14 Best Audio Editing Software for 2023 (Free and Paid)

Audio content, such as podcasts and audiobooks, is super popular because listeners can consume it while attending to other tasks. Unlike videos and blog posts, they don’t require your undivided attention.

More people are creating new podcasts and audio versions of blog posts and ebooks. The competition in the audio content space is immense. One way to stand out in the game is to create crisp and clear audio content that your listeners won’t turn off. For professional audio that viewers can trust, using the best audio editing software is critical. 

There are hundreds of audio editing tools out there and it’s easy to get lost in the noise. To make it easy for you to find the right one, I’ve listed some of the top free and paid audio editing tools below.

The Best Audio Editing Software

1. BounceCast

Source: Bouncecast

BounceCast is an intelligent audio app. You can use it to record, enhance, and trim plain audio and video audio on both desktop and mobile. It offers some powerful automation features to save you time.

Key features

• Allows you to record and trim audio on both desktop and mobile devices
• Analyzes audio in real-time to find fluctuations in loudness and automatically corrects them
• Smart enhancement feature intelligently applies peak limiting, transparent compression, and de-essing
• Interactive guidance ensures that you get the recording and trimming right every time

Potential drawbacks

• The audio editing features may be limited for certain users. Currently, it’s more of a recorder and trimmer than an editor.

Best suited for: Podcast and video content creators who want professional audio quality in their preferred format – fast

Pricing: Free plan available. There’s one paid plan that costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year. But you can get the lifetime deal on AppSumo for a one-time payment of just $49.

2. Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition is a complete audio editing workstation. You can use it to edit, clean up, and restore audio and audio in videos with high precision. It’s pretty advanced compared to a lot of other audio editing tools.

Key features

• Use it to edit audio for content such as movies, podcasts, music, and television
• Offers access to 12,000 free sound effects to enhance the audio experience
• Use the spectral frequency display to accurately eliminate white noise, such as hisses and beeps
• Integrates with Adobe Premiere Pro to simplify video editing

Potential drawbacks

• Requires a learning curve to understand all features
• It’s expensive if you go with Creative Cloud

Best suited for: Professional video editors and podcast creators looking for a full scope of features

Pricing: 7-day free trial available. After that, it’s $20.99 per month. To access other tools like Premiere Pro and Premiere Rush, you’ll need Creative Cloud, which costs $52.99 per month. This plan also provides access to other Adobe tools, like Illustrator and Photoshop.

3. Audacity

Audacity is a very popular audio recording and editing software. It has over 100 million downloads. It’s mainly popular because it’s free and open source. 

Key features

• Completely free to use, but you can donate if you’d like
• Works on Windows, Mac, and Linux
• Straightforward cut, copy, paste, and delete features make it easy to edit audio
• Scrubbing and seeking features help you quickly find spots to edit

Potential drawbacks

• Requires a learning curve to understand all features
• There’s no direct support since it’s free and open source. To answer your questions, you can use the FAQs page, wiki, or the Audacity forum.

Best suited for: Podcast and video content creators looking for a reliable, free solution

Pricing: Free

4. Ableton Live

Ableton Live is a well known audio editor. Most people use it to edit and enhance music. Ableton also offers a hardware instrument called Push, which integrates with Live. Together, they can help you create beautiful music.

Key features

• It has a ton of features, but it’s still easy to use—you can figure it out in a day
• 59 audio effects and 15 MIDI effects
• Offers a library of 5,000+ sounds that you can add to your music
• Connect up to 17 software instruments

Potential drawbacks

• It’s expensive compared to a lot of the tools on this list
• You need a high-performance computer to use it properly. If your computer is slow, you won’t have a great experience.

Best suited for: Anyone who wants to make or edit music in an intuitive way

Pricing: You can use Live for 90 days for free. Plans go for $99, $449, and $599 per month.

5. Ocenaudio

Oceanaudio is another free audio editing software. It’s straightforward and easy to use, and it works on multiple devices. 

Key features

• Free and easy to use—you can figure it out in just a few hours
• Works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Features on all three operating systems are consistent, which makes editing on multiple devices easy.
• Apply effects such as EQ, filtering, and gain and preview them in real-time

Potential drawbacks

• It’s simple… too simple. If you need advanced features, you may have to look elsewhere.
• Supports only single stereo speakers and multitrack editing isn’t possible

Best suited for: Making quick and simple edits on the fly

Pricing: Free, but donations welcome

6. Acoustica

Acoustica, from Acon Digital, is an audio editing and restoration tool. It works on both PC and Mac, and it’s got a lot of plugins that offer editing workflows.

Key features

• Anyone can use it to edit the audio on videos quickly. You don’t need to spend much time trying to understand it.
• Integrates with Acon Digital plugins, such as Equalize, Vertebrate, and Mastering Suite, to simplify editing further
• Includes audio restoration tools to help you get rid of clips, crackles, and background noises
• Buy the software and use it forever—no subscription here. You can purchase upgrades if you need them.

Potential drawbacks

• Plugins cost extra

Best suited for: Editing podcasts and other audio content quickly for a one-time fee

Pricing: There’s no free plan, but you can sign up for a 30-day trial. Plans go for $59.90 (Standard) and $199.90 (Premium). Upgrades cost extra.

7. WaveLab 

WaveLab is a mastering and editing tool. This one tool includes all the features for editing professional quality audio.

Key features

• Offers both destructive and non-destructive editing
• Quickly removes unwanted noises with high-resolution spectral editing
• Integrates with WaveLab plugins and other third-party plugins
• Includes a range of meters like peak levels, phase, loudness errors, and bits
• Restoration tools help improve recordings

Potential drawbacks

• It’s slightly pricey, especially when you factor in upgrades

Best suited for: Editing music.

Pricing: You can sign up for a 30-day trial. The price ranges from $99 to $507.98, but updates cost extra.

Discounts are available for students and universities.

8. TwisterWave

TwisterWave is an audio editing software for Mac. It also has a web version and an iPhone/iPad version. You can even use it for mastering.

Key features

• You can use it for recording on top of editing. Place markers while recording to remember where to edit.
• Includes a silence detector that helps split audio files into different parts
• Batch processing features allow you to work on multiple files quickly
• Super easy to use

Potential drawbacks

• Software and apps are only available for Mac and iPad/iPhone, respectively. But you can use the online version for PC.
• There’s no all-inclusive price. You have to pay a separate fee for the software, app, and web versions.

Best suited for: Podcasters who use Mac and/or iPhone and want recording and editing features

Pricing: There’s a 30-day trial available. The Mac software costs $79.90, while the iOS app is $9. The online version has a free plan, but features are limited. Paid plans cost $5, $10, and $20 per month.

9. Fission

Fission, from Rogue Amoeba, is an audio editing tool. It’s fast, easy to use, and edits videos without sacrificing quality. It also supports various popular formats.

Key features:

• You can trim, join, crop, and divide audio files
• It’s very easy to use and the learning curve is minimal
• The simple batch converter makes it easy to convert multiple files at once

Potential drawbacks:

• Only works on Mac
• The simplicity of the tool may leave a lot to be desired for advanced users

Best suited for: Editing podcasts and music across multiple formats

Pricing: Free trial is available. It costs $35, and an upgrade costs $18.

You can also buy it as a package with three other Rogue Amoeba software—Audio Hijack, Loopback, and Farrago for $207. Together, they can help record and edit high-quality podcasts.

There’s also a Fission and Audio Hijack Bundle for $83.

10. Amadeus Pro

Amadeus Pro is a sound editing tool for Mac. It purports to be “the swiss army knife of sound editing.” It has some useful features, like a multitrack editor, sound effects, batch processing, and repair center. 

Key features

• Works with various formats, including Ogg Vorbis, MP3, Apple Lossless, AAC, and AIFF
• Batch processor helps you convert files between any of the formats supported above
• Repair center helps you quickly find and fix errors
• Choose a list of favorite actions to implement with a click

Potential drawbacks

• Only works on Mac
• No trials to test it out before purchasing a plan

Best suited for: Editing music on multiple tracks and working in batches

Pricing: There’s no free version or trial available. It costs $24.99 and $59.99 for the Pro version.

11. Hindenburg

Hindenburg is an editor for radio broadcasters and podcasters. It has different plans for journalists, broadcasters, and schools and universities. You can use it for recording as well.

Key features

• It records uncompressed sound for the best quality. You can also fix flaws as you go.
• Offers exciting features such as loudness normalization, voice profiler, and automated levels that suit audio journalists.
• You can insert, cut, copy, and paste with this one tool.

Potential drawbacks

• The editor will mainly suit journalists and podcasters

Best suited for: Journalists and podcasters looking for a dedicated broadcast radio tool

Pricing: There’s a 30-day trial available. You can purchase different versions for $95, $375, and $500. You’re also able to rent the Journalist Pro version for 3, 6, or 12 months for $40, $75, and $120, respectively.

You can upgrade to the Journalist Pro version from a regular Journalist version for $325. It has discounts for students and teachers.

12. Sound Forge

Sound Forge is an audio editor from Magix. Magix has a whole suite of other software for editing videos and photos.

Key features

• Record high-quality audio at up to 32-bit/384 kHz
• You can either edit the videos you record or convert tapes and vinyl into digital files and restore them
• Intelligent mastering tools help refine recordings. There’s also an automatic master wizard.
• Fnd a wide range of plugins to simplify tasks

Potential drawbacks

• The pro version is expensive, especially for Mac users.

Best suited for: Podcasters looking for high-quality audio recording and refined editing

Pricing: A free trial is available. Costs range from $59.99 to $399 for Windows and $299 to $499 for Mac. Subscription plans are also available.

13. Lexis

Lexis is a simple audio editor that works on multiple devices. You can also record and play files with it.

Key features

• Works on Android, Windows, and iOS
• You can either record files and edit them, or import files and then edit
• Fade in, fade out, trim, and insert silence

Potential drawbacks

• Very simple and limited in scope
• No software support for macOS

Best suited for: Making minor edits in a simple interface

Pricing: You can install the Android and iOS versions for free, but there are in-app purchases. The Windows version costs $9.79.

14. Reaper

Reaper is a popular audio editor that works on multiple devices. It suits a wide range of people because of its flexibility.

Key features

• Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Has robust MIDI routing and audio editing features
• Very customizable and supports thousands of third-party plugins
• Also offers recording functionality

Potential drawbacks

• Has an extensive amount of features that can take a while to navigate and understand

Best suited for: It’s a jack of all trades that suits a wide range of purposes

Pricing: A 60-day trial is available. The discounted license costs $60, and the commercial license goes for $225.

Which audio editing software did you like most?

Audiences want to consume more audio content, and your competitors know it. Just take a look at the growing popularity of podcasts, with over 850,000 active podcasts out there and 30 million total episodes.

Many businesses are investing in other forms of quality audio content, too, like blog post audio recording.

If you want to do better or at least stay competitive, you should create better audio content that’s easy to listen to. The right audio editing software from the list above can help with that. There are so many options, whether you’re looking for something free or paid, simple or complex, and so on.

If you want a paid version of awesome audio editing software for a fraction of the price, you can always check out the AppSumo store. We offer lifetime deals on some of the best software along with discounts on amazing audio editing tools like Bouncecast. Until next time, Sumo-lings!