What Is an AAC File?

How to open, edit, & convert AAC files

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Tim Fisher
General Manager, VP, Lifewire.com
Tim Fisher has 30+ years' professional technology support experience. He writes troubleshooting content and is the General Manager of Lifewire.
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Tim Fisher
Updated January 17, 2020

A file with the AAC file extension is a MPEG-2 Advanced Audio Coding file. It's similar to the MP3 audio format but includes some performance improvements.

Apple's iTunes and iTunes Store use Advanced Audio Coding as their default encoding method for music files. It's also the standard audio format for many other devices and platforms.

AAC files in Windows 10 that open with iTunes

AAC files can most definitely use the .AAC file extension but they're more commonly seen wrapped in the M4A file container, and therefore usually carry the .M4A file extension.

How to Play an AAC File

You can open an AAC file with iTunes through the File menu. On a Mac, use the Add to Library option. For Windows, choose either Add File to Library or Add Folder to Library to add the AAC files to your iTunes Library.

You can also play AAC files with VLC, Media Player Classic (MPC-HC), Windows Media Player, MPlayer, Audials One, and likely many other multi-format media players.

If you need help opening an AAC file in the Audacity audio editing software, see their guide on how to import files from iTunes. You need to install the FFmpeg library if you're on Windows or Linux.

If you find that an application on your computer tries to open the AAC file but it's the wrong application or you'd rather have another installed program open AAC files, see our guide for making that change in Windows.

How to Convert an AAC File

Use a free audio converter to convert an AAC file. Most of the programs from that list let you convert the AAC file to MP3, WAV, WMA, and other similar audio formats. You can also use a free audio converter to save the AAC file as an M4R ringtone for use on an iPhone.

You can use FileZigZag to convert an AAC file to MP3 (or some other audio format) on macOS, Linux, or any other operating system because it works through a web browser. Upload the AAC file to FileZigZag and you'll be given the option to convert the AAC to MP3, WMA, FLAC, WAV, RA, M4A, AIF/AIFF/AIFC, OPUS, and lots of other formats.

Zamzar is another free online AAC converter like FileZigZag.

Some songs purchased through iTunes may be encoded in a particular type of protected AAC format, and therefore can't be converted with a file converter.

Still Can't Open the File?

The AAC file extension shares some of the same letters as the extension found in other file formats like AAE (Sidecar Image Format), AAF, AA, AAX (Audible Enhanced Audiobook), ACC (Graphics Accounts Data), and DAA, but that doesn't mean they necessarily have anything to do with each other or that they can open with the same programs.