How to Send Audio Files to a Client: WAV, MP3, or Both?

Send the format in the brief, because someone will edit, mix, or publish from it. For voice-over used in video, that’s a WAV at a set sample rate and bit depth. If a non-audio person hears it first or forwards it, add an MP3 they can play on their phone, and name both so nobody mixes them up.

This guide is about finished audio: a voice-over read, a final podcast episode, a mixed and mastered track. Sending stems or session files for more work is a different job.

Decide by who uses the file next

Who plays or uses it	Send	Why
A video editor or audio engineer	WAV, at the spec they asked for (48 kHz is the standard for video)	They’ll edit or mix it; an MP3 has already thrown data away
A podcast host or publisher	The format their hosting platform asks for	That’s what they’ll upload
A marketing lead or owner who just listens	An MP3 listening copy next to the WAV, if you attach	It’s small and plays on a phone; a link that plays in the browser can skip it
A distributor or label	Whatever their delivery spec says	Their spec wins over any general advice

If there’s no spec, ask before you export: “WAV, 48 kHz, 24-bit, mono? Dry or processed? Any peak or loudness target?” Asking once saves a second delivery.

Don’t make a WAV from an MP3 to meet a spec. The file gets bigger and doesn’t get back what the MP3 removed.

Know the size before you choose how to send

Uncompressed WAV size is fixed by the settings, not by what’s in the recording:

Format	Per minute
WAV, 48 kHz, 24-bit, mono (typical voice-over)	8.6 MB
WAV, 48 kHz, 24-bit, stereo	17.3 MB
WAV, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit, stereo (CD quality)	10.6 MB
MP3, 320 kbps	2.4 MB
MP3, 128 kbps	1 MB

A personal Gmail account takes 25 MB per email. A 60-second mono voice-over WAV attaches; a 3-minute stereo master (52 MB) or a 40-minute podcast WAV does not. Above the limit, Gmail swaps the attachment for a Google Drive link, so decide on the link yourself instead.

Name files so they explain themselves

A file name travels with the file after it’s forwarded or downloaded. Put the client, the project, what it is, and the version in it:

• HarborCafe_SpringAd_60s_VO_v2.wav
• HarborCafe_SpringAd_60s_VO_v2_alt-read.wav for an alternate take
• HarborCafe_SpringAd_60s_VO_v2_listen.mp3 for the listening copy

Follow the client’s naming convention if they gave you one. Keep “final” out of the name: the next correction makes it wrong.

Other formats: AIFF and FLAC

• AIFF is Apple’s uncompressed format, and Chrome doesn’t play it, even on a Mac. Send WAV unless AIFF was asked for.
• FLAC is smaller than WAV with no quality loss and plays in current browsers, but some editing tools and clients don’t expect it. Use it when it’s asked for.

Choose how to send it

• Attach it when it fits: a 60-second mono WAV plus its MP3 is about 11 MB.
• Google Drive or Dropbox when it’s bigger. Share the files, not your working folder, set the link so anyone who has it can view, and open it signed out before sending.
• WeTransfer for a one-time download of a big package. Free transfers stay up for up to 3 days, so it’s not where your client can find the files next month.
• A marketplace’s own delivery, if the job came through one. Voices.com, for example, delivers files through the job so the client can accept them and release payment.
• A link that plays in the browser and has a Download button, when a non-audio person needs to listen on their phone and pass the WAV on. That’s what Litehost does; see the end of this page.

Whatever you use, open the link on your phone, press play, and download the WAV to check it arrives whole and with the right name.

Example: a café ad voice-over

An illustrative example.

Maya records voice-overs from a home studio. She’s finished a 60-second ad read for a café chain. The marketing lead, Priya, listens on her phone between meetings and forwards the audio to the video editor cutting the social ad. The editor asked for WAV, 48 kHz, 24-bit, mono, dry.

Her delivery:

• HarborCafe_SpringAd_60s_VO_v2.wav, 8.6 MB, for the editor;
• HarborCafe_SpringAd_60s_VO_v2_listen.mp3, 320 kbps, 2.4 MB, for Priya.

If she attaches both: 11 MB fits in one email. Priya plays the MP3 on her phone and forwards the email, so the editor gets the WAV. For a single ad, that’s the simplest option.

If she sends a link instead: a link that plays in the browser needs no MP3. The WAV plays on Priya’s phone from the page, and the editor downloads the same file from it. Maya would switch to one link per ad when the café adds the two more ads it has planned, so Priya has one link for each ad instead of searching old emails.

Her choice: attach for this one ad, links once there are several. The cost of the links: a service to pay for. The cost of attaching: three ads means three emails for Priya to find later.

Where Litehost fits

Litehost gives you a link to finished audio that is separate from your working drive.

• A single audio file opens in a player, with play, 10-second skip back and forward, and a Download button, and your client doesn’t need an account to open a public link. Put each file you want played in its own project.
• Litehost serves the file as you uploaded it and doesn’t convert it, so the editor downloads the exact WAV you exported.
• The Download button names the file after the project, so give the project the file’s name, such as HarborCafe_SpringAd_60s_VO_v2.
• Plans: a new account gets Pro free for 7 days, with no card. After that, the Free plan holds one project of up to 5 MB, online while it’s opened at least once every 90 days: enough for Maya’s MP3, not her WAV. Starter, currently $8 a month, holds 500 MB across up to 5 projects. One link per ad, WAV included, needs Starter.
• Try it first: drop a short MP3 into the box at the end of this page (up to 2 MB, about 50 seconds at 320 kbps) and open the link on your phone. That quick link lasts about 15 minutes unless you sign in to keep it.

You don’t need Litehost if an attachment fits, if the job came through a marketplace that handles delivery, or if the client’s engineer already gave you an upload folder. It’s also not a review tool: if your client still needs to comment on the mix, use a tool built for feedback until it’s final.

Before you send

• Format, sample rate, bit depth, and processing match the brief, or you asked.
• A listening MP3 goes with an attachment if a non-audio person will play it first.
• File names say client, project, what it is, and version.
• The link plays on your phone, and the download arrives whole, with the right name.
• Your message says which file is for whom.