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

Changes

  • #6233 #7397 #6900 Improved Linux compatibility.
  • #6702 Improved contrast in the light theme.
  • #7008 MP3 exports: Renamed "Insane" to "Excessive".
  • #7570 #7452 Improved non-standard character handling for cloud saving.
  • #7486 Renamed "Split cut/delete" to "Cut/delete and leave gap".
  • #7293 Pasting clips no longer moves clips on other tracks if "editing clips can move other clips" is enabled.
  • #7312 #7382 Fixed database compacting not working properly sometimes.
  • #6851 Improved startup speed on systems with many audio devices.
  • #7186 Multi view: Fixed the hitbox of the x being misaligned with the visuals. (Thanks, Kurtsley)
  • #7468 macOS: Fixed VST presets path.
  • #7571 Adding, removing, replacing and reordering of effects now is undoable.
  • #7573 Closing a project upon turning a realtime effect stack on and off doesn't crash Audacity anymore.
  • #7610 Canceling a stereo track mid-operation no longer crashes Audacity.
  • #7385 Importing Opus files using libopus no longer shifts the audio data.

Supported Platforms

Windows

  • Audacity 3.7 is tested on Windows 10 & 11
  • Windows Vista, 7 and 8.1 may still work, but are no longer tested. We are not actively supporting these versions anymore, but still accept patches which improve compatibility with these versions.

macOS / Mac OS X

  • Audacity 3.7 is tested on macOS 14
  • Older macOS versions down to OS X 10.9 may still work, but is no longer tested. We are not actively supporting OSX versions anymore, but still accept patches which improve compatibility with these versions.
  • The Universal Binary may not work on various OSX versions. Use the Intel (x86_64) installer instead.

Linux

  • Linux support is tested with AppImages on Ubuntu 24.04.
  • Other Linux distributions should work, but aren't tested by the Audacity team.
  • On some distributions, libfuse2 needs to be installed for AppImages to work. See https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/wiki/FUSE for more information.
  • Community-maintained distro-specific versions and other repackages (such as Flatpak) are often available, too.