Convert FLAC to APE — Batch Lossless Audio Converter for Windows

You have a FLAC library and a piece of audio software, hardware player, or workflow that only reads APE (Monkey's Audio). Re-encoding to a lossy format would lose quality. Total Audio Converter converts FLAC to APE in batch with both formats fully lossless — the audio data is identical, only the container and compression algorithm change. Tags, cover art, and track structure are preserved.

What Total Audio Converter Does for FLAC→APE

• Lossless to lossless — the APE output contains exactly the same audio samples as the FLAC source, no quality loss
• Batch mode — convert hundreds or thousands of files in one run, no manual per-file work
• Tag preservation — Vorbis Comments from FLAC are mapped to APEv2 tags (artist, album, track, year, genre, custom fields)
• Cover art — embedded album art is carried over to the APE file
• Compression control — choose Fast, Normal, High, Extra High, or Insane compression to balance file size against encode/decode CPU cost
• Folder structure preserved — convert a whole music library and keep the artist/album folder hierarchy intact
• Command line included — run conversions from a script or scheduled task without opening the GUI
• 30-day free trial — full functionality, no email or credit card required

Windows 7/8/10/11

FLAC vs APE: What Is the Difference?

FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is the most widely supported lossless format. It is open source, royalty-free, and decoded by virtually every modern player — foobar2000, VLC, Winamp, iTunes (via plugin), Plex, and most home audio receivers and network players. FLAC is also designed for streaming, with fast seek times and low CPU cost on decode.

APE (Monkey's Audio) is also lossless, but optimized for tighter compression rather than playback efficiency. APE files are typically a few percent smaller than FLAC at equivalent settings, but encoding and decoding cost more CPU. Hardware support is narrow — APE is mostly a Windows desktop format. Where FLAC dominates streaming and consumer hardware, APE has a long history with archivists who care about every megabyte of disk space.

How to Convert FLAC to APE

Step 1. Install Total Audio Converter

Download the installer from the link above and run it. Setup takes under a minute. No additional codecs, no Microsoft .NET prerequisites, no online activation. Total Audio Converter ships with its own FLAC decoder and APE encoder.

Step 2. Browse to Your FLAC Files

The left panel shows a Windows-style file tree. Navigate to the folder that holds your FLAC files. Tick individual files, a whole folder, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A to select everything in the current view. The middle panel previews ID3/Vorbis tags so you can verify that the right tracks are queued.

Step 3. Click APE on the Toolbar

The output-format toolbar lists every supported format. Clicking APE opens the conversion wizard with APE-specific options. The other formats (MP3, OGG, WAV, AAC, OPUS, FLAC, etc.) work the same way — the same batch and tag handling regardless of target format.

Step 4. Pick a Compression Level

APE offers five compression levels:

• Fast — smallest CPU cost, largest file
• Normal — the default, good balance
• High — recommended for archival
• Extra High — smaller files, noticeably slower decode
• Insane — smallest files, slow decode (use only for long-term archive)

For a music library you actually play, stick with Normal or High. For a backup that lives on disk untouched, Extra High pays back the extra encode time.

Step 5. Choose Output Folder and Tag Handling

Pick an output folder. The default is "next to source" — each APE lands in the same folder as its FLAC source. To mirror your library somewhere else (an external drive, a NAS), pick a base output folder and enable "Preserve folder structure". Tag handling is automatic: Vorbis Comments map to APEv2 tags, and embedded cover art carries over.

Step 6. Start the Batch

Click Start. Total Audio Converter processes every queued file. A progress bar shows the current file, the remaining count, and the elapsed time. You can pause or stop at any moment. When the batch finishes, a log file lists every conversion and any warnings (rare — usually a malformed source file).

Command-Line Conversion

The same converter runs from the command line. This lets you script library-wide conversions, schedule them with Windows Task Scheduler, or wire them into a server-side workflow.

TotalAudioConverter.exe "C:\Music\FLAC\*.flac" "C:\Music\APE\" -c APE -log c:\Logs\flac2ape.log

The first argument is the source mask, the second is the output folder. The -c APE flag selects the target format. The -log flag writes a conversion log so you can verify results without watching the console.

Save the command in a .bat file:

@echo off
"C:\Program Files\CoolUtils\TotalAudioConverter\TotalAudioConverter.exe" "D:\Music\FLAC\*.flac" "D:\Music\APE\" -c APE -log D:\Logs\flac2ape.log

Schedule it with Task Scheduler to convert newly-ripped FLAC files every night, or trigger it from a watch-folder service when files arrive.

Why Use Total Audio Converter

True Batch Processing

Our online Audio Converter handles single files in the browser. For a library, Total Audio Converter loads thousands of FLAC files into a single queue and processes them unattended. Convert a 500-album library in one run.

Tags and Cover Art Preserved

Many converters strip tags or copy only a subset. Total Audio Converter maps every Vorbis Comment field to APEv2, including custom fields, replay gain, and embedded album art. Your library metadata survives the conversion.

Privacy

Files never leave your machine. Online converters require uploading every track to a third-party server — impractical for a library, and a privacy concern even for a single file. Total Audio Converter does all the work locally.

One Tool, 30+ Formats

The same install converts MP3, WAV, OGG, AAC, AC3, OPUS, FLAC, WMA, ALAC, AIFF, M4A, MPC, MP4, AMR, GSM, and more — in any direction. Today FLAC to APE, tomorrow FLAC to MP3 for a phone, the next day APE to WAV for editing.

CD Ripping

If your FLAC library started as audio CDs, Total Audio Converter can rip new CDs straight to APE (or any format). Built-in CDDB lookup pulls track names and album info automatically.

Predictable Pricing

Personal license from $24.90, perpetual. No subscription, no monthly fee, no feature gating. Buy once, use forever, on as many of your own machines as the license tier covers.

Online Converters vs Total Audio Converter

When You Need FLAC to APE Conversion

• Migrating to a Monkey's Audio workflow. Some Windows audio editors, DJ tools, and tagging utilities natively support APE but not FLAC. Converting your library once removes the friction.
• Archival storage with maximum compression. APE in Extra High or Insane mode produces noticeably smaller files than equivalent FLAC. Over a 10,000-track library, the savings add up.
• Compatibility with legacy hardware or software. Older Windows-only audio players, certain car-audio head units, and discontinued media servers may read APE but not modern FLAC. Conversion buys you compatibility without losing quality.
• Standardizing a mixed library. A library that contains both FLAC and APE is awkward to manage. Picking one format and converting the rest gives you a uniform library.
• Preparing for an audio editing workflow. Some DAWs and editors prefer APE input. Pre-converting in batch is faster and more predictable than format-converting on import.

Windows 7/8/10/11 • Command line included

Total Audio Converter Customer Reviews 2026

Rate ItRated 4.7/5 based on customer reviews