Audio Bitrate Calculator
Reviewed by Hamza Gujjar, Algorithm Architect & Software Developer
Last updated: August 19, 2026Why "CD Quality" Means a Specific Number: 1,411 kbps
Uncompressed digital audio has a bitrate that's fully determined by three settings: how often it's sampled, how many bits describe each sample, and how many channels are recorded. Standard CD audio — 44,100 samples per second, 16 bits per sample, 2 channels — isn't an arbitrary "quality" label, it's a fixed bitrate of exactly 1,411.2 kbps. This calculator computes that bitrate from any combination of sample rate, bit depth, and channels, and converts between bitrate and file size in either direction.
The Formula
Three related calculations are available:
File Size (MB) = (Bitrate (kbps) × Duration (s)) / 8 / 1024
Bitrate (kbps) = (File Size (MB) × 1024 × 8) / Duration (s)
The uncompressed formula applies to raw PCM audio (WAV, AIFF); compressed formats like MP3 or AAC use a separate, typically much lower, target bitrate that isn't derived directly from sample rate and bit depth.
Where This Calculation Matters
- Recording session planning — estimating how much storage a multi-track recording session at a given sample rate and bit depth will consume.
- Format comparison — understanding exactly how much larger uncompressed audio is than a compressed MP3 or AAC file at typical listening bitrates.
- Archival decisions — weighing higher sample rates and bit depths (24-bit, 96kHz) against the storage cost they carry for long-term archives.
- Streaming and podcast delivery — working out the file size a given bitrate and episode length will produce, before uploading.
Uncompressed Bitrate by Format
| Format | Sample Rate | Bit Depth | Channels | Bitrate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone/VoIP quality | 8,000 Hz | 16-bit | 1 (mono) | 128.0 kbps |
| CD quality | 44,100 Hz | 16-bit | 2 (stereo) | 1,411.2 kbps |
| Hi-res audio | 96,000 Hz | 24-bit | 2 (stereo) | 4,608.0 kbps |
| Studio/DVD-Audio | 192,000 Hz | 24-bit | 2 (stereo) | 9,216.0 kbps |
CD-quality uncompressed audio (1,411.2 kbps) is roughly 10 times the bitrate of a typical 128–160 kbps MP3, which is why lossless files are so much larger than compressed ones.
How to Use This Calculator
- Choose a mode: Uncompressed Bitrate, File Size from Bitrate, or Bitrate from File Size.
- For uncompressed bitrate, enter Sample Rate (Hz), Bit Depth (bits), and Channels.
- For the other modes, enter Bitrate (kbps) or File Size (MB) along with Duration (seconds).
- Select Calculate to get the result.
Related Calculations
Working out video rather than audio bitrate? Use the Video Bitrate Calculator. Need a general file size estimate instead? See the File Size Calculator.
Principles of Digital Audio Sampling and Bit Depth
Digital audio bitrate — expressed in Kilobits per second (kbps) — is the volume of digital data processed per second of audio playback. In digital audio engineering, acoustics, and music streaming, audio bitrate is determined by three fundamental parameters: Sampling Frequency (Sample Rate), Bit Depth (Quantization Resolution), and Channel Count.
The Nyquist-Shannon Sampling Theorem
The Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem dictates that to digitally capture an analog audio waveform without aliasing distortion, the sampling frequency fs must be at least twice the highest audio frequency component (2 × fmax). Because the upper limit of human hearing is approximately 20 kHz (20,000 Hz), standard audio formats utilize:
- 44.1 kHz (Compact Disc Standard): 2 × 22.05 kHz, providing complete coverage of human hearing with anti-aliasing filter transition bands.
- 48.0 kHz (Cinema & Television Broadcast): Standard for video post-production and digital audio broadcasting.
- 96 kHz / 192 kHz (High-Resolution Studio Master): Captures ultrasonic harmonics and provides headroom for digital signal processing (DSP) plugins.
Bit Depth and Dynamic Range
Bit depth determines the dynamic range (the difference between the quietest noise floor and the loudest distortion-free sound) according to the rule: Dynamic Range ≈ Bit Depth × 6.02 dB:
- 16-Bit Audio: 96.3 dB dynamic range (Red Book CD audio standard).
- 24-Bit Audio: 144.5 dB dynamic range (professional studio recording standard, exceeding the physical limits of human acoustic tolerance).
- 32-Bit Floating Point: 1,528 dB dynamic range, mathematically eliminating digital clipping distortion during field recording.
Uncompressed Linear PCM Audio Bitrate Formula
Lossless versus Lossy Perceptual Audio Formats
| Audio Format / Codec | Typical Bitrate | Compression Type | Quality Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncompressed PCM (WAV / AIFF) | 1,411.2 kbps | Uncompressed | Studio Master CD Quality (44.1 kHz, 16-bit, 2-ch) |
| FLAC / ALAC (Apple Lossless) | 600 to 900 kbps | Lossless (Exact bit-for-bit) | Identical to CD original at 40-50% smaller file size |
| AAC / Opus (High Quality) | 256 to 320 kbps | Lossy (Perceptual psychoacoustic) | Transparent to human ear; Apple Music / Spotify High |
| MP3 / AAC (Standard Web) | 128 to 192 kbps | Lossy | Standard web streaming and podcast baseline |
| Voice Codecs (G.711 / AMR) | 12.2 to 64 kbps | Speech optimized | Cellular telephony and VoIP communications |
Step-by-Step Worked Calculation Example
Example: Calculating Storage Size for a 60-Minute 24-Bit/96 kHz Studio Album
Problem: A music recording studio tracks a 10-song album totaling 60.0 minutes of stereo music at high-resolution 24-bit / 96.0 kHz uncompressed WAV format. Calculate: (1) The uncompressed stream bitrate in kbps and Mbps; and (2) The total storage space in Megabytes (MB) and Gigabytes (GB).
Step 1: Calculate uncompressed PCM bitrate:
Bitrate = 96,000 samples/sec × 24 bits/sample × 2 channels = 4,608,000 bits/sec
Bitrate in kbps = 4,608 kbps = 4.608 Mbps
Step 2: Calculate total data bytes for 60 minutes (3,600 seconds):
Total Bits = 4,608,000 bits/sec × 3,600 sec = 16,588,800,000 bits
Total Bytes = 16,588,800,000 / 8 = 2,073,600,000 Bytes
Step 3: Convert Bytes to Megabytes and Gigabytes:
Size in MB = 2,073,600,000 / 1,000,000 = 2,073.6 MB
Size in GB = 2,073.6 / 1,000 = 2.074 GB
Conclusion: The 60-minute album streams at 4.61 Mbps and occupies 2.07 GB in uncompressed high-res WAV format (or approx. 1.15 GB in lossless FLAC).
Common Audio Compression Pitfalls
- Transcoding Between Lossy Formats (Generation Loss): Converting a 320 kbps MP3 into a 256 kbps AAC degrades audio quality through cumulative psychoacoustic compression artifacts.
Dithering and Quantization Noise Shaping in Mastering
When converting a 24-bit studio master recording to a standard 16-bit audio file for CD or streaming distribution, simple truncation of the lower 8 bits introduces audible harmonic quantization distortion. Audio mastering engineers apply TPDF (Triangular Probability Density Function) Dither — adding a minute, imperceptible layer of randomized Gaussian noise to the lowest bit — and psychoacoustic noise-shaping filters to push quantization noise into ultrasonic frequencies above 18 kHz, preserving 110+ dB of perceived dynamic range.
Spatial Object-Based Audio (Dolby Atmos)
Unlike traditional channel-based surround sound (5.1 or 7.1), modern immersive audio formats (Dolby Atmos) encode sound as discrete 3D spatial audio objects with dynamic 3D coordinate metadata, dynamically rendering audio tracks across speaker arrays in real-time.
Lossless High-Resolution Audio Streaming Protocols
Modern high-fidelity music streaming services utilize Adaptive FLAC and ALAC streams transmitting 24-bit / 192 kHz audio at bitrates exceeding 9,216 kbps, delivering uncompressed studio master audio directly to external audiophile digital-to-analog converters (DACs).