Free audio editing application that can record, remix, convert and save into many popular formats including WAV and MP3
Audacity is the premier free audio recording and editing application in the realm of freeware audio editing. It is freely distributed as open source software that anybody can use. With the removal of Windows' sound recorder, there opened up a huge need for a free audio recording solution and the team behind Audacity took up that challenge.
Audacity is able to record live audio from your microphone or other sources, covert tapes and records to mp3s or digital CDs, Edit OGG Vorbis, MP3 and Wave files (among others).
More of what Audacity can do include a long list of editing tools. You're able to cut, copy, paste, splice and mix sounds together. Changing the pitch of your voice or other recording has never been easier; Audacity has an unlimited undo and redo history, making it extremely easy to correct mistakes. This application is also a pro at editing very large files such as recordings over several hours.
Among some of the effects Audacity can apply to your sound files: you can remove static and hiss noises, alter the frequencies and apply equalization. The adjustment tools can change the volumes with the compressor, amplify and normalize effects.
In addition to the many effects and tools already built-in to Audacity, the developers have also opened the program up to plug-ins which are freely available across the Internet.
And as always, you can save your finished audio files with a range of different qualities such as editing 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit samples and create recordings of up to 96 kHz. Mixing tracks with different sampling rates is no problem: Audacity will equalize and compensate.
Overall, Audacity is an excellent tool to use for editing and recording audio files with full support for the most common audio formats including MP3 and WAV.
Features of Audacity
- Analysis: Analyze and visualize audio data with Spectrum and Waveform views.
- Editing: Record, edit, mix audio and add effects.
- Effects: Apply various effects and filters.
- Equalization: Balance frequencies with equalization tools.
- Export: Export audio in various formats.
- Labels: Add labels to audio and edit them.
- Looping: Loop audio for seamless repetition.
- Metadata: View and edit audio metadata (artist, title, etc.).
- Mixer Board: Visualize audio data and adjust levels.
- Multi-Track: Combine different audio tracks.
- Noise Removal: Reduce or remove background noise.
- Plugins: Add additional features and effects with plugins.
- Recording: Record audio from microphones, line-in and other sources.
- Vocal Removal: Remove vocals from a song and create a karaoke version.
Compatibility and License
Is Audacity free to download?
Audacity has been released under the open source GPL license on Windows from sound/audio recorders. The license provides the options to freely download, install, run and share this program without any restrictions. The source code for Audacity should be freely available and modifications are certainly permitted as well as the option to inspect the software.
Sourceforge accepts donations for the continued development of this free software.
What version of Windows can Audacity run on?
Audacity can be used on a computer running Windows 11 or Windows 10. Previous versions of the OS shouldn't be a problem with Windows 8 and Windows 7 having been tested. It comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit downloads.
Other operating systems: The latest Audacity version from 2024 is also available for Mac.
Filed under:
- Audacity Download
- Free Sound/Audio Recorders
- Open source and GPL software
- Portable Software
- Audio Editing Software
