Why we cap uploads at five minutes per track
Every vocal-removal service picks limits. Ours: 15 MB file size, 5 minutes maximum duration per upload, plus 10 free processing minutes per day (resets midnight UTC). Not because we enjoy saying no — because unlimited everything on GPU-backed AI does not survive contact with the internet.
Compute is priced per second
SongRemoveVocals runs stem separation through Spleeter on Replicate. You pay us in minutes; we pay the cloud in GPU-seconds. A three-minute pop song and a nine-minute live jam do not cost the same to process, but users understandably expect "one upload = one job." A duration cap makes that math legible: one file, one billable chunk, predictable queue time.
Without a cap, a single user could queue a forty-minute field recording, hold a worker, and burn through the same resource pool that serves free-tier karaoke uploads. The limit is a fence around the expensive case.
Fifteen megabytes is the other fence
Upload size and duration interact. A five-minute FLAC can exceed 15 MB; a five-minute 128 kbps MP3 might be tiny. The size cap keeps storage and transfer costs bounded and nudges people toward sensible formats — see WAV vs MP3 if you are hitting the ceiling.
Abuse patterns we have seen elsewhere
Long-form uploads get used as anonymous file conversion pipes: podcast mirrors, DJ sets, scraped streams. That traffic rarely converts to paid minutes, but it always converts to infra bills. Per-track limits plus daily free minutes let us offer real tries without a credit card while keeping bots from treating us as a free transcoding farm.
What to do with longer material
- Split in a DAW or ffmpeg. Export verses and choruses as separate files under five minutes each.
- Process only the section you need. Video editors often need ninety seconds, not the full album cut.
- Buy minute packs when you batch. Packs start at $4.99, never expire, no subscription — stack them for a splitting session.
We know the cap is annoying if you are holding a seven-minute track. It is the tradeoff that keeps the free tier honest and the paid tier cheap. If your workflow is mostly long files, desktop offline tools may fit better — our comparison piece walks through online vs local options.
Related reading
- Preparing audio before upload: loudness, clipping, and the 15 MB limit
- EQ tricks after separation when the stem is not perfect
- Why vocals bleed through (even with AI separation)
- Online vocal removers compared: Moises, LALAL.AI, Vocal Remover, and SongRemoveVocals
Disclaimer: Limits may change as model pricing and abuse patterns evolve. Current caps are listed on the upload page and pricing page.