Choose the destination and listening task before choosing an audio format. Keep an editable project as well as the delivery copy.
Start with the destination
A podcast host, a video editor and a friend’s music player may need different files. Audacity’s current manual advises following the destination’s format, size and loudness guidance. Our suggested first step is to write down those requirements rather than selecting the largest bitrate and hoping it fits. Compatibility includes the receiving application, not only the filename.
Choose which audio to export
File — Export audio lets you choose the full project or selected audio in the documented workflow. A short selection is useful for checking a difficult passage before exporting a long recording. Our suggested sample includes quiet speech, a louder moment and any music or effects that matter. Confirm you have selected the intended range so a successful export does not hide a missing section.
Distinguish lossless and smaller delivery formats
The current manual presents FLAC and WavPack as lossless choices and describes MP3, Opus and M4A as delivery options with different compatibility and size trade-offs. The older MP3 reference warns that repeated MP3 encoding loses quality. Keep a suitable lossless working source when practical; exporting a compressed recording to a lossless format cannot restore detail already lost.
Listen to the actual file
Our suggested final check opens the export in the player or workflow the listener will use. Check the beginning, ending, channel balance and intelligibility at an ordinary listening level. Choose mono when that is the intended delivery, and stereo when the material needs it. Keep the Audacity project for later edits, and name the delivery copy separately. This guide provides a checking routine, not a measured listening test or a universal bitrate prescription.
Go straight to the people who make it.
Current official export guideOfficial MP3 export referenceSource check: 2026-10-02. General guidance; follow your device’s current instructions.