FileZigZag is a free audio converter tool that does not require you to download any software. The upside of using an online converter tool like FileZigZag, aside from it being free, is that you can use it on any computer and from anywhere you have access to the internet. The downside is it’s extremely slow and can only convert one file at a time. If you just need to convert a couple small audio files infrequently, then FileZigZag might be a good option for you.
This tool can convert audio, video and document files. Unlike Audials Tunebite Platinum, you can only upload and convert one file at a time, and the source media file must be smaller than 2GB. You are also limited to converting only one file over 180MB per day, though you can get around this daily limit by sending the converted files to different email addresses.
You can upload and convert an unlimited number of files that are less than 180MB, but you need to set aside a large chunk of free time if you plan on using FileZigZag to convert lots of files. During our testing, it took almost four minutes to convert one 32MB audio file to MP3. That is 30 times slower than the fastest converter software in our buying guide.
After you upload your audio file in the FileZigZag server, you can choose from 15 different output formats. All the popular audio formats, such as WAV, MP3, AIFF and FLAC, are available. When the process is complete, FileZigZag emails you a link to your converted file. You can also click on the link given to you on the website when the conversion has finalized.
The same size restrictions apply to video files. You can choose between 15 different video output formats including AVI, MOV and WMV. However, this converter tool can’t extract audio from video files.
FileZigZag’s site also has a free file compression tool. If you have a large audio or video file you need to send via email, this tool can convert it to a much smaller ZIP file. Keep in mind that the recipient needs to have an unzipping tool to decompress the file into a useable format.
FileZigZag offers its file conversion service free of charge, but there are major limitations compared to the for-pay converter programs in our buying guide. You can only convert one file at a time, and if your original file is larger than 180MB, you need to plan on potentially waiting for hours to access the converted file. However, it’s free, and you don’t need to download any software to use it.
