Audio editing software provides digital tools for recording, editing, and producing audio files. A DAW, or digital audio workstation, is another term for audio editing software. Podcasters, DJs, video editors, TikTokers, and other media producers frequently use this type of software to edit audio.
Editing audio files can be a time-consuming and tedious process. But the best audio editing software programs make it easier for you. There are free and paid options, which may influence your decision. The best audio editing software has an easy-to-use editing interface, as well as a wide range of editing tools, effects, and add-ons.
There are hundreds of audio editing tools available, and it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. We have listed some of the best free and paid audio editing tools to help you find the right one.
What will we see here?
Adobe Audition – Best for Live Music audio editing
Adobe Audition is without a doubt one of the best audio editing programs available. The app includes some incredible features. That has been honed by
The software also includes a feature called ‘Auto Ducking’. This uses
Adobe Audition is without a doubt one of the best audio editing programs available. The app includes some incredible features. That has been honed by
In addition to all of that, the app has a well-thought-out interface that manages to look inviting even with all of the features it packs once you scratch the surface.
Availability: Windows and macOS.
Price: There is a free trial available, and subscriptions begin at $20.99 per month.
Audacity – Free audio editing software
We’re sure you’ve heard of Audacity. For good reason, free and open-source software is mentioned in almost every single audio editing thread on the internet. As previously stated, Audacity is completely free, making it the most easily accessible software for anyone looking to get started with audio editing. It’s also not a slouch when it comes to features. It has nearly all of the features you’ll require. There are numerous effects available, including bass, treble, distortion, noise removal, and others. Audacity also includes analysis tools such as a beat finder, silence finder, sound finder, and others.
Audacity is a surprisingly feature-rich free app that is also cross-platform. There are also several other tools available, such as an envelope tool, a time shift tool, and others. Furthermore, Audacity, like most great audio editing software, supports almost all audio file formats. Including MP3, WAV, AIFF, PCM, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, AC3, AMR, WMA, MP4, and others.
Availability: Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Price: Free of charge.
Reaper – Incredibly powerful editing software
Reaper is another audio editing software that is incredibly powerful and feature-rich. While also being less expensive than some of the other options on this list. To begin, Reaper supports multiple tracks and has remarkable multichannel support, with 64 channels in each track. It also includes the ability to directly record audio to mono, stereo, or even multichannel audio files, as well as the ability to record to multiple discs at once for data redundancy if desired.
With Reaper, you can apply effects in real-time, non-destructively, insert almost any third-party or MIDI plug-in, and even add real-time pitch shifting and time stretching to the mix. Reaper also supports the majority of popular file formats, as well as a few that are less well-known. Aside from all of the features, Reaper’s interface is completely customizable, allowing you to make it look exactly how you want it.
Availability: Windows, macOS, and Linux (experimental).
Price: Free trial available; license starts at $60.
FL Studio – Top-tier audio editing software
If you want to be the next big thing in EDM. FL Studio is a must-have. It is a top-tier audio editing software. That is used by artists such as Martin Garrix, Porter Robinson, and others. FL Studio, like other top-tier DAWs, supports multi-track recording, time-stretching, and pitch shifting. It includes a mixer with effects chains, automation, delay compensation, and other features.
Furthermore, FL Studio includes over 80 plug-ins that are ready to use. Such as plug-ins for sample deception, compression, synthesis, and much more. FL Studio also includes a large number of instruments that you can use in your track, and with support for VST standards, you can use almost any third-party plugin to get even more instrument sounds.
Because FL Studio is primarily aimed at musicians. It only supports a limited number of file formats, including AIFF, DS, DWP, FLAC, MIDI, MP3, OGG, SF2, Speech, SYN, XI, and WAV.
Availability: Windows and macOS
Price: There is a free trial available, and licenses begin at $99.
Ableton Live – For electronic music production
Ableton Live is also a name that is synonymous with music production. This is understandable given the plethora of features it offers. For starters, Ableton Live supports an unlimited number of audio and MIDI tracks, allowing you to pack as many layers of tracks as you need into your project. There is also support for MIDI capture, as well as 256 mono input and output channels. You also get up to 70GB of pre-recorded sounds to use in your projects, 15 software instruments, and 46 audio effects.
However, Ableton Live lacks some features that are standard in so many other audio editing software. There is no pitch correction, and adding effects like fades is more difficult than in other software like Logic Pro X. However, Ableton Live remains one of the most highly regarded DAWs, particularly for electronic music production, so if that’s what you’re into, you should give it a try.
WAV, AIFF, AIFF-C, FLAC, OGG Vorbis, RIFF, PCM, MP3, and other file formats are all supported by Ableton.
Availability: Windows and macOS
Pricing: 30-day free trial; pricing starts at $99.
Cubase – For effects on individual audio tracks
Steinberg’s Cubase is another audio editing software that you might want to look into. The DAW has a long history of major artists using it, including Zedd, Junkie XL, and others. Cubase also has a plethora of features. There’s a frequency equalizer that allows you to make extremely fine frequency edits to your tracks, as well as an Auto-Pan feature that allows you to quickly experiment with your tracks.
Furthermore, if you use plug-ins, Cubase’s Plugin Sentinel will inspect them on setup to ensure that they are valid and will not harm your system. There’s also a feature called Audio-ins that allows you to use filters and effects on individual audio tracks. Cubase provides a free trial so you can test it out before deciding whether or not to purchase it.
Availability: Windows and macOS
Price: Free trial available; pricing starts at €99.
PreSonus Studio One
Another piece of audio editing software to consider is the Presonus Studio One 4 DAW, which is a versatile DAW with a slew of cool and useful features. Multiple tracks are supported, and with Studio One’s Chord Track feature, you can easily create a quick prototype of songs to get an idea of how they sound. Chord Track includes features such as key modulation, chord substitution, and more for simple prototyping. Studio One can automatically detect chords in your audio track, and you can even drag a part to the Chord Track for reference.
Studio One also includes a brand new Impact XT drum module, an improved version of an older Impact drum module. It includes over 20 new features, such as beat quantization and real-time stretching, that allow you to be creative with loops and beats in your song. Aside from all of this, Studio One has a plethora of other features such as multiple macro toolbars, improved multi-editing, an external plugin scanner, and a lot more, so it’s worth a look if you’re interested.
Availability: Windows and macOS
Price: Free version available; pricing starts at $99.
Ardour – Audio editing software with hundreds of plugins
Last but not least, Ardour is a rather strong audio editing program that benefits from the fact that it not only works on Windows and macOS but also fully supports Linux. This allows you to run it on almost any computer. Ardour includes almost every audio editing feature in the book, from making recordings easier with mics and MIDI devices to editing with simple editing features like cuts, crossfades, transposition, swing, and more.
The software also includes an unlimited number of undo and redos, allowing you to experiment to your heart’s content. There are also mixing features included with the DAW, such as EQ, automation, faders, monitors, and so on. Add to that a versatile mixer and the hundreds of plugins that Ardour provides and supports, and you have fantastic audio editing software.
Availability: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Price: Free; Pay at least $1 for a full feature set
Conclusion
That ends our article here!
So, now that you’ve learned about the greatest audio editing software options, which one are you going to try? All of these solutions are wonderful in their own right, but at the end of the day, it only matters which software best fits your work style, so take advantage of the free trials on this software to choose which one will be the ideal DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for you.
If you believe we’ve overlooked a wonderful piece of audio editing software, please let us know in the comments section below.
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