UtilibyWritten by the Utiliby editorial team · Last updated October 13, 2026 · Rules and formulas reviewed October 2026
What this free audio cutter does
An audio cutter, often called an MP3 cutter, trims a recording down to the part you want. You might need a 30 second hook from a song for a ringtone, a clean quote from a long interview, the best minute of a voice memo, or a recording with the dead air at either end removed. Many online cutters are slow because they upload your file, or lock fades and exact timing behind a subscription. This free online tool does the whole job in your browser: load a file, drag on the waveform, preview, and download.
You can keep the selection or remove it and join the rest, set exact times, add fade in and fade out, loop the preview, cap the length for a ringtone, and export as MP3 or WAV. It accepts MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, FLAC and the audio of videos. It has no watermark and no account.
How to cut audio online in four steps
- Load your audio. Drop a file on the box or click to browse. The waveform appears with the length and format.
- Select the part. Drag across the waveform, then fine-tune by dragging the two handles or typing exact times.
- Preview. Press Play. Tick Loop to repeat it. Adjust the fades until it sounds right.
- Download. Choose MP3 or WAV and click Cut and download. The file saves to your device.
Keep the selection or remove it
The default mode keeps what you selected and discards the rest, which is what you want when pulling a clip from a longer file. The second mode does the opposite: it removes the selection and joins what is left. Use it to delete a cough, a long pause, an ad break or a mistake in the middle of a recording.
When you remove a middle section, the two sides are blended with a ten millisecond crossfade. A hard join of two unrelated waveforms makes a pop, and the crossfade hides it in most speech and music. If the join still sounds odd, move the handles slightly to a quiet spot, such as the pause between words.
Making a ringtone from a song
Pick the part of the song you want to hear when the phone rings, usually the chorus or the opening riff. Select it, then set the ringtone limit. iPhone ringtones can be up to 40 seconds, and many Android phones allow 30 seconds or more. Add a one second fade in and a two second fade out so the tone does not start or end abruptly, then download.
Setting the tone differs by phone. On Android you usually copy the file to the Ringtones folder or choose it in Sound settings. On iPhone, ringtones use the M4R format and are added through the Music app on a Mac or iTunes on Windows, so you may need to rename or convert the file. Only use music you have the right to use.
Using fades well
A fade is a gradual change in volume. A fade in avoids a sudden start, and a fade out avoids a sudden stop. For music clips, one to three seconds sounds natural. For speech, 0.2 to 0.5 seconds is enough. Fades do not change the length of the file: they only shape the loudness inside it.
Even with fades set to zero, the tool applies a three millisecond micro-fade at both ends. This is too short to hear as a fade, but long enough to remove the click that appears when a cut starts in the middle of a wave.
Precise cuts: times, handles and the waveform
The waveform shows loudness over time. Loud sections look tall, and quiet pauses look flat. To cut between words, look for the flat gaps and place the handles inside them. To cut music on the beat, use the loop preview and nudge the handle until the bounce feels right.
Typing times is the quickest way to be exact. The boxes accept 45 for 45 seconds, 1:30 for one minute thirty, and 1:30.25 for a quarter second more. If you set a ringtone limit and the selection is longer, the end moves back to fit.
Quality and file size
Cutting to WAV keeps every sample from your source, so nothing is lost. Cutting to MP3 compresses again. If the source is an MP3 at 128 kbps, exporting at 192 or 256 kbps avoids adding noticeable damage, though it cannot restore detail that was already thrown away. WAV files are large, about 10 MB per minute for stereo, so use MP3 for anything you plan to send or store.
| Setting | Size per minute | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| MP3 128 kbps | about 1 MB | Speech, quick sharing |
| MP3 192 kbps | about 1.4 MB | Music and ringtones |
| MP3 320 kbps | about 2.4 MB | Best MP3 quality |
| WAV 16-bit stereo | about 10 MB | Further editing |
What people use an audio cutter for
- Ringtones and alarms: the best 30 seconds of a song.
- Podcasts and interviews: pull a quote or remove a false start.
- Voice memos and lectures: trim silence before and after.
- Video and social posts: a short music clip with a clean fade.
- Language practice: isolate one sentence for repeated listening.
- Samples and sound effects: cut a single hit from a longer recording.
Troubleshooting
- The file will not load: your browser may not support its codec. Try another browser or convert it to MP3 or WAV first.
- The selection will not move: drag from an empty part of the waveform to start a new one, or grab a handle within a few pixels.
- The clip sounds cut off: add a fade out of one second or more.
- The MP3 will not export: the encoder could not be downloaded. Choose WAV or check your connection.
- Memory errors on long files: close other tabs, or cut a smaller part first.
Online cutter or desktop editor?
Programs such as Audacity give you multiple tracks, effects and noise removal, and they are the right choice for serious editing. For the common job of trimming a file, they are more than you need, and installing software takes time. A browser cutter is quick and private, and it fits cases where you only want a clean clip. When a job needs several tracks, noise reduction or precise spectral editing, move to a full editor.
Copyright reminder
Cutting a clip does not change who owns the recording or the song. Using a clip from a commercial song as a personal ringtone is common, but posting it publicly, using it in a video or selling it can need a licence. Use your own recordings, royalty-free music or audio you have permission to use.
Privacy and how it works
Your browser decodes the file into samples, which the page draws as a waveform and edits in memory. Nothing is uploaded, stored or logged by Utiliby. The MP3 encoder library is fetched from a public CDN the first time you choose MP3, but your audio is not part of that request. Closing the tab clears everything from memory.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cut an MP3 online for free?
Load your MP3 above, drag across the waveform to select the part you want, press Play to check it, then click Cut and download. The tool works in your browser, so there is no upload, no sign-up and no watermark.
Is my audio uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is decoded and edited on your own device. The page downloads an open-source MP3 encoder from a public CDN the first time you choose MP3, but your audio is never sent to a server.
Which audio formats can I open?
MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, Opus, FLAC and the audio track of videos such as MP4, MOV and WebM, as long as your browser can decode them. Output is MP3 or WAV.
How do I set an exact start and end time?
Type the times into the Start and End boxes. They accept seconds, m:ss and m:ss.hh, for example 1:05.50. The selection on the waveform moves to match, and the other way round.
Can I make a ringtone for iPhone or Android?
Yes. Select the part of the song you like, then set the Ringtone limit to 30 or 40 seconds. iPhone ringtones are limited to 40 seconds, and many Android phones accept longer. Download the MP3, then follow your phone's steps to set it as a ringtone. On iPhone, ringtones must be in M4R format, which needs an extra step in Music or Finder.
How do I remove a section from the middle?
Select the part you want to delete, then change Mode to Remove the selection. The remaining parts are joined with a very short crossfade so that there is no click at the join.
What do the fade in and fade out settings do?
They raise the volume from silence at the start and lower it to silence at the end, over the number of seconds you enter. A one or two second fade makes a cut clip sound finished instead of stopping abruptly.
Does cutting reduce the quality?
Cutting to WAV does not reduce quality. Cutting to MP3 compresses the audio again, which causes a small loss, so choose 192 kbps or higher. If your source was already an MP3, a high bitrate keeps the second pass close to the original.
Why do I hear a click at the cut points?
A click appears when a cut lands in the middle of a loud wave. This tool applies a three millisecond fade at both ends to hide it. For a smoother start and end, add a short fade in and fade out.
How long a file can I cut?
There is no fixed limit, but the audio is decoded in memory, so very long recordings need more memory. One hour of stereo audio needs roughly 1.3 GB. Close other tabs for long files.
Can I cut several parts from one file?
Cut one part, download it, then adjust the selection and cut again. Each download is a separate file. To join parts, use the Audio Merger tool.
Can I loop the selection to check it?
Yes. Tick Loop and press Play. The preview includes your fades and shows exactly what the exported file will sound like.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, in a modern mobile browser. You can drag on the waveform with your finger, and the Start and End boxes work for precise changes.
Can I cut a section out of a video's audio?
Yes. Load the video file and the tool uses its audio track. The output is an audio file, not a video.
Will it keep the song title and artwork?
No. The cut clip is a plain audio file without tags or cover art.
Is there a watermark or time limit?
No. The tool is free, with no watermark, no account and no daily limit.
What can I print or save from the page?
Print / save summary prints the selection details and the waveform, and Copy summary copies the settings as text. The cut audio file is the main download.
Sources and further reading
- MDN Web Docs, Web Audio API and AudioBuffer, for how browsers decode and process audio samples.
- ISO/IEC 11172-3 (MPEG-1 Audio, Layer III), the standard that defines the MP3 format.
- LAME project and the lamejs encoder, the open-source MP3 encoder used for MP3 output.
- Apple Support, documentation on creating custom ringtones for iPhone (40 second limit and M4R format).
- US Copyright Office, Fair Use Index, general information about using protected material.
Sources were consulted in October 2026. Standards and rules can change, so always check the official page for your situation.