Audacity is a free and open source audio software for multi-track recording and editing. It can record live audio through a microphone, mixer, or digitize recordings from other media. With some sound cards, and on any recent version of Windows, Audacity can also capture streaming audio.

Import sound files, edit them, and combine them with other files or new recordings. Export your recordings in several common file formats.

Is Audacity suitable for recording a podcast?

Yes, Audacity features a large number of effects and preset EQ curves with real time preview. It also lets you import and export WAV, AIFF, AU, FLAC, and MP3 natively. In addition, an auto-duck feature lets you mix different audio tracks or voiceovers for recording a proper podcast.

Is Audacity safe to use?

Audacity is free and open-source software that's been around for many years, so yes, it's safe to use. There was some controversy in 2021 after the company was acquired by Muse Group and changes were made to the program's privacy policy, but thankfully the community's protests got Audacity back on track.

Does Audacity work on Android or iOS?

No, Audacity is not available for Android or iOS, but WavePad offers similar functionality and is available on mobile for free.

What are the best Audacity features?

Audacity packs several features for recording and editing different type of audio files such as:

  • 100+ sound effects.
  • Support for 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit audio files
  • Simple audio compressor
  • A built-in mixer
  • Plot Spectrum window for detailed frequency analysis
  • Batch processes for tuning up several audio files at once

What are the best Audacity alternatives?

WavePad and ocenaudio are well known alternatives for recording and editing audio files.

Is Audacity free?

Yes, Audacity is free and open-source. You can use this software for any personal or commercial purpose.

Features

Recording

  • Audacity can record live audio through a microphone or mixer, or digitize recordings from other media.

Export / Import

  • Import, edit, and combine sound files. Export your recordings in many different file formats, including multiple files at once.

Sound Quality

  • Supports 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit. Sample rates and formats are converted using high-quality resampling and dithering.

Plug-ins

  • Support for LADSPA, LV2, Nyquist, VST and Audio Unit effect plug-ins. Effects can be easily modified in a text editor - or you can even write your own plug-in.

Editing

  • Easy editing with Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete. Also unlimited sequential Undo (and Redo) in the session to go back any number of steps.

Effects

  • Real-time preview of LADSPA, LV2, VST and Audio Unit (macOS) effects. Plug-in Manager handles plug-in installation and addition/removal of effects and generators from the menus.

Accessibility

  • Tracks and selections can be fully manipulated using the keyboard. Large range of keyboard shortcuts.

Analysis

  • Spectrogram view mode for visualizing and selecting frequencies. Plot Spectrum window for detailed frequency analysis. Support for Vamp analysis plug-ins.

What's New

This is a patch release. It fixes the following bug:

  • #7266 Fixed a crash when exiting Audacity. (Thanks, Joe Souza!)

Previous Release Notes:

This is a patch release. It adds a "Legacy" effects section containing the old Limiter, Compressor and Classic Filters.

It also fixes the following bugs:

  • #6995 Fixed a hang after undoing.
  • #6912 Fixed the zero line going missing.
  • #6927 Fixed envelope appearance for clips offset from 0.
  • #6955 Fixed Audacity turning white on some systems.
  • #6857 Fixed the pitch indicator disappearing on Linux when hitting double digits.
  • #6941 Fixed cutting not putting clips into the clipboard.
  • #6926 Fixed pasting sometimes resetting the clip name.
  • #6751 Fixed the track header UI breaking when resizing channels in a stereo track.
  • #6847, #6846 Fixed LV2 plugin detection on macOS and Windows.
  • #3679 Fixed Labeled Audio operations.
  • #6924, #6989 Fixed Cloud projects sometimes not opening.
  • #7060 Fixed a bug regarding stereo-to-mono splitting.
  • #7055 Fixed a bug causing tracks with master effects sometimes only exporting silence.
  • #7025, #7133 Fixed multi-channel OGG and Wavpack import.
  • #7018 Fixed a crash after recording long sessions.
  • #7126 Fixed a crash when failing to load a cloud project.
  • #7093 Fixed Audacity maxing out the CPU when minimized.
  • #7124 Fixed the "editing clips can move other clips" preference desynchronizing multiple tracks.

Other changes:

  • #6736 The time track range now is a single dialog.
  • #6929 Reverted the behavior of selection change when importing a clip to the previous behavior.