Audio waveform generator
Got an audio file and need a picture of its waveform? Drop it in here and save it as a PNG or SVG. Don't worry, your file is not uploaded.
Layout
Look
How to use it
- First add your audio. You can drag it into the box or click it to find the file on your computer. MP3, WAV and M4A always work, OGG and FLAC work in most browsers.
- Next up is the style. I added three: bars, mirrored bars and a line. Just click through them and see which one fits your design best.
- Now play around with the colors. Tip: if the waveform is going on top of a photo or cover art, choose a transparent background.
- Last thing is the size. There are a few presets, or you type in your own width and height. Hit download and you're done!
What a waveform image shows
A waveform is a graph of your audio. Think of it as a picture of how loud your recording is from start to finish. Where the bars are low the audio is quiet, and where they are high it's loud. So if you start with a soft intro you'll see small bars, and a laugh or a drum will stick out right away.
A small detail I care about: for each bar the tool looks at the loudest moment and not the average. With an average you lose all those little peaks, and the peaks are exactly what makes the waveform look like your audio.
PNG or SVG
Not sure which one to download? Here's the short version. A PNG is a regular image file in the size you picked, perfect for Instagram, Twitter or a website that only takes images.
SVG is a bit different because it's made of shapes instead of pixels. You can make it as big as you like and it will never get blurry, and you can open it in Figma, Illustrator or Inkscape to change the colors later on. Printing it on a poster or a t-shirt? Then you want the SVG.
Where podcasters use them
You'll see waveforms on episode thumbnails, at the top of show notes, on quote cards and on a lot of merch. Something I like is a waveform of a guest's best line next to the quote on Instagram. For that a still image works great. But if you want the bars to move with your audio, you need a video, and that's what Vokal is for.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Is my audio uploaded anywhere?
Nope! Everything happens in your browser with the Web Audio API. Your file is never sent to Vokal or to anyone else.
Why does my waveform look like a solid block?
This happens a lot with music, because most songs are mastered to be loud from beginning to end. So every bar hits the top. The line style usually looks better for songs. You can also make the gap between the bars bigger, or cut a shorter piece of the song first.
Can I make a waveform from a YouTube link?
Sorry, that won't work here, you need the audio file itself. Download the audio first and then drop it in the box.
What size should I use for Instagram?
For a post in your feed, pick the square one (1080 x 1080). For stories or reels you want the story size, which is 1080 x 1920.
Can I make an animated waveform video?
You can, but not with this tool. That's what Vokal itself is for. You upload your audio, choose one of the waveform animations and a template, and you get an MP4 for the platform you post on. You can try it for free.
Ready to make
your first video?
