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Looking for the best free recording software on the market in 2019? We’ve spent countless hours testing over 20 different programs to bring you our 5 favorites.
Myth: Setting up a home studio to make awesome music or podcasts is difficult and expensive, and most of the free audio recording programs on the market suck.
Fact: There are plenty of great pieces of audio recording software out there that will let you lay down some killer tracks totally FREE.
Whether you want to be the next indie DJ who gains fame recording beats in your basement (RIP Skrillex) or just want to start your own podcast detailing the dumbest person you’ve met over the past week (yes, that’s a real podcast), you can use these 5 free recording software programs to make tracks that people will actually listen to…and it’s totally free.
The Two Best Free Recording Software Studios
#1) Garageband
For: Mac
Since its release in 2004,GarageBandhas arguably become the most popular DAW. Smooth, intuitive, and more powerful than you’d expect from a free piece of software, it is the perfect centerpiece for any budget home studio.
If you’re familiar with Apple (who isn’t?), you know they are really good at making things look pretty while still maintaining high functionality. GarageBand is no different. Even if you’re a complete novice who doesn’t know what DAW stands for, you can easily start recording multi-layered tracks like Young Guru in no time. Tracks are color-coded and almost everything else you need is done via a drag-and-drop process.
Where it really appeals to beginners (other than ease of use) is its awesome catalogue of virtual instruments. Whereas most free software offers built-in instruments that sound like bargain bin guitars bought at a tag sale, GarageBand’s instruments are studio-quality.
The mix of versatility, ability, and aesthetics puts Apple’s DAW at the #1 spot on this list.
Pros
- Intuitive drag and drop process
- Streamlined recording
- High-quality virtual instruments
Cons
- Only for Mac/Apple
- Lack of editing various parameters
#2) Audacity
For: Windows, Mac, Linux
“Wait, Soda PDF!Audacityis the most popular free audio recording software in the world. How can it be #2?”
Let’s set the record straight on Audacity before we get to the details.
It’s a great piece of free recording software, but this list is aimed at beginners. And one thing you’ll notice about it as soon as you fire it up is that it’s anything but easy to operate. That being said, once you get the hang of it, it’s awesome. But GarageBand is just so easy we had to rank it #1. Is that OK with you?
Loaded with effects, high sound quality, tons of plugins, and comprehensive editing features, it’s amazing we had the audacity to rank this audio editor #2 (see what we did there?).
The thing is that, even with recent upgrades, it still looks a bit ancient, and as a beginner, you probably won’t use 80% of the features that clutter the nav bar. It’s a bit cumbersome to operate and you won’t be able to record tracks quickly right from the get-go.
Once you get the hang of it, however, you can record just about anything you want. If you have the supporting hardware to handle it, you can produce real studio-quality sound. What we loved the most were the built-in effects like equalizer, pitch, delay, reverb, and fade in/out. It’s perfect for podcasters or music producers and highly recommended if you’ve got time to tinker.
Pros
- Great sound quality
- Tons of effects
- Range of helpful plugins
- Comprehensive editing
Cons
- Cluttered menu
- Not as intuitive as GarageBand
The Rest
#3) Hya-Wave: The Extreme Budget Option
For: Your web browser
Are you a poor college student just trying to share some tracks on social media? What about a solo artist looking for the easiest free recording software you can find?
Behold the future of DAWs:Hya-Wave.
This browser-based site allows you to record, copy, paste, cut, and crop your audio as well as apply effects and share directly to your social media accounts. And it’s all done from the cloud.
It doesn’t support multi-tracking and doesn’t really offer all that much aside from the basics, but it’s extremely easy to use and available right from the browser so you don’t have to download any big programs.
Pros
- Extremely easy to use
- Available from your browser
- Makes decent quality basic recordings
Cons
- Very limited
- No multi-tracking
#4) Pro Tools First: Limited Access to the Industry Standard
For: Everything
Pro Tools is the ultimate mixing tool. If you want to turn your bedroom into Muscle Shoals, Pro Tools is the software that helps to turn music into magic.
But it’s not cheap. Good thing there’sPro Tools First,the free limited access version of the industry’s top recording program.
It’s perfect for singers, songwriters, and musicians just starting out on a limited budget and who want to get their feet wet before diving into the best free recording software they’ve ever owned. You are limited to:
- 16 instruments
- 16 audio tracks
- 4 inputs
- 1GB of space (in the cloud)
It’s hard to say “limited” since 16 instruments are enough to fill a Great Depression-era big band stage, but with only 1GB of space to save projects, you are limited in what you can create. Still, it’s a great option to get started before making a bigger investment (save.your.tips.from.your.bartending.job).
Pros
- It’s Pro Tools
- 16 instruments/audio tracks
Cons
- Very limited space
#5) Ardour: Not Pretty But Highly Functional
For: Linux (mainly), Windows, Mac
Older versions of this free and open source DAW were Linux-only and crashed so often that it rendered it nearly unusable. Things are a bit different now. The increased functionality and new availability for Windows and Mac (along with the native VST support that comes with it!) have catapultedArdouronto our list.
It’s not as pretty or as intuitive as others on the list, but the functionality is definitely there, especially if you are a Linux nut.
The UI has been modernized (it’s still kind of ugly, though), but what is really appealing are some of the specs that make it great for recording music. It works with any audio engine (JACK, ALSA, ASIO, or Core Audio), has awesome ripple edits (isn’t it nice to see things just fall into place?), and comes with top-of-the-line MIDI editing capabilities.
It’s totally free, but you can pay to have access to support and other upgrades.
Pros
- Available for all audio engines
- Great MIDI capabilities
- Ripple editing
Cons
- Interface is not so good
- Not as powerful as other software
If you’re just starting out, then why pay when there are some great pieces of free recording software out there?
Use Soda PDF to write, edit, and share the lyrics for the new tune you’re about to record! See, we can throw PDF software into any post.
Record Music
- 1. Music Recording Software
- 2. Record Audio
- 3. Alternative
- 4. Record Christmas
- 5. Audio Recorder
We all love streaming music today, the convenience of our favorite audio files to listen to any time without needing to store the files ourselves has changed the way we view our media, but there are still times when having the file available offline can be beneficial. If you want to view on a device that lacks connectivity or perhaps are going on a trip where using online services is impractical for instance, to accomplish this, we have a choice of free audio recording software available, but which is the best option currently available? Read on to have a look.
Part 1. Top 5 Free Audio Recording Software for Mac (Yosemite)
#1. iMusic
iMusic offers user friendly and zero loss recording from over 500 sites. It can split tracks automatically and strip out ads from the music as it goes. With a choice of either MP3 or M4A file formats it also includes plenty of flexibility, including a selection of quality settings for each format to further help tailor the output to your needs.
In addition, this audio recording software for Mac can recognize and identify tracks as it records, and automatically tag the files with the relevant artist, track title, album tags as it goes. These downloads are fully searchable by artist, title or album, creating your entire music library simply and quickly. Audio Recorder for Mac is a comprehensive and easy to use software package that does everything you could need from an audio recorder. For Windows user, you can also get iMusic for Windows.
#2. Audacity
This audio recording software puts an enormous power into your hands. Besides recording, it is also loaded with audio editing features as well as the ability to export tools that work in tandem with multimedia capabilities of a Mac PC.
Cons:
- Some of its operations are not very intuitive.
- It does not have indicators of record levels, final mix levels or track levels.
#3. Traverso
This free recording software for Mac will meet all of your common recording needs. It gives you a wide array of options that allows you to record demo CDs with absolute ease. Other brilliant features that it has include non-destructive editing, ability to edit audio files without changing their original quality, and lock-less real time audio processing.
Cons:
- It does not have advanced multi-track recording capabilities.
- It can take quite some time to learn especially if you are new to it.
#4. Ardour
This free audio recording software claims to be useful when it comes to recording anything, including a single voice, a band, as well as an entire orchestra. It will also prove to be very helpful if you need music to be edited. It features many great features that include a user friendly interface, multiple track layers, non-destructive editing and real time audio processing.
Cons:
- It does not lock audio to video sometimes when only an audio needs to be extracted from a video.
#5. Zynewave Podium
This free recording programs integrates audio recording and other functionalities such as VST plugins, audio gear and external MIDI. Some of the features that make it outstanding include an integrated sound editor, hierarchic track layout, spline curve automation, surround sound and multiprocessing. It also has a customizable interface.
Cons:
- Its interface allows you to connect only one midi device at a time.
- It does not have multiprocessing for plugins.
- Surround-sound feature is not enabled in the free version.
Part 2. Top 5 Free Audio Recording Software for Windows PC
#1. Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder
Apowersoft Audio Recorder for Mac is another quite comprehensive free recording software package that offers easy to use recording in multiple file formats from almost any source you can think of. It includes a built in scheduler to set up recording of specific shows without you needing to be there, offering convenience for users to compliment the easy usability. Finally, it can be used as a voice recorder using your own microphone.
#2. RadioSure
RadioSure is a dual use piece of free recording software that works as both an internet radio player and a downloader. Being able to offer fast searches for radio stations and easy recording once you find them. It can record in several formats and can split music into individual song files as you go automatically. Recordings are made at the source bitrate for lossless recording, ensuring the best quality possible and combined with other features makes this a user friendly package.
#3. Jokosher
Not only does this recording software for PC allow you to record your favorite music from the internet, but it also allows you to edit your own songs very easily. It allows you to edit audio with multiple tracks. Its major highlight is its ease of use. It has a very intuitive and simple user interface that allows you to record and edit your songs without any problems.
Cons:
- Less integration with the desktop.
- Problems with support of some plugins.
#4. Kristal Audio Engine
This is a simple recorder and editor that has everything that is needed for basic mixing and mastering. Its features include a high quality dynamics tool, a powerful multi-track recorder, and an audio sequencer and mixer. It is a very ideal recording software for anyone that is planning to get started with recording or mixing and mastering audio files. Its main interface provides a mixing console. The live audio input and audio sequencer are loaded as separate plugins.
Cons:
- The free version does not unleash its full potential.
- Incompatible with some versions of Windows.
#5. Wavosaur
This recording software for Windows PC can do pretty much everything that you expect a typical audio editor to do. Some of the tasks that it can handle very well include recording sound, editing tracks, as well as processing files. It is equipped with all the basics, including ability to cut, copy, loop, and even batch audio conversions. It is portable, so no installation will be necessary for you to be able to run it in your windows PC. It works on different versions of windows, including vista and windows 7.
![Free Mac Recording Software Free Mac Recording Software](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125702911/735798596.png)
Cons:
- Memory problems with large files.
- Does not work with many operating systems.
Part 3. How to Record Streaming Audio for Free
iSkysoft iMusic offers a great interface, a huge range of compatibility with hundreds of different streaming services and other audio sources. It includes a straightforward workflow, great features including being able to remove ads as the recording progresses, as well as identifying individual tracks and splitting them into individual files and tagging them with the appropriate title, artist and album data all automatically. Recording is extremely simple, and can be accomplished in just a few steps.
Time Required:
Very Fast (Variable depending on the video file size)
Step 1. Record Any Audio for Free
Start iMusic on your computer and click 'GET MUSIC' > 'Record'. Click on the red 'Record' button. Launch your browser and navigate whatever audio you are wishing to record, set it playing. Audio Recorder will detect the playback of media and begin recording automatically. It is so straightforward that there are no barriers to having the ultimate media library easily and quickly.
Step 2. Play the Recorded Audio
When the recording is complete, you can click the Library tab on the top of the interface to access the files. To enjoy the music, you can double click on it.
This recording software is not only an audio recorder, but also an ID3 tag editor. It can automatically identify song's information for you and also allows you to edit ID3 tags as you wish. To do this you can click the song and select Edit Music Tag from the drop-down menu. With this smart tool, you can also transfer music to iPhone/iPad/iPod/Android device with one click and burn recorded music to CDs.