How to Make a Ringtone from a Song Free

To make a ringtone from a song, cut out the 20-30 seconds you love, save it as its own audio file, and set it as your ringtone in your phone's settings. The free MP3 cutter does the cutting in your browser: drag the markers on the waveform, play the selection, and download. It keeps the song's original quality, and the file never leaves your device. Android can use the MP3 straight away; iPhone needs one extra step.

Pick the right part

A good ringtone is recognisable in the first second, because most calls are answered (or missed) quickly.

• Start on the hook. Skip the slow intro and start at the chorus, a famous riff or the line everyone knows.
• Keep it 20-30 seconds. Long enough to cover a typical ring, short enough to stay under iPhone's 40-second limit.
• End at a natural break, such as the end of a line or bar, so the loop doesn't jar when the phone keeps ringing.
• Avoid long quiet passages. A soft opening may be inaudible in a bag or a noisy room.

Cut the song

1. Open the free MP3 cutter and choose your song (MP3 or other audio your browser can play, up to 200 MB).
2. The song's waveform appears. Drag the start and end markers to roughly where you want the ringtone, or type exact times in Start and End (for example 1:02.5).
3. Press Play selection to hear it. Nudge the markers until it starts on the beat. The Selection box shows the length; aim for 20-30 seconds.
4. Choose how to save:
   • Cut MP3 saves the selection as an MP3, copied exactly from the original, so it sounds identical. This is the one for Android.
   • Save as WAV saves full-quality WAV and lets you add a Fade in or Fade out of 1, 2, 3 or 5 seconds. Fades only apply to WAV.
5. Press Download MP3 (or Download WAV).

A gentle 1-2 second fade-in stops a ringtone that begins mid-chorus from startling you. If you want a fade on an MP3, save as WAV with the fade and convert the WAV back to MP3 with the audio converter.

If your song isn't an MP3 (for example M4A or WAV), you can still cut it, and the selection is saved as WAV.

Set it on Android

Android phones accept MP3 ringtones directly. Exact menus differ between brands, but it usually goes like this:

1. Download the MP3 on the phone, or copy it from your computer into the phone's Ringtones or Download folder.
2. Open Settings > Sound (or Sounds and vibration) > Phone ringtone.
3. Tap Add or the + button, or choose "My sounds", and pick your file.

On some phones you can also set a ringtone for a single contact: open the contact, tap edit, and look for Ringtone.

Set it on iPhone

iPhone ringtones work differently: they must be 40 seconds or less, and they can't be set straight from a downloaded MP3. The two usual routes:

With GarageBand on the iPhone (no computer):

1. Save your cut MP3 to the Files app.
2. In GarageBand, start a new project, open the loop browser and import the file from Files.
3. Drag it onto a track, then save the project and use Share > Ringtone.
4. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone and choose it.

With a computer:

iPhone ringtones are M4R files, which hold the same AAC audio as M4A files. Convert your cut to M4A (AAC) with the audio converter, rename the file's ending from .m4a to .m4r, then add it to the iPhone through Finder on a Mac or the Apple devices app or iTunes on Windows. Apple changes these menus from time to time, so check Apple's support pages if a step looks different.

The audio converter is free for audio files up to 5 minutes, which covers any ringtone.

If the song is in a video

Got the track only as a music video or a recording on your phone? Extract the sound first with video to MP3, then cut it here. See how to extract audio from a video.

A note on rights

Making a ringtone from a song you own for your own phone is what most people do. Sharing or selling ringtones made from other people's music is a different matter, so keep your cuts for personal use.

Private and quick

The free MP3 cutter opens and cuts your audio entirely on your device. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you don't need an account. That makes it safe for private recordings too, like a child's voice or a voicemail you want to keep as a tone.

Make your ringtone

Open your song, drag the markers around the best 20-30 seconds and download it with the free MP3 cutter.