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Audacity

The best-known free, open-source audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS and Linux.

Open sourceAudio editors and DAWs
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About Audacity

Audacity is a free, open-source audio editor and recorder used by millions of people for podcasts, voice-overs, cleaning up recordings, digitising tapes and vinyl, and simple music editing. It records from microphones and other inputs, cuts and arranges clips across multiple tracks, and includes effects such as noise reduction, compression, equalisation and normalisation, with support for plugins in common formats. Since 2021 it has been maintained by Muse Group, which also runs MuseScore; the company offers optional cloud storage for projects through audio.com and the MuseHub installer, which some users dislike, though the website also provides downloads without MuseHub. Audacity 4 brought a redesigned interface. It remains free with no paid tier for the editor itself. Audacity is excellent for straightforward editing but it is not a full DAW: MIDI support is basic and mixing and automation are limited compared with tools like REAPER. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and is licensed under the GPL.

Best for: Anyone who needs a free, reliable tool to record and edit audio.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Completely free and open source
  • Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux
  • Good built-in effects for cleaning up speech
  • Huge amount of tutorials and community help

Why people leave

  • Not a full DAW: limited MIDI, mixing and automation
  • MuseHub-bundled installer and cloud upsells annoy some users
  • Destructive-feeling workflow compared with modern editors

Top Audacity alternatives

See all 6
  1. 1Tenacity logo
    Tenacity

    Community fork of Audacity without Muse Group's cloud and telemetry ties.

    66.5
  2. 2ocenaudio logo
    ocenaudio

    Free, simpler editor with real-time effect previews.

    62.6
  3. 3Adobe Audition logo
    Adobe Audition

    Professional editor with multitrack, spectral repair and podcast tools.

    59.6
  4. 4Re
    REAPER

    Full multitrack DAW for when Audacity's mixing tools run out.

    57.2
  5. 5TwistedWave logo
    TwistedWave

    Fast, polished paid editor for Mac, Windows, iOS and the browser.

    55.3

Why people left Audacity

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Audacity: common questions

Is Audacity free?

Yes. Audacity is free, open-source software.

Is Audacity open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at audacity/audacity.

What platforms does Audacity run on?

Audacity is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to Audacity?

The highest-ranked Audacity alternatives right now are Tenacity, ocenaudio and Adobe Audition. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 6 Audacity alternatives