WAV vs OGG vs MP3: Which Audio Format Should Your Game Use?

When you download a sound effect you usually get to choose between WAV, OGG and MP3. The right choice depends on how long the sound is, whether it loops, and which engine you use. Here’s the short version, then the details.

The short answer

• WAV for short sound effects and anything you’ll still edit. It’s lossless and every engine imports it.
• OGG for long loops (ambience, music beds) and when build size matters, especially in Godot.
• MP3 for previews, web pages and sharing. It’s the least suited to looping in games.

WAV: the safe default

WAV stores uncompressed audio, so nothing is lost. That makes it the best format to keep as your master copy and the best format to import into an engine, because the engine can then compress it however you choose in its import settings. Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, GameMaker and every audio tool read WAV.

The downside is size: about 10 MB per minute of stereo audio at 44.1 kHz. For a half-second UI click that’s irrelevant, which is why WAV is the right choice for most sound effects.

OGG Vorbis: small files that loop cleanly

OGG Vorbis is a compressed, open format. At typical quality settings it’s roughly a tenth of the size of WAV with little audible difference for sound effects. It’s widely used for game audio because it’s free of licensing issues and loops well.

Godot imports OGG directly as an Ogg Vorbis stream with a loop option. Unity accepts OGG files too, though it re-encodes every clip according to its own compression settings anyway. For Unreal, importing WAV is the most reliable route.

MP3: fine for listening, awkward for loops

MP3 is the most compatible format for people, not for game engines. The way MP3 encoders pad the start and end of a file can add a tiny gap, so a loop exported as MP3 may click at the seam. Use MP3 to send a sound to a teammate, put it on a web page, or preview it on your phone; use WAV or OGG in the game.

Comparison

• Quality: WAV lossless; OGG and MP3 lossy (very good at normal bitrates).
• Size: WAV largest; OGG and MP3 roughly 5–10× smaller.
• Seamless loops: WAV and OGG good; MP3 can leave a gap.
• Editing again later: WAV best, since re-encoding lossy files loses a little quality each time.

Engine-by-engine recommendation

• Unity: import WAV and let Unity compress it (Vorbis or ADPCM) in the AudioClip import settings. See how to import sound effects into Unity.
• Godot: WAV for short effects, OGG for loops and long sounds. See how to import sound effects into Godot.
• Unreal Engine: WAV.
• Web games (Phaser and others): OGG or MP3 to keep downloads small; provide both if you need to support every browser.

What about sample rate and bit depth?

44.1 kHz or 48 kHz at 16-bit is plenty for game sound effects. Higher settings mostly make files bigger. Many short effects can also be mono: a footstep or a click doesn’t need stereo, and engines position 3D sounds from mono sources anyway.

How SFX Loom handles formats

Every sound you generate is kept in its original form, and trimmed versions are stored losslessly. When you download, you pick WAV, OGG or MP3 and the file is converted at that moment, so you can export the same sound in all three without any quality being lost along the way. Try it free.