Audacity: when to install it, and when not to
Recording and cleaning up voice, trimming music, converting audio formats and assembling podcast episodes. It is light, cross-platform and has enough…
The short version
Audacity: A full multi-track audio editor for free: record, cut, remove noise, normalise, export. Ignore the 2021 ownership scare, the licence is settled and the software is fine.
| Licence / price | Free · Open source |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Category | Media, Recording & Capture — 10 programs |
| Official download | https://www.audacityteam.org/download/ ↗ |
What it is for
Recording and cleaning up voice, trimming music, converting audio formats and assembling podcast episodes. It is light, cross-platform and has enough effects to handle dialogue without a steep setup cost.
When to pick something else
It is not a multitrack recording workstation. If you need to record several microphones at once into separate tracks, or want a full mixer view, look for a digital audio workstation instead.
What independent reviewers found
We do not run lab tests or benchmarks. These summaries are written in our own words, with the publisher named and the original linked. Our citation policy explains what we will and will not reproduce.
PCMag — 2025
What the source says. PCMag's review rates Audacity highly for podcast and quick audio work, and draws a clear line at multitrack recording and a full mixer view.
What we take from it. That line is the decision. If your job is four microphones at once, no plugin turns this into a recording workstation.
Audacity review ↗ (PCMag · 2025 · Editorial product review)
How it compares in Media, Recording & Capture
These are the alternatives we would consider for the same job. The notes are the same ones used on the main list, so there is no separate ranking hiding on this page.
| Program | Licence / price | Platforms | Why it is on the list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shotcut Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | The gentler free editor: native format support, no importing step, and a flatter learning curve than Kdenlive. Pick it if you edit occasionally rather than daily. |
| Kdenlive Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | The best free video editor that can actually replace a paid one, with multi-track timelines, proxies and keyframes. Steeper than CapCut, and it will not watermark your export. |
| OBS Studio Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | The standard for screen recording and live streaming, used by everyone from Twitch streamers to university lecturers. Expect one evening of setup before it clicks. |
Practical notes
- Record a few seconds of room silence at the start so noise reduction has a sample to work from.
- Save the project before applying destructive effects, and export a separate WAV or MP3 from it.
- Check the input device in the toolbar before a long recording; laptops like to switch to the wrong microphone.
Questions people ask
Can it record a band?
It can layer separately recorded tracks, but it is not designed to record multiple inputs simultaneously as separate tracks in one session.
Where it appears in our guides
See the full Media, Recording & Capture explainer for the other 9 programs in this category.
How to read this page. How to read this page. Platform, licence and publisher details come from our directory data. Where an independent review, audit or survey is mentioned, it is summarised in our own words with the source named and linked; our /sources page sets out that policy. The recommendation, the trade-offs and every 'skip it if' line are our editorial judgement. We do not run benchmarks, publish measured performance figures or host installers, and every download link goes to the publisher's own site. If a detail is out of date, our About page explains how to tell us.