Open source software is just plain great, and in the realm of audio editing, you’ll find no open source program more lauded than the popular Audacity. Truth be told, Audacity is useful for more things than simple audio editing. But the fact remains that Audacity isn’t loved by everyone. If you’re one of those people, be glad to know that there are plenty of alternatives available.
Not that there’s anything wrong with Audacity. I’ve used it on a number of occasions and it’s never given me trouble. If you’re happy with Audacity, then feel free to keep using it. If it does what you want it to do, then there’s no reason to switch away. But for those who are looking for something a little different, the following alternatives may impress you.
RecordForAll [Windows]
Officially, RecordForAll is no more than a podcast recording tool. It makes the entire process from recording to editing to processing very easy. However, just because it’s primarily meant to record podcasts doesn’t mean it isn’t useful in other ways.
RecordForAll can record microphones and import external audio clips. It can cut, copy, and paste within a track with a single click. It can overlay multiple layers of audio. There are even some built-in audio effects that you can use. Out of the box, RecordForAll can save in MP3, WAV, and WMA formats.
The free version of RecordForAll will place an audio watermark within your files. The full version costs $39.95.
Wavosaur [Windows]
Take one look at Wavosaur and you’ll notice that it’s very similar to Audacity–they even look alike! The feature set isn’t much different either. Wavosaur can do everything you’d expect from a typical audio editor: record sound, edit tracks, and process files. It has all the basics from cutting to pasting, looping, and even batch audio conversions.
Wavosaur is free, easy to use, and portable–no installation necessary. It’s available for Windows 98, XP, Vista, and 7.
Jokosher [Windows, Linux]
At first glance, Jokosher looks like it wouldn’t be a very powerful program. But dig a little deeper and you’ll see that it can give other free audio editors a run for their figurative money. The working environment is all integrated so it’s the perfect all-in-one audio editor for Windows or Linux.
Jokosher can record sound and voice for podcasts or audio for music, though it focuses primarily on making the music creation process easier for musicians. It can handle multiple tracks within one audio. The editing, splitting, and trimming are intuitive and it can handle a number of formats, including OGG, MP3, FLAC, and WAV.
Linux MultiMedia Studio [Windows, Linux]
Often abbreviated as LMMS, Linux MultiMedia Studio is actually a cross-platform audio editor that works on both Windows and Linux. But this program is more than just an audio editor. It aims to be a full-blown digital audio workstation along the lines of FL Studio and GarageBand.
In LMMS, you’ll have all the tools you need to create beats and melodies, synthesize sounds, and arrange samples. It’s more than just recording and editing audio–and on top of all that, it sports a user-friendly interface with intuitive controls. If you need a free audio editor that’s more powerful than Audacity, LMMS is what you want.
Traverso DAW [Windows, Mac, Linux]
Traverso DAW (digital audio workstation) is an audio recording and editing program that claims to be useful for recording anything from a single voice to a band to an entire orchestra. If you need sound or music to be edited, it promises to get the job done. It’s cross-platform, too–available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
This program has a lot of great features: clean interface, non-destructive editing, multiple track layers, unlimited action history, realtime audio processing, and best of all it’s free and open source under GPL. The website has a full user’s manual to help you get on your feet.
Ardour [Mac, Linux]
This fantastic program is a digital audio workstation that can handle tasks both small and large. It has a ton of features and could very well produce some high quality audio files depending on your skills. This is more than just an audio editor – it’s a full blown machine with a beautiful interface. Not available for Windows, unfortunately.
The best thing about Ardour? The pricing. It has no set price, instead allowing users to choose how much they’d like to pay for it. If you choose to pay nothing, there is a penalty, however. Mac users will receive a demo version that can’t save AudioUnit plugin settings. Linux users will receive the full version but won’t receive customer support.
So there you have it. Six fantastic resources that could replace Audacity, each one offering a unique set of features that are useful. If Audacity isn’t your cup of tea, then one of these should be able to meet your needs. Let us know what you think in the comments!
Image Credit: Soundwave Via Shutterstock
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My best Alternative is Goldwave.
I hadn’t heard of it but I’ll check it out. Thanks for sharing!
Aye, I’ve always used Goldwave if I needed to trim some audio. I’ll have to check out some of these other ones though!
Linux MultiMedia Studio seems really awesome. Might try it out sometime.
nice, i might try lmms
Iwas looking for recording software to use in Linux. thanks for the timely tip
Glad we could be of help. :)
I did not find any compelling reason to look for an Audacity alternative. Audacity is the best for me (and most others too).
RecordForAll costs as high as ~ $40. Whats so special about it that other free alternatives lack?
If you’re perfectly satisfied with Audacity, then don’t feel any pressure to change. Use what you like! :)
On Mac I have been using Audacity and WireTap Studio (not free) for a long time and have not found any reason to change. When looking for a free alternative for a friend I ran into Soundflower and Soundflowerbed (http://code.google.com/p/soundflower/) together with Audacity.
Not recording very much but next time I might take a look at Traverso DAW and Ardour – even if it might be a bit of overkill
Amazing. I was looking for alternatives to it too, since I am getting bored with Audacity.
If you find an alternative that you really like, let us know how it goes. :)
very nice and useful , thanks for this information
You’re welcome!
Really a good topic and good alternative topics too
** and good alternative programs too
audacity is still the best though :)
Ardour looks terrific but still I am quite used to using Audacity for making some ringtones for my phone and editing some songs.
How can you get bored with something that just works?? Audacity is just right for what it’s meant to do and that’s sound editing.
Excellent list and very good comparison. Personally, I oscillate between using Audacity (great, but a bit slow, and project files are clumsy) and Wavosaur (smaller and faster, but I find it less intuitive).
Also deserving mention is WavePad from NCH software. You can pay for it or download a free version which comes with what one may call harrass-ware, shortcuts to other NCH apps that exhort you to download (and pay) for them. These are very annoying, but it has to be said Wavepad is a very fine editor.
Harrass-ware, ha! That’s a good name. I’ll check out WavePad on your recommendation. Thanks.
Where’s Reaper? Reaper is one of the most over looked DAW’s on the market. It has a similar “you should pay for this but we’re going to allow you all the features of the program” kind of like Win RAR (little message with a countdown before you start the program). Besides that, it runs VSTs like a champ, and has a very simple and intuitive UI. Plus, it’s made by the guys who made WinAmp!
Very surprised to see that Reaper did not make this list. I’m an audio engineer and could never get used to the simplicity of Audacity. It’s not enough for someone like me who wants complete control of a multi-channel EQ without this terrible looking UI that looks like it was made in 1992. Audacity is good for what it is, but if you want a more professional DAW without shelling out a ton of money, Reaper is where you should look.
I saw Reaper in my search for Audacity alternatives, but I think I was put off by its price tag so I never checked it out. Good to know that it has an unlimited free trial, though. Being made by the guys from Winamp is a good endorsement, too. Thanks for sharing!
Verry useful, thanks!
Really appreciate the mention of RecordForAll if anyone has any questions on its functionality or if we can help in any way please let us know!
Awesome! Very awesome!
I like audacity. But is useful to know of other worthwhile alternatives which I will check up on asap. Besides although similiar in nature each has something to offer that may be useful in the future . I keep a file of such alternatives as a fallback. Plus other commentators often have valid and useful information.
I’ve used Total Recorder for about 10 years now.
Very inexpensive, simple, and very reliable (it has never failed to record anything I’ve tried it on)
It may not look as flashy as some of these other programs, but it works well for me.
This looks great
i usually use Audacity…very easy to use…fast loading…nice & simple UI.
I use Audacity to transfer vinyl to CD via a USB turntable do any of these applications have a USB capability?
Yikes! That’s a little advanced for me, so I can’t give you a guaranteed answer. You could try looking at the features pages on the more advanced alternatives, like LMMS, Traverso, and Ardour.
Awesome. Audacity is alright in terms of technical performance, but I always felt like it could be more…user-intuitive. It would have helped me get started with recording much more easily. Definitely going to try one/all of of these alternatives.
Sounds very interesting, download and now on with the tryout
Great alternatives.. They are very good to edit MP3..
nice post
Nice list. I may try some of the Linux programs. RecordForAll has been good. No advertisements. With the audio files, FeedForAll has worked well for creating podcasts.
Ardour is one of the Complex Audio Editing Tool..:-)
all I need is Audacity & HandBrake http://handbrake.fr/
https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/IsIsnt
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Audacity_Waveform
sweet :) now I’m really digging this.
good to know!10X
Soooo…These programs are either Audacity clones or provide features not available in Audacity (DAW’s, etc). Why would they be considered alternatives? If you need something to do what Audacity does, just use Audacity.
Using your definition, NOTHING would be an alternative to anything.
seems similar to audacity ….
but I hv Audacity so .. I don’t want these
On Linux you should also try Ocenaudio and Calf.
The reason I need to switch from Audacity is that it does not support virtual audio streaming. I hope one of these does! Thanks!