FreeGPL-3.0, with many files under GPL-2.0-or-laterC++

Audacity

A multitrack audio editor for recording, cleaning and cutting sound

Alternative toAdobe Audition

Audacity records and edits audio with multiple tracks, effects, noise reduction and plugin support. It is the open source alternative to Adobe Audition for voiceovers, podcasts and simple music editing, released under the GPL.

Website Source Docs

Best for when

you record voiceovers or podcasts and need to clean them up
you want quick cuts and noise reduction without a subscription
you batch process many audio files the same way

Watch out for

it is not a full mixing or music production tool
repair tools are simpler than Audition's spectral healing
its AUP3 project files only open in Audacity, so export WAV to move work elsewhere

The everyday audio workbench

Most people do not need a full studio, they need to record a voiceover, cut the mistakes, remove background noise and export a clean file. Audacity does that well: record from any input, trim and split clips, apply noise reduction, compression, equalisation and normalisation, and export to WAV, MP3, FLAC or OGG.

It supports VST3, LV2 and other plugin formats, has a spectrogram view for spotting clicks and hum, and processes many files at once with macros. Recent versions added non-destructive clip editing and real time effects, which brings it closer to how Audition works.

What switching really costs

Audition has spectral healing, multitrack mixing with buses, and tight Premiere integration. Audacity can edit in the spectrogram but has fewer repair tools, and it is not built for complex mixing sessions or music production. For that, a digital audio workstation such as Ardour or Reaper is a better fit.

Audition sessions do not open in Audacity, and Audacity's own AUP3 project file is only read by Audacity. Many people use it as a step in the chain: record and clean here, export WAV, and bring it into the video editor.

Last checked: 2026-10-25.md