Our List of 8 Best Audacity Alternatives for Podcasters (2025)
Quick Summary
In this article, we explore the best Audacity alternatives for podcasters in 2025, highlighting tools with advanced features and better workflows.
With Audacity's limitations in mind, we recommend alternatives like Cleanvoice, Adobe Audition, and Sound Forge for enhanced podcast production.
Learn more about each option and how to elevate your podcasting experience by visiting our blog for detailed insights and further guidance.
Explore Powerful Tools for Seamless Podcast Production
As a podcast professional, having efficient tools to produce high-quality audio content is crucial. Audacity has been a popular choice among creators for its user-friendly interface and cost-free access.
However, it has its limitations.
It’s important to explore Audacity alternatives that offer enhanced features and more intuitive workflow. Refer to Cleanvoice's guide on how to choose the right alternative for you.
Let's dig into our list of the five best Audacity alternatives for podcasters.
Why Listen to Us?
At Cleanvoice, we’re passionate about helping podcasters elevate their audio content. With years of experience in the podcasting space, we understand the challenges of producing high-quality audio.
Our goal is to provide expert insights and actionable advice, making it easier for you to choose the right tools and streamline your editing process. Trust us to guide you toward the best audio editing solutions to make your podcast sound its best.
What is Audacity?
Audacity—available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other operating systems—is a free, multi-track audio editor and recorder.
It boasts impressive capabilities, including live audio recording, tape-to-digital conversion, sound file editing, and effects. It's a perfect tool for podcasters and podcast editors who want a fully-featured editing tool without breaking the bank.
However, as the podcasting landscape evolves, there are compelling reasons to consider Audacity alternatives:
Why Look for Audacity Alternatives?
1. Limited Editing Capacity
Audacity's integrated recording and editing might seem convenient but performing advanced editing tasks will be difficult. For fine-tuned editing and mixing, you need more robust tools.
2. Stability and Performance Issues
Many users have reported bugs and performance issues that can slow Audacity down or even make it unstable. This can be frustrating when you're trying to produce professional content.
3. Outdated Interface
While Audacity is user-friendly, its interface design can feel outdated, especially compared to more modern alternatives.
Criteria to Consider When Choosing Audacity Alternatives
Feature Set
Examine whether the software offers comprehensive features that align with your podcasting needs.
Here's a breakdown of what to look for:
- Recording Capabilities
- Editing Tools
- Noise Reduction and Restoration
- Effects and Plugins
- File Export and Compatibility
Learning Curve
The learning curve affects your ability to use the software and produce content efficiently.
Here's what to consider:
- Beginner-friendly vs. advanced interfaces and workflows
- User Resources
- Training and Support
Supported Platforms
The compatibility of the Audacity alternative with your chosen operating system is a critical consideration.
Here's what to look for:
- Operating System Compatibility
- Cross-Platform Options
- Mobile Compatibility
8 Best Audacity Alternatives
- Cleanvoice: An AI-powered tool that cleans, enhances, and transcribes podcast audio.
- Sound Forge Audio Studio: A powerful tool to record, edit, and optimize audio.
- Adobe Audition: A robust DAW with great features for podcasters and editors.
- Tenacity: A free-to-use DAW with a great range of features.
- BounceCast: An intuitive tool for basic editing.
- Alitu: A simple, automated podcast production tool that streamlines audio editing.
- Reaper: A highly customizable and cost-effective DAW for professional audio editing.
- Auphonic: An AI-driven tool for enhancing, mastering, and transcribing podcast audio automatically.
1. Cleanvoice
Cleanvoice AI is an AI-powered tool that automatically enhances audio recordings by removing filler words, mouth sounds, and stuttering.
Just upload your audio, and Cleanvoice will scan it for imperfections and automatically remove them using a fine-tuned AI engine. You can easily export the audio to your editing tool to add to episodes when you're done.
Cleanvoice also features a highly accurate AI transcription engine with multispeaker and multilingual detection—perfect for quickly creating show notes, blog posts, and social media content using audio clips.
Relevant Features
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Filler Words: Eliminate filler words like “umm” or “ahh” from recordings
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Mouth Sounds: Remove mouth sounds like clicks, pops, and breaths from audio recordings.
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Stuttering: Reduce stutter during long pauses in speech or when there is an interruption.
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Multi-Lingual & Accent Detection: Detects and removes filler words in multiple languages and accents.
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Integrations and Exports: You can integrate Cleanvoice with your favorite audio editing tool to quickly clean up recorded audio and add it to your production workflow.
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Podcast Transcription: Its AI technology generates transcriptions from your podcast or audio recording in a few clicks. It supports multiple languages.
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Podcast Mixing: It normalizes audio levels with just a click of a button.
Pricing
Cleanvoice offers both subscription and pay-as-you-go pricing.
Subscriptions offer monthly limits for edited audio—10 hours for €10, 30 hours for €25, and 100 hours for €80. Pay-as-you-go credits let you buy a specific number of hours of processed audio, usable within two years.
2. Sound Forge Audio Studio
Sound Forge Audio Studio is a digital audio editing software developed by MAGIX.
It’s a powerful audio editing, recording, processing, and mastering tool with an extensive feature set, support for high-resolution audio, and the ability to handle professional-level audio editing tasks.
Relevant Features
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Recording: It can record up to 32 simultaneous 64-bit/192 kHz audio channels for ultimate fidelity.
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Audio Editing: It provides a complete set of tools for audio editing. You can cut, move, split, and work with audio files in numerous ways.
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Restoration and Mastering: With the suite of plug-ins, you can easily enhance and restore audio with high-quality effects.
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Effects: It includes a range of built-in effects. You can also use VST plugins to expand your options.
Pricing
The regular price for Sound Forge Audio Studio is $59.99.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Has a great library of audio effects
- Offers excellent value for money
- Easy to use and super intuitive
- Has different tools and filters that can be combined with other programs
Cons
- Lacks options for noise reduction.
- Not ideal for working with noisy voiceovers or outdoor noise
Rating
4.7 out of 25 reviews
3. Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition[a] is a professional audio workstation that allows you to create, mix, and design sound effects.
It’s a comprehensive toolset that includes multitrack, waveform, and spectral display.
Relevant Features
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Multitrack Recording and Editing: It supports multi-track recording and editing, which allows you to work with multiple audio tracks simultaneously.
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Audio Effects: It offers advanced audio effects and real-time previews.
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Session and Clip Markers in Multitrack: You can create session markers and clip markers for multitrack to add, edit, and move clip markers in multitrack mode.
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Variable Playback Speed: It allows you to play your audio at different speeds, such as 1.1x, 1.2x, etc.
Pricing
Adobe Audition offers different pricing options for users.
They have an annual plan billed monthly at $20.99/month and an annual plan for $239.88/year. Students can access the entire Adobe Creative Cloud suite (including Audition) for just $19/99/month.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Reliable voice recording software
- Remix feature for seamless trimming or duration adjustment
- Steady interface with added and refined features
- Offers a blend of templates and customization options
Cons
- Learning curve for interacting with its many tools
Rating
4.6 out of 198 reviews
4. Tenacity
Tenacity is a user-friendly multi-track audio editor and recorder available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other operating systems.
It’s based on Audacity and is being developed by diverse volunteers. The range of functions and the operation are very similar, making this a great alternative to check out.
Relevant Features
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Recording: It allows recording from audio devices, both real and virtual.-
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Export/Import: It supports various audio formats and is extendible with FFmpeg.
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Plug-ins: It provides support for VST, LV2, and AU plugins.
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Scripting: You can script in the built-in scripting language Nyquist, Python, Perl, and other languages with named pipes.
Pricing
Tenacity is free to use.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The software is being actively developed by a community of volunteers.
- It doesn’t contain any form of external advertising.
- It works offline.
- It consumes fewer device resources.
Cons
- Some users find the interface outdated.
- Some users prefer a different workflow offered by other audio editing software.
Rating
4.6 out of reviews
5. BounceCast
BounceCast is an intelligent digital audio app designed to record, enhance, and master podcasts and video audio automatically on desktop and mobile.
It uses unique and file-specific real-time data analysis to adapt to every recording and optimize audio.
Relevant Features
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Recording & Trimming: You can record podcasts and video audio on your desktop computer or the go via mobile devices.
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Smart Enhancement: It offers intelligent application of subtractive equalization, transparent compression, peak limiting, and level normalization.
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Control Unwanted Frequencies: Resonance and EQ control is applied based on automatic data-driven analysis of your audio file to improve the overall clarity to meet professional standards.
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Intelligent Soundcheck: Run a clap test to analyze and learn the recording environment.
Pricing
BounceCast offers both the premium and free version of their app.
With the premium version of the software, users can enjoy a range of advanced features, including the ability to record and edit podcasts, automatic leveling, audio restoration, intelligent soundcheck, interactive guidance, and export to multiple formats.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Available on IOS and Android devices
- Provides guidelines for users
- Supports uploading and exporting files in multiple formats
Cons
- Some users claim it doesn’t produce studio-quality
- Some users report issues with compatibility on their computers
Rating
4.1 out of 45 reviews
6. Alitu
Alitu is a podcast editing tool designed to simplify the audio production process for podcasters, particularly those who prefer an easy-to-use, automated solution. It focuses on automating many aspects of podcast editing, including audio enhancement, noise removal, and leveling, making it ideal for beginners and solo podcasters who want a streamlined editing process.
Relevant Features
- Easy Podcast Creation: You can upload raw audio, add music, intros, and outros, and Alitu will piece everything together in a polished way.
- Voice Enhancement: The tool automatically improves speech clarity and makes voices sound more natural.
- Multi-Track Support: Alitu supports multi-track uploads, allowing for editing of podcasts with multiple speakers.
- One-Click Publishing: After editing, you can directly publish your podcast to your hosting platform (via RSS feed integration).
Pricing
Alitu offers a monthly subscription at $32 per month or an annual subscription for $320 per year, which equates to $26.67 per month. Additionally, users can try out the platform with a 7-day free trial to explore its features before deciding to commit to a paid plan.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Automated audio editing and enhancement features.
- Helps with cleaning up audio, leveling volume, and removing background noise.
- Easy to add music, intros, and outros to podcasts.
- Ideal for solo podcasters looking for a simple, automated solution.
Cons
- Limited customization options for advanced users.
- Limited integration options with other audio editing software.
Rating
4.9 out of 5 reviews
7. Reaper
Reaper is a highly customizable DAW (digital audio workstation) known for its flexibility and powerful audio editing features, making it ideal for podcasters who need extensive editing options.
Relevant Features
- Multi-Track Recording: Record multiple tracks at once for podcasts with multiple speakers.
- Advanced Audio Editing: Includes sophisticated editing, trimming, and cutting tools.
- Extensive Plug-in Support: Supports VST, AU, and other plugin formats for expanded capabilities.
- Batch Processing: Automates repetitive tasks, saving time during editing.
Pricing and $225 for a commercial license.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Low weight and low system requirements
- Good sound quality captured
- Highly customizable with a strong community
Cons
- Some users find it confusing to understand how to use the features
- Keyboard commands could be easier to program
- Lack of clear educational resources or outlines on usage.
Rating
4.7 out of 5 reviews
8. Auphonic
Auphonic is an online audio processing tool that specializes in enhancing podcast recordings through automatic audio optimization.
Relevant Features
- Audio Restoration: Auphonic automatically removes background noise, echoes, and other imperfections.
- Leveling: It provides loudness normalization to ensure consistent volume throughout the podcast.
- Multi-Format Support: Supports multiple audio formats like MP3, WAV, and others.
- Easy Exporting: Once audio is processed, you can easily export to your desired format for publishing.
Pricing
Auphonic offers a Free plan with 2 hours per month. Paid plans include the S plan (9 hours for $13/month), M plan (21 hours for $29/month), L plan (45 hours for $59/month), and XL plan (100 hours for $119/month). One-time credits are available: 5 hours for $12, 10 hours for $22, 25 hours for $50, 50 hours for $88, and 100 hours for $150. Custom plans are available for higher usage.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Excellent audio enhancement, especially for noise cancellation and audio editing.
- AI and ML technology provide efficient audio editing and post-production.
- Good customer support and easy integration with other tools.
- Provides audio quality comparable to a condenser mic.
Cons
- Integration with some applications can be slow and time-consuming.
- Multiple screens and downloads required for processing can be inefficient.
Rating
4.2 out of 5 reviews
Conclusion
Selecting a proper audio editing software for your podcast is vital to producing high-quality content. While Audacity has been a popular choice and it's free, it still has flaws. Hence, make a list of Audacity's downsides, and pick a software that provides better features from your checklist.
At Cleanvoice, we give podcasters and podcast editors a simple, automated way to clean podcast audio. Our tool detects and removes imperfections automatically, giving you a clean, high-quality audio file that’s ready to edit.
