FLAC
Hacker ApprovedAudio codec in Audio
Free lossless audio format that keeps the original sound intact, which people prefer over lossy MP3 files and scratch-prone CDs.
Free lossless audio format that keeps the original sound intact, which people prefer over lossy MP3 files and scratch-prone CDs.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Keeps all original audio information
“Music needs to be preserved in a lossless format like FLAC which keeps all of the original audio information intact.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “The lost joy of music piracy” “The core benefit to me of FLAC is that it's lossless.”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “Beets: The music geek’s media organizer” “Lossless whenever possible because I just want to give the sound quality as much of a chance as I can”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “Beets: The music geek’s media organizer” Better sound than high-bitrate MP3
“using a FLAC source makes an audible difference, even compared to a high-bitrate MP3 source”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “CD Sales Growth Outpaced Vinyl in the First Half of 2026” “Lossless whenever possible because I just want to give the sound quality as much of a chance as I can”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “Beets: The music geek’s media organizer” No worry about quality loss
“I still use flacs because it's nice not worrying about the quality mattering.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “24-bit/192kHz music downloads and why they make no sense” “Lossless whenever possible because I just want to give the sound quality as much of a chance as I can”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “Beets: The music geek’s media organizer” Preferred over CDs and scratches
“so you can play those and keep the CD from getting scratched”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “50% of U.S. vinyl buyers don't own a record player” “I'd take getting FLAC directly over CDs”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “50% of U.S. vinyl buyers don't own a record player”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLACThis page | 10 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Vorbis | 7 | 2 | 78% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“then I learned about `flac -t` and was able to confirm the rot”
“using a FLAC source makes an audible difference, even compared to a high-bitrate MP3 source”
“Music needs to be preserved in a lossless format like FLAC which keeps all of the original audio information intact.”
“I still use flacs because it's nice not worrying about the quality mattering.”
“I'd take getting FLAC directly over CDs”
“so you can play those and keep the CD from getting scratched”
“It is roughly the most efficient (balancing various trade-offs) representation of sampled audio data that we can presently achieve.”
“Lossless whenever possible because I just want to give the sound quality as much of a chance as I can”
“The core benefit to me of FLAC is that it's lossless.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.