Both FLAC and ALAC files are premium formats that use lossless compression. But FLAC doesn't play on iTunes, later Apple music app, and iOS 10 or lower, whereas ALAC is a lossless alternative to the Apple-designed FLAC. In this case, you can convert FLAC to Apple Lossless. Read the article to learn how to convert FLAC to ALAC on Mac and Windows easily.
Cisdem Video Converter
Free Download macOS 10.12 or later 
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
FLAC (hi-res), standing for Free Lossless Audio Codec, is an open source compression format of digital audio. It supports for metadata tags, album covers, and quick lookups. The original audio information won't be destroyed, making it possible to restore the sound quality of music CDs.
ALAC (hi-res), a.k.a Apple Lossless Audio Codec, is an audio coding format similar to FLAC. It can compress digital music without losing sound quality. The file extension for ALAC is .m4a, the same as the default AAC. Therefore, be aware that some software supports the M4A format, but not necessarily the ALAC encoding. It may only support AAC.
To find out whether a file is encoded in ALAC or AAC, enable the “Kind” column in iTunes or Apple Music. Choose “View” > “Hide View Options” in the menu. In the box that appears, check the option that says "Kind".
| FLAC | ALAC | |
|---|---|---|
| Bit depth | 4 to 32 | 16, 20, 24, and 32 |
| Sample Rate | 10 to 655kHz (10Hz increments) | Maximum 384kHz |
| Channels of audio | 8 | 8 |
| File size | About 60% smaller than AIFF and WAV | About 5–12% smaller than FLAC |
| Compatibility | Supports many devices and apps except Apple iTunes, Music app, and iDevices | Works on all Apple devices like iPhone, iPad, Apple Music, Airplay, etc. |
Is ALAC as good as FLAC? The sound quality of FLAC is slightly better than that of ALAC, so the file is also larger. But the difference between the FLAC and ALAC is not that obvious. In fact, most people can’t detect the difference. The root reason to convert FLAC to Apple Lossless is compatibility. You can't open FLAC files on Apple systems, except on iOS 11+ devices, which support FLAC playback natively via the File app.
The first two apps listed below are both compatible with Mac and Windows PC, and there are few differences between the two platforms when it comes to their operation steps.
The third app is limited to converting FLAC to Apple Lossless only on Windows, whereas the Mac version can only play FLAC, ALAC, and other music formats.
An all-in-one media file converter
Cisdem Video Converter is a versatile FLAC to ALAC converter, packing with simple interface and powerful functions. Besides converting FLAC to Apple Lossless on Mac and Windows, it can also convert FLAC to MP3, WAV, AIFF, OGG, WMA, AC3, etc. Anyway, the app will help you play audio on iPod classic, iPod touch, Zune, iTunes, Android phones, and all kinds of other MP3 players.
More standout features:
Free Download macOS 10.12 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
Step 1. Load your FLAC files
Open up Cisdem FLAC to Apple Lossless converter on Mac.
Drag-n-drop FLAC files to the converting interface.
Step 2. Pick M4A as the export format
Select an output for a single FLAC: Click the “format” icon to drop down a list with a wealth of output formats. Choose "M4A Audio" from "Apple Software" > "iTunes" category.
For all FLAC files: Go to bottom left corner and select an output from "Convert all tasks to".
Step 3. Change the audio codec to ALAC
The default M4A decoder of Cisdem Video Converter is AAC. You can change it.
Next to the "M4A Audio" option, there is a gear icon. Click it to call up the “Advanced Settings” panel, in which you can have control of output parameters.
Move your mouse cursor to audio codec, hit the down arrow, and choose "alac".
Step 4. Mass convert FLAC to ALAC on Mac (or Windows)
Simply press the “convert” button at the bottom right side of the interface, and let the FLAC to Apple Lossless conversion take place on your device.
When performing audio conversion, there is a difference between the Mac version and the Windows version in the interface, that is, to select the storage location.
On Mac: Head to “File” > “Save Convert Folder to” to make the setting.
On Windows: Move to the bottom of the interface and simple choose a folder.
If you prefer, you can use the default destination path. For quick access to the resulting ALAC audio, click the blue check mark icon once the conversion is complete.
A dedicated audio file converter
Audiophiles highly acclaim MediaHuman Audio Converter, a popular FLAC to Apple Lossless converter that preserves music metadata and ID3 tags such as title, artist, album name, cover, etc. It’s also compatible with Mac and Windows platforms.
While the audio conversion is free, certain advanced features like Normalization (loudness/peak), Fade in/Fade out, Trim the silence, file naming by tags, and more come with a price.
Note: On my macOS Monterey, if I leave the software interface idle for more than 3 minutes, it crashes and I have to restart it.
Main features:
How to use MediaHuman to convert FLAC to ALAC:
Only allow audio conversion on Windows
Foobar2000 is a lightweight yet advanced audio player and converter for desktop. It’s able to convert FLAC to ALAC, AAC, AIFF, Musepark, Wave64, WavPack, AU/SND, etc. for free. Although it can directly convert one audio format to another, to convert to ALAC, you need to install a plugin called Foobar2000 Free Encoder Pack.
The app is also available on iOS and Android. It does not carry a conversion option on mobile versions and only supports playing FLAC, ALAC music.
Key features:
FreeConvert.com is a multi-purpose file conversion service. It allows you to convert audio tracks, videos, images, documents and eBooks. This online FLAC to Apple Lossless converter offers 10 file conversions per day. Once exceeded, your conversion will be rejected. Meanwhile, it’s incapable of converting over 5 files at the same time, and fails to upload videos more than 500MB.
Or, put the mouse on the drop-down icon next to "Download", choose to scan the QR code with your mobile phone to save the ALAC-encoded M4A to iPhone or Android.
OnlineConverter.com is another free FLAC to ALAC converter online that has been around since 2015. It's very similar to freeconvert.com owing to its multipurpose nature.
This online converter supports an array of formats but can't convert in batches. Plus, the maximum file size of OnlineConverter.com is merely 200MB, which is not friendly to videos.
Yes! FLAC file to ALAC converter software is more secure and the conversion effect is also better. But online tools are limited in terms of upload size, number of conversions per day, and number of simultaneous conversions.
No! The audio codec supported by VLC includes MPEG audio, MP3, AAC, A52/AC-3, Vorbis, FLAC, Speex, WAV, and WMA2. You can’t find ALAC audio to choose from.
Yes, you can install PowerShell Core and FFMPEG to convert FLAC files to ALAC. Both of them work on Mac and Windows. But it’s not recommended:
Mentioned earlier, not all FLAC to M4A converter enables you to convert FLAC to ALAC on Mac and Windows. Before using the app or online tool, make sure whether it supports ALAC output format. In addition, the FLAC to Apple Lossless converter software is more superior, as it results in higher quality and efficiency.
Emily is a girl who loves to review various multimedia software. She enjoys exploring cutting edge technology and writing how-to guides. Hopefully her articles will help you solve your audio, video, DVD and Blu-ray issues.
Andrew McNaughton
FLAC and ALAC should produce audio which is identical if the source was identical and the bit and sample rates kept the same. One can't be better than the other. That's why the L in ALAC stands for lossless. So, what plays out of the same playback system should be identical.