Best Audio Editing Software of 2024 (2024)

Best Audio Editing Software

Best Audio Editing Software

We picked Audacity for best overall because it comes loaded with professional-level editing options and is available for free.

Audacity is our pick for best overall audio editing software because it is a full-featured software with multi-track editing features and cross-platform support for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It’s great for a variety of audio editing projects, including podcasts.

Best of all, it’s completely free. That makes it great for beginners and at-home users, even if it may be complicated from them. But don’t let the price tag fool you. It works very well for professional needs, particularly if you customize your interface with plugins suited to your specific projects.

Audacity is developed as open-source software. Any volunteer developers can contribute to the Audacity project. That means you may not get quite as much visual polish as with paid software, but all essential tools work very well. You can also download plugins to add more features, effects, import and export options, and other goodies.

We like GarageBand because it is beginner-friendly and free for Mac users. If you own a Mac, it may already be installed and ready to go.

GarageBand is a free audio editing program for macOS laptop and desktop computers. It is the best free audio editor because, among free editors, it is one of the best-looking choices, comes with a solid list of effects and instruments for creating new music, and integrates deeply with the Mac ecosystem, which makes sense because it’s made by Apple. It may be preinstalled on your Mac computer, or you can get it for free from the Apple App Store.

GarageBand includes features to record, edit, and create music and other audio. Podcasters may find it to be an easy option to start recording right away. At the same time, musicians can build more complex, multi-layer audio projects with plenty of useful effects and instrument generators.

It should handle many professional projects, but some pros may find the features a bit light. If you have a Mac, it’s worth starting with GarageBand first to see if it works for your project before shelling out money for a paid audio editor.

Adobe Audition is a powerful audio editor for Windows and Mac that’s great for improving audio quality, mixing, and mastering.

Adobe Audition is a professional-grade audio editing software from a well-known name in media production. Available on its own or as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, Audition is regularly used by professionals in the radio, television, and movie industries. It is our pick as best for live music because it does an excellent job recording multiple channels simultaneously from multiple inputs with excellent post-recording production tools.

While it’s not cheap, it includes tools to reduce background noise, mix and master recordings, and add effects to make your sound pop. It’s good for a wide range of uses, including live music recordings, where the noise reduction and mastering tools come in extremely handy.

You can try Audition for free for seven days before paying for a subscription. Standard pricing is $20.99 per month on its own or $54.99 per month when bundled with other Adobe Creative Cloud apps. Students and teachers can get Creative Cloud for $19.99 per month.

We picked Hindenburg Pro because it includes tools to improve vocal audio and interviews for radio and podcasting.

Hindenburg Pro wins as best for podcasts because it includes tools to quickly cut and re-arrange recordings into a narrative format. If you want to create journalistic shows like those from NPR, Gimlet, and Serial, you should know about Hindenburg Pro. This app has too many features to list everything here, but it is made just for this type of show, with advanced tools to normalize and clean up spoken word interviews, multi-track editing, chapters, and more. That makes it perfect for any podcaster or audio journalist.

Some standout features include the automatic leveling and “Magic Levels” tools that auto-fix mixing problems and balance your audio for a great listening experience. In addition, you can record multiple tracks at once or import and merge files at will.

You can buy Hindenburg Pro for a one-time $399 payment or one of two subscription plans. If you are on a budget, consider the lower-cost (and lower-featured) Hindenburg Lite for $99. You can try it free for one month before committing.

Ableton Live is a good choice for DJs, electronic dance music (EDM) producers, bands, singers, and songwriters who want to record or create music with a plethora of editing tools and effects.

Ableton Live is a standard for music creators and producers. We picked it as best for music production because it includes customized tools for creating new instrument sounds and loops and it works for live performance recording and studio creations. Whether you’re a singer-songwriter looking for a warm-sounding finish or a DJ looking to create a thumper to blow away the dance floor, Ableton’s audio production tools have your needs covered.

The Standard version supports up to 256 input and output channels, MIDI production and editing, and other advanced features. Depending on the version you choose, you can tap into up to 5,000+ sounds, 17 software instruments, 60 audio effects, and 16 MIDI effects. That’s a lot of power to alter, edit, and refine your music project.

The biggest downside is cost. The lightweight Intro version costs $99, the Standard version costs $449, and the Suite version costs $749. However, if you’re a professional, that’s a small price to pay for a top-level suite of pro audio editing features.

We chose Pro Tools because it features leading technologies to create, edit, produce, mix, master, and deliver professional-quality music recordings.

Pro Tools is a longtime leader in audio production for serious pros. We chose it as best for professionals because it includes extensive editing and production tools to help you create, edit, produce, mix, master, and export high-quality audio suitable for a Hollywood movie or professional studio album.

Beginner and intermediate users may enjoy trying the lower and mid-tier versions Pro Tools Artist and Pro Tools Studio, but there’s little surprise that the best Pro Tools has to offer comes from the high-end Pro Tools Flex version. That comes with the highest limits, most functions, and native integrations with Pro Tools hardware.

Pro Tools Artist comes in at an affordable $9.99 per month. Pro Tools Studio jumps to $29.99 per month. The top of the line Pro Tools Flex costs $99.99 per month.

We picked Logic Pro because it delivers one of the highest-quality audio editing experiences for Mac, with powerful editing tools and seamless macOS integration.

For die-hard Mac users, Logic Pro may be the best audio editor available. This DAW includes powerful features and is extendable to support a huge list of plug-ins, effects, and sounds. Whether you’re a DJ working on a remix or want to create a high-quality recording from scratch, Logic Pro has the tools you need.

The low-latency app allows you to edit audio on the fly. Once installed, you have access to dozens of plug-ins, including a wide array of effects and 1,200 sampled instruments. It also includes more than 14,000 loops. There is so much in Logic Pro that it’s unlikely one person would use everything, but just about any audio editing and mixing need is covered.

Logic Pro costs $199.99 from the Apple App Store. You can download and try it with a 90-day free trial before paying.

We like AudioLab as best for Android because it includes high-end tools to trim and mix audio for your Android smartphone or tablet.

If you want to cut or mix audio away from home quickly, the freemium AudioLab app for Android is a solid option. We picked it as best for Android devices because it enables you to trim, mix, merge, tag, convert, normalize, change speed, remove silence, and use many other features without paying.

It’s not nearly as powerful as many of the desktop apps discussed above, but it’s pretty good for a smartphone-based editor. You likely won’t want to use this for professional use, but it’s great for things like ringtones, social media, and basic edits.

You can download AudioLab and start for free. The upgraded features will cost between $1.99 and $12.99. AudioLab is also available at no extra charge as part of the Google Play Pass subscription.