode AAC audio, which is the format the iPhone requires for ringtones. Open the page in Chrome, Edge or Safari.
What is the maximum ringtone length?
On iPhone, 40 seconds. Android has no fixed limit, but the ringtone loops while the phone rings, so 20 to 30 seconds is usually enough.
Can I cut the audio from a video?
Yes. If the file is an MP4 or MOV, use extract audio from video to pull the sound out first, or open the video right here, since many browsers can read its audio.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, on Android and iPhone. Very long recordings (over an hour) may use too much memory on basic phones.