1. Basic Audio Editing Software Mac Computer
2. Basic Audio Editing Software Mac 10 9 5
3. Basic Audio Editing Software Mac Download
4. Basic Audio Editing Software Mac Lightworks
5. Audio Editing Software Reviews

Why Trust Us?

My name is Adrian, and I was recording and editing audio before computers were up to the task. In the early 80s, cassette-based machines like Tascam’s PortaStudio allowed you to record and mix four tracks of audio in your home — and up to ten tracks using a technique called “ping-ponging”.

Sep 15, 2018  The Mac OS X platform is famous for being well supported in audio and video, with many professional software dedicated to multimedia. In the video industry we have already seen the best 5 players for Mac: we are still expanding this sector with 6 software for video editing, more or less professional to choose the one that best suits our needs. In general all the software are quite. Music software for Mac or Windows to create audio with up to 128 audio tracks. Pro Tools includes 60 virtual instruments (thousands of sounds), effects, sound processing, utility plugins, 1 GB of cloud storage and 75 individual plugins. Jun 17, 2020 HyperEngine-AV is a free video editing software for Mac used to capture, edit, organize the process, and export video, audio, and text to create DVD quality movies and slide shows. It comes with twelve studio-quality effects from Arboretum's Hyperprism suite of audio processors. Welcome to Audacity Audacity® is free, open source, cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing. Audacity is available for Windows®, Mac®, GNU/Linux® and other operating systems. Check our feature list, Wiki and Forum. Download Audacity 2.1.3 Mar 17th, 2017: Audacity. Mar 27, 2020  Audacity is one of the most popular audio editing software supporting multiple audio tracks in a single window. It has all basic editing settings for a beginner along with more complex editing features for a pro user. The user interface looks quite old fashioned but music editing is very easy and there are tons of tutorial available online. Dec 27, 2019  At the end of the day, the best audio editing software for you will depend on what you need and feel comfortable working with. With all that said, here is our list of the best audio editing software for Mac that you should use: Adobe Audition: Best Overall Audio Editing Software; Logic Pro X: Best DAW Software for Mac. The best video editing software for Mac is Final Cut Pro. It is an Apple product designed to harness the power of Mac computers for speedy and flawless editing. It comes equipped with state-of-the-art video/audio editing tools, including special effects, filters, motion graphics, and an array of enhancements for creating professional videos.

I experimented with computer programs as at first they allowed you to work with sound through MIDI, and then directly with audio. Today, your computer can act as a powerful recording studio, offering power and features that weren’t even dreamed of in professional studios just a few decades ago.

I spent five years as editor of Audiotuts+ and other audio blogs, so I’m familiar with the entire range of audio software and digital audio workstations. During that time I was in regular contact with audio professionals, including dance music producers, composers of movie scores, home studio enthusiasts, videographers, podcasters and voiceover editors, and gained a very broad understanding of the industry.

What You Need to Know Up-Front about Editing Audio

Before we look at specific software options, here are a few things you need to know about audio editing in general.

There Are a Lot of Options and Just as Many Strong Opinions

There are a lot of options. There are a lot of opinions. There are some very strong feelings out there about which audio software is best.

While people have good reasons for preferring their own favorite program, the fact is that most of the options we cover in this review will meet your needs. You may find that one app may suit you better, and others may offer features you don’t need and don’t want to pay for.

I once explored the audio software podcasters used, and made a surprising discovery. Most just used the software they already had. Like them, you may already have all you need:

• If you use a Mac, you already have GarageBand.
• If you use Photoshop, you probably have Adobe Audition.
• If you don’t have either, you can download Audacity, which is free.

For some audio jobs you may need something more powerful. We’ll cover those options too.

Different Types of Apps Will Do the Job

In this review we don’t always compare apples with apples. Some apps are free, others are very expensive. Some apps emphasize ease-of-use, other apps are complex. We cover basic audio editing software, more complex non-linear editors, and non-destructive digital audio workstations.

If you need to clean up a voiceover in a single audio file, a basic editor is all you need. If you’re doing more complex work, like working with music, or adding audio to video, you’ll be better served with a more capable, non-destructive, non-linear audio editor.

A digital audio workstation (DAW) meets the needs of musicians and music producers by offering additional tools and features. These include the ability to work with a large number of tracks, libraries of loops and samples, virtual instruments to create new music on the computer, the ability to change timing to match a groove, and the ability to generate musical notation. Even if you don’t need these extra features, you may still benefit from using a DAW because of its powerful editing tools and smooth workflow.

Destructive vs Non-Destructive (Real-Time)

Basic audio editors are often destructive and linear. Any changes permanently alter the original wave file, much like working with tape in the old days. This may make it more difficult to undo your changes, but the process is simpler and it uses less system resources. Audacity is an example of an app that applies your edits in a destructive way, overwriting the original file. It’s best practice to keep a backup of your original file, just in case.

DAWs and more advanced editors are non-destructive and non-linear. They retain the original audio, and apply effects and changes in real-time. The more complex your edits, the more value you will gain from a non-destructive, non-linear editor. But you’ll need a more powerful computer to make it work.

Who Needs an Audio Editor?

Not everyone needs an audio editor, but the number who do is growing. In our media-rich world it’s easier to create audio and video than ever.

Those who can benefit from an audio editor include:

podcasters,

YouTubers and other videographers,

• screencasters,
• producers of audiobooks,
• musicians,
• music producers,
• sound designers,
• app developers,
• photographers,
• voiceover and dialogue editors,
• post-production engineers,
• special effects and foley artists.

Basic audio editing is multi-faceted, and includes tasks like:

• increasing the volume of a track that’s too quiet,
• cutting out coughs, sneezes and mistakes,
• adding sound effects, advertisements and logos,
• adding an additional track, for example background music,
• and adjusting the equalization of the audio.

If you own a Mac, GarageBand may meet your basic audio editing needs, as described on this Apple Support page. It’s free, comes preinstalled on your Mac, and also includes features to assist you recording and producing music as well.

GarageBand’s audio editor displays the audio waveform in a time grid.

Audio editing features are non-destructive, and allow you to:

• move and trim audio regions,
• split and join audio regions,
• correct the pitch of out-of-tune material,
• edit the timing and beat of music.

That’s quite a lot of functionality, and if your needs don’t get too complicated, or you’re a beginner, or you don’t have a budget for anything more expensive, it’s a great place to start.

But it’s not the best tool for everyone. Here are a few reasons you might want to consider something else:

1. If you don’t need GarageBand’s music features, you may find a tool that only does audio editing simpler. Audacity is a good option, and it’s free.
2. If you work with the spoken word and have a Creative Cloud subscription, you’re already paying for Adobe Audition. It’s a more powerful tool for editing voiceovers and screencast audio.
3. If you work with music, or value using the most powerful software tools, a digital audio workstation will give you access to more features, and probably a smoother workflow. Apple Logic Pro, Cockos Reaper and Avid Pro Tools are all good options for very different reasons.

How We Tested and Picked

Comparing audio apps isn’t easy. There is a wide range in capability and price, and each has its own strengths and compromises. The right app for me may not be the right app for you. We’re not so much trying to give these apps an absolute ranking, but to help you make the best decision about which one will suit your needs. Here are the key criteria we looked at when evaluating:

1. Which operating systems are supported?

Does the app run on just one operating system, or on several? Does it work on Mac, Windows or Linux?

2. Is the app easy to use?

Do you value ease of use over advanced features? If you only do basic editing from time to time, ease of use will likely be your priority. But if you edit audio on a regular basis, you’ll have time to learn the more advanced features, and will likely value power and the right workflow.

3. Does the app have the essential features needed to edit audio?

Does the app do the job you need it to? Will it let you edit out noises, unwanted gaps, and mistakes, trim unneeded audio from the beginning and end of the recording, and remove noise and hiss? Will the app let you boost the level of your recording if it is too quiet? Does it allow you to split a single recording into two or more files, or join two audio files together? How many tracks are you able to mix and work with?

In brief, here are some of the jobs an audio editor should be able to handle:

• import, export and convert a variety of audio formats,
• insert, delete and trim audio,
• move audio clips around,
• fade in and out, cross-fade between audio clips,
• provide plugins (filters and effects), including compression, reverb, noise reduction and equalization,
• add and mix several tracks, adjusting their relative volume, and panning between left and right channels,
• clean up noise,
• normalize the volume of an audio file.

4. Does the app have useful additional features?

What additional features are provided? How useful are they? Are they more suited to speech, music, or another application?

5. Cost

The apps we cover in this review span a huge range of prices, and the amount you’ll spend will depend on the features you need, and whether this software tool is making you money. Here’s what the apps cost, sorted from cheapest to most expensive:

• Audacity, free
• ocenaudio, free
• WavePad, free
• Cockos REAPER, $60, $225 commercial
• Apple Logic Pro, $199.99
• Adobe Audition, from $251.88/year ($20.99/month)
• SOUND FORGE Pro, $399
• Avid Pro Tools, $599 (with 1-year updates and support), or subscribe for $299/year or $29.99/month
• Steinberg WaveLab, $739.99

Now here is our winner’s circle.

The Winners

Best Basic Audio Editor: Audacity

Audacity is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor. It’s a great basic app, and I’ve installed it on every computer I’ve owned in the last decade. It works on Mac, Windows, Linux and more, and is a great Swiss Army knife when it comes to improving and adjusting your audio files.

Audacity is probably the most popular audio editor out there. Although it looks a little dated, it’s a favorite among podcasters, and is a great choice for customizing audio for presentations, creating ringtones from your favorite tunes, and editing a recording of your child’s piano recital.

Being free certainly helps, as does being available for virtually every operating system out there. But it’s also a capable tool without trying to do too much. The app can be expanded with plugins (quite a few come preinstalled), and because the app supports most audio plugin standards, there’s a lot available. Just be aware that adding too many will add complication — the sheer number of settings for all these effects can be hard to get your head around if you don’t have an audio background.

If you’re looking for a quick way to edit a basic audio file, you may find Audacity quicker and simpler to use than GarageBand. It’s a tool that’s focused just on editing audio, rather than being a full recording studio for music production.

Basic editing is easy, with cut, copy, paste and delete. Although destructive editing is used (the original recording is overwritten with the changes you make), Audacity offers unlimited undo and redo, so you can easily go back and forward through your edits.

Each track can be split into moveable clips that can be moved earlier or later in the recording, or even dragged to a different track.

The app supports high-quality audio, and is able to convert your audio file to different sample rates and formats. Common formats supported include WAV, AIFF, FLAC. For legal purposes, MP3 export is only possible after downloading an optional encoder library, but that’s pretty simple.

Other free audio editors are available, and we’ll cover them in the last section of this review.

Best Value Cross-Platform DAW: Cockos REAPER

REAPER is a full-featured digital audio workstation with excellent audio editing features, and runs on Windows and Mac. You can download the app for free, and after a thorough 60-day trial you’re encouraged to purchase it for $60 (or $225 if your business is making money). This app is used by serious audio professionals, and despite its low cost, has features that rival Pro Tools and Logic Pro X, though its interface is not as sleek, and it comes with fewer resources out of the box.

$60 from the developer’s website ($225 for commercial use where gross revenue exceeds $20K)

REAPER is efficient and fast, uses high-quality 64-bit internal audio processing, and is able to take advantage of thousands of third-party plugins to add functionality, effects and virtual instruments. It has a smooth workflow, and is able to work with a huge number of tracks.

The app offers all the non-destructive editing features you’ll need, including splitting a track into multiple clips that you can work with individually, and shortcut keys for delete, cut, copy and paste work as expected.

Clips can be selected by clicking with your mouse (holding down CTRL or Shift will allow multiple clips to be selected), and can be moved with drag-and-drop. When moving clips, snap to grid can be used to make sure musical phrases stay in time.

REAPER supports cross-fading, and imported clips are auto faded at the beginning and end.

There are plenty of other features in the app, which can be extended with a macro language. REAPER can do music notation, automation, and even work with video. If you’re after an affordable app that won’t use up all your system resources, Cockos REAPER is an excellent choice, and very good value for money.

Best Mac DAW: Apple Logic Pro X

Logic Pro X is a powerful Mac-only digital audio workstation designed primarily for professional music production, but is a capable general purpose audio editor as well. It is far from minimalistic, and comes with enough optional resources to fill your hard drive, including plugins, loops and samples, and virtual instruments. The app’s interface is sleek, modern and attractive, and as you would expect from Apple, the powerful features are quite easy to use.

If you’ve outgrown GarageBand, Logic Pro X is the next logical step. Since both products are built by Apple, you can use most of the skills you learned in GarageBand in Logic Pro too.

Apple has a web page designed to help you make the transition. The page summarizes some of the benefits you’ll get by making the move:

• More power to create: expanded creative options, a range of professional tools to make and shape sounds, a range of audio effect plugins, additional loops.
• Perfect your performances: features and tools to fine-tune your performances and organize them into a complete song.
• Mix and master like the pros: automation-enabled mixing, EQ, limiter and compressor plugins.

The focus of those features is on music production, and in truth that’s where the real benefit of Logic Pro lies. But to get back to the point of this review, it also provides excellent audio editing features.

You can select a region of audio with your mouse, and double-click it to open it in the Audio Track Editor.

From there, you can trim the region or split it into several regions that can independently be moved, deleted, copied, cut and pasted. The volume level of a region can be adjusted to match the surrounding audio, and advanced Flex Pitch and Flex Time tools are available.

Besides audio editing, Logic Pro comes with a lot of interesting features and resources. It provides a range of virtual instruments, as well as artificially intelligent drummers to play your beats in a variety of genres. An impressive number of plugins are included, covering reverb, EQ and effects. A Smart Tempo feature keeps your music tracks in time, and the app allows you to mix a huge number of tracks with all the features a pro needs.

If you just need to edit a podcast, Logic Pro may be overkill. But if you’re serious about music, sound design, adding audio to video, or just want to have one of the most powerful audio environments out there, Logic Pro X is excellent value for money. When I purchased Logic Pro 9 with my own money just a few years ago, it cost me $800 Aussie dollars.

The Competition

As I said earlier, there are a lot of software options when it comes to audio. Here are a few alternatives that are worth considering.

For Creative Cloud Subscribers: Adobe Audition CC

If you’re an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber, you already have a powerful audio editor at your fingertips: Adobe Audition. It is a comprehensive set of tools with a focus on giving audio support to Adobe’s other apps, rather than being a full-fledged recording studio. It allows you to create, edit and mix multiple tracks of audio.

Audition is designed to accelerate video production, and works well with Premiere Pro CC. It includes tools to clean up, restore and edit audio for video, podcasts and sound effects design. Its cleanup and restore tools are comprehensive, and allow you to remove or reduce noise, hiss, clicks and hum from tracks.

If you’re looking for an app focused on improving the sound quality of recordings of the spoken word, this is a tool worth looking at, especially if you use other Adobe apps. If you’re ready to take your podcast to a larger audience, smooth out and sweeten the quality of your sound, reduce background noise and improve the EQ of your tracks, this app will do what you need.

Adobe Audition is included with an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription (from $52.99/month), or you can subscribe just to the single app (from $20.99/month). A 7-day trial is available. Downloads are available for both Mac and Windows.

Other Non-DAW Audio Editors

Audition has a few competitors. SOUND FORGE Pro is a highly popular audio editor with a lot of power. It was originally available for Windows only, but came to the Mac back in 2012. Unfortunately the Mac and Windows versions seem to be completely different apps, with different version numbers and different prices. The Mac app lacks many of the features of the Windows version, so I recommend you take advantage of the trial version before purchasing to make sure it meets your needs.

SOUND FORGE Pro 12 for Windows is $399 from the developer’s website, and is also available as a $14.99/month subscription. A basic version (Audio Studio) is available for $59.99. Sound Forge Pro Mac 3 is $299 from the developer’s website. A 30-day trial is available.

Steinberg WaveLab Pro 9.5 is a full-featured multitrack audio editor. The Windows version has been around for over twenty years, and a Mac version was added a few years back. It includes a range of powerful metering tools, as well as noise reduction, error correction, and a dedicated podcast editor. Besides audio editing, it is also a useful tool for mastering.

WAVE LAB Pro 12 for Windows is $739.99 from the developer’s website, and is also available as a $14.99/month subscription. A basic version (WaveLab Elements) is available for $130.99. A 30-day trial is available. Mac and Windows versions are available.

Steinberg also have two high-end digital audio workstation apps that can help with your audio editing needs: Cubase Pro 9.5 ($690) and Nuendo 8 ($1865)

The Industry Standard: Avid Pro Tools 2018 (and Other DAWs)

If you’re serious about audio, and especially if you share files with other professionals, consider the industry standard, Pro Tools 2018. It’s not cheap, but it’s widely used, and has powerful audio editing tools. Of course, it has a lot more as well, and given its price, may be too much for many of the people reading this review.

However, if your work goes beyond editing audio, and you need a serious digital audio workstation, Pro Tools is a good option. It’s been around since 1989, is widely used in recording studios and post production, and there are an abundance of resources and training courses for the app.

Pro Tools costs $29.99/month, or is available as $599.00 purchase from the developer’s website (includes one year of updates and support). A 30-day trial is available, and a free (but seriously limited) version (Pro Tools First) can be downloaded from the developer’s website. Available for Mac and Windows.

Competition among serious audio apps is fierce, and while Pro Tools is still a major force in the post-production community, it’s not quite the industry standard it used to be. Audio professionals are turning to other apps that offer more bang for buck, are updated more consistently, and have upgrade prices that are easier to swallow.

We’ve already mentioned Reaper, Logic Pro, Cubase and Nuendo. Other popular DAWs include:

• Image-Line FL Studio 20, $199 (Mac, Windows)
• Ableton Live 10, $449 (Mac, Windows)
• Propellerhead Reason 10, $399 (Mac, Windows)
• PreSonus Studio One 4, $399 (Mac, Windows)
• MOTU Digital Performer 9, $499 (Mac, Windows)
• Cakewalk SONAR, $199 (Windows), recently acquired by BandLab from Gibson.

Free Alternatives

Did you spill your coffee while reading this review? Some of those apps are expensive! If you want to make a start without outlaying a pile of cash, you can. Here are a number of free apps and web services.

ocenaudio is a quick and easy cross-platform audio editor. It covers the bases without becoming overly complicated. It doesn’t have as many features as Audacity, but that’s a benefit for some users: it still has plenty of power, looks attractive, and has a less intimidating user interface. That makes it perfect for podcasters and home musicians who are starting out.

The app can take advantage of the wide range of VST plugins that are available, and allows you to preview effects in real time. It’s able to cope with huge audio files without getting bogged down, and has some useful audio editing features like multi-select. It is frugal with system resources, so you shouldn’t be interrupted with unexpected crashes and freezes.

ocenaudio can be downloaded freely from the developer’s website. It is available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

WavePad is another free, cross-platform audio editor, but in this case it’s free for non-commercial use only. If you’re using it commercially, it costs $29.99, and there is a more powerful Masters Edition available for $49.99.

This app is a little more technical than ocenaudio, but with the benefit of extra features. Sound editing tools include cut, copy, paste, delete, insert, silence, auto-trim, compression, and pitch shifting, and audio effects include amplify, normalize, equalizer, envelope, reverb, echo, and reverse.

In addition, you can take advantage of audio restoration features like noise reduction and click pop removal. Like Audacity, it has unlimited undo and redo.

WavePad can be downloaded from the developer’s website. It is available for Mac, Windows, Android, and Kindle.

Free Web Services

Rather than installing an app, there are a number of web services that enable you to edit audio files. These are especially handy if you don’t edit audio on a regular basis. Not only do you save hard drive space by not having to install an app, but the audio is processed on the server, saving your computer’s system resources.

Apowersoft Free Online Audio Editor is arguably the best quality online tool for audio. It lets you cut, trim, split, merge, copy and paste audio for free online, as well as merge several files together. It supports a wide range of audio formats.

The website lists these features and benefits:

• Make ringtones and notification tones easily,
• Join short music clips into one complete song,
• Enhance audios by applying different effects,
• Import and export audio at fast speed,
• Edit ID3 tag info effortlessly,
• Work smoothly on both Windows and macOS.

Audio Cutter is another free online tool that allows you to edit your audio in various ways. Options include cutting (trimming) tracks, and fade in and out. The tool also allows you to extract audio from video.

The website claims that no special skills are required. Once you upload your audio file, sliders allow you to select the region you want to work on, then you select the task you want to perform on the audio section. Once you’ve finished working on the file, you download it, and it’s automatically deleted from the company’s website for your security.

TwistedWave Online is a third browser-based audio editor, and with a free account, you can edit mono files up to five minutes in length. All of your audio files, along with a complete undo history, are kept available online, but with the free plan, are deleted after 30 days on non-activity. If you need more power, subscription plans are available for $5, $10 and $20 a month.

If you are reading this article it means that you are looking for the perfect audio editing software for Mac that you can use. But, before you blindly follow the list and start downloading all the audio editing software mentioned here, one thing you should keep in mind is your personal requirements. Before you even begin reading this article, you should know what you are looking for. For example, whether you are looking for audio editing software to edit podcasts or something complex enough to help you score a movie.

You should also keep your budget in mind. No matter how good a software is, the one that you can afford will always serve you better. Finally, you should also keep your skillset in mind and ask yourself whether you are ready to invest time in learning an audio editing software or not. Once you have answered all these questions for yourself, you will be able to find and focus on the software that will help you the most and will not waste time chasing the shiniest audio editing software in the market.

I have tried to structure this article, by keeping all these things in mind. So, you will find the best free audio editing software, the best audio editing software for editing podcasts, best professional audio editing software, and so on and so forth. However, note that all these classifications are not entirely exclusive as most of the audio softwares have features that overlap a lot with each other. At the end of the day, the best audio editing software for you will depend on what you need and feel comfortable working with. With all that said, here is our list of the best audio editing software for Mac that you should use:

• Adobe Audition: Best Overall Audio Editing Software
• Logic Pro X: Best DAW Software for Mac
• Avid Pro Tools First: Best Free Audio Editing Software
• Audacity: Best Audio Editing Software for Podcasters
• ocenaudio: Best Audio Editing Software for Beginners
• RX Post Production Suite 4: Best Audio Post Production Tools
• Fission: Best Audio Editing Software for Fast and Lossless Audio Editing

Note: While I am focusing this article on macOS operating system, most of these apps work on Windows PC too. The only app that doesn’t work on Windows is the Logic Pro X.

Best Audio Editing Software to Use in 2020

1. Adobe Audition: Best Overall Audio Editing Software

I want to start this list by using the most obvious and best overall audio editing software that the market has to offer. Whether you want to record and edit audio or want to create a background score for your upcoming movie, Adobe Audition can handle all your needs. Not only the software has all the features that you require from an audio editing program but it also has multi-track recording and editing capabilities which is something that we associate with digital audio workstations. Adobe Audition also offers one of the best audio clean-up and restoration tools on the market. It supports a ton of plugins which add even more power to the software. Whether you want to remove noise with precision or add audio effects, you can find plugins for everything here.

My favorite feature of the Adobe Audition is its waveform editing environment which allows you to pinpoint the problems and apply necessary adjustments. Adobe also brings AI enhanced tools which can make your audio editing life easier. For example, there’s an “Auto Ducking” feature which uses Adobe’s AI-based ‘Adobe Sensei’ technology to automatically lower the volume of background track to make the vocals more pronounced. Other features of the app include batch processing of audio files, automatic speech alignment, iXML metadata support, synthesized speech, and more. You will also appreciate the clean and user-friendly UI.

Note that Adobe Audition is a pro audio editing tool so users who have never used an audio editing software before might find it a little difficult at the start. That said, Adobe does provide free tutorials for both beginners and experienced users which should get you started.

Pros:

• Good User interface
• Extensive Editing Tools
• Huge plug-in support
• Great audio clean-up and restoration tools

Cons:

• Subscription-based pricing makes it expensive for long-term use
• Hard for beginners

Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS

Install:Free Trial, $19.99/month

2. Logic Pro X: Best DAW Software for Mac

I love Apple's software products just for the fact that they integrate so well with the hardware. Final Cut Pro X is my favorite video editing tool as it allows me to edit a 4K video on my 2016 MacBook Pro. The experience is the same for Logic Pro X. Despite being one of the best overall audio editing software on the market, it works without any hiccup even on the older generation of MacBook Pros. That said, let's move away from the obvious advantage that Logic Pro X has over other music editing software and talk about its features, starting with its UI. In my opinion, the user interface of Logic Pro X is probably the best among all the software listed on this list. It is clean and every tool that you want to access is accessible with just a few clicks.

Note that while you can use Logic Pro X for just editing audio files for your podcast or any other similar project, you will be under-utilizing the software and it will be hard to justify its cost. Logic Pro X is a proper DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) which is aimed at music producers. It features a varied instrument library covering almost all music genres. What surprises me the most is how close the virtual instruments sound to their real counterpart. Even people with the most discerning ears will be able to tell them apart. What few instruments or music genres it doesn't support can easily be added thanks to its support for plugins and extensive plugins library that is available for anyone to use.

My favorite music kit is the 'Drummer Kit' plugin which when enabled gives you an AI-enabled drum track (electronic or acoustic) while you add your music on top. Logic Pro X also comes with more than 7000 royalty-free music loops that can automatically conform to the tempo and key of your project. There's also support for patches which allow you to quickly load complex multichannel sounds. There are features like 'Smart Tempo' which automatically manages tempo across all the content in your project, Flex Time and Flex Pitch, Track Alternatives, automation, audio effects, music notation, and more.

The only problem with Logic Pro X is it cost. I think for people who are even going to use 10% of the features of Logic Pro X, the cost is justifiable. It's a onetime fee, after which the software is yours. There's no hidden charges and no subscription. That said, if you just want to use it for normal audio editing this will be an overkill, especially when there are a ton of good options out there.

Pros:

• Flawless integration with Mac hardware and operating system
• A complete DAW
• Drummer Kit
• Over 7000 royalty-free track loops
• Beautiful user interface

Cons:

• High upfront costs make it inaccessible to many prospective users

Supported Platforms: macOS

Install:$199.99

3. Avid Pro Tools First: Best Free Audio Editing Software

Avid Pro Tools First is the free version of 'Avid Pro Tools', a professional grade audio editing software, costing upwards of $500 and used by filmmakers and TV professionals to produce and score music for movies and TV shows. While the 'Avid Pro Tools First' is a toned down version of its paid counterpart, it is more than enough for most of the users. It brings a fast 64-bit audio recording and mixing engine along with a variety of session templates with preloaded instrumental tracks covering most genres so that you can start creating your music as soon as you get familiar with the software.

It brings professional grade editing tools. From editing the MIDI tracks to adjusting tempo to fixing pitch and time, Avid Pro Tools First can handle everything. The software also comes with Avid's Xpand!2 virtual instruments and UVI Workstation 3 sample player, thus giving you access to royalty free loops and beats. This free version even comes with 23 utility plugins allowing you to shape your music just the way you want to. Recording your own music or audio is as simple as connecting your mic or instrument and hitting the record button.

When recording audio, you can take advantage of the loop recording feature which allows you to record multiple takes and then use the one that you like the most. The software is also great for people who like to collaborate with others. If you buy Avid's cloud subscription ($4.99/month), your work will be saved on the cloud. You can then share it with your colleagues to work together. In fact, even the free version which we are discussing here allows you to share up to three projects with other users. So, as you can see, you are getting a ton of professional grade features inside an app made for professionals which are used by the industry leaders and you don't have to pay a penny. That's a deal that I cannot refuse and neither should you.

Pros

• Professional grade editing tool for free
• Free online sync for up to three projects
• Royalty free track loops

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Costs a lot to upgrade to the pro version

Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS

Install:Free

4. Audacity: Best Audio Editing Software for Podcasters

Not everyone needs a complete digital audio workstation. In fact, 90% of people who are looking for an audio editing software are looking for a simple program which can help them carry out basic audio editing such as trimming, noise reduction, voice modulation, background score addition, and so on. Whether you are a YouTube or a podcaster or someone who just needs to edit audio for home videos, all of the above-mentioned audio editing software will be a bit of overkill. you need a piece of software which not only enables you to perform these essential editing actions but also which is easy to learn use. For that use case scenario, Audacity is the best tool on the market.

Don't get me wrong, you can use Audacity as a DAW (especially now that it supports MIDI import) but in my views, it's not meant for that. It's simple and approachable UI makes it best for users who don't want to spend months learning an audio editing software. It is an open-source and free audio editing tool which brings a simple and interactive user interface with all the essential tools that you will need. From recording your audio clips to editing it using cut, trim, copy, and paste tools, to using audio effects, generators, and analyzers, Audacity can handle everything. Since Audacity is popular, it is also supported by a host of plugin developers allowing you to find plugins for almost anything that you might need for your project.

Despite being open-source and free, Audacity sees new updates on a fairly regular basis so you are not left using a software of the past. Just recently, Audacity was updated to support the dark mode on macOS Mojave and it looks great. There's also the new spectrogram view which allows you to pinpoint the problems and edit them accordingly. My favorite thing about Audacity is that it will take you just a couple of hours on YouTube to learn the basics and start your editing journey. That alone makes Audacity far more approachable than any other audio editing software.

Pros:

• Free and open-source
• Approachable and simple user interface
• Doesn't require you to do a Ph.D. to start editing
• Large and helping online community

Cons:

• If you are the right target audience, I don't think there are any cons

Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux

Install:Free

5. ocenaudio: Best Audio Editing Software for Beginners

Basic Audio Editing Software Mac Computer

Just like Audacity, ocenaudio is a free and open-source audio editing software that brings a simple to understand user interface. If for some reason Audacity is doesn't feel right to you or you just want to check out other audio editing software before settling on one, ocenaudio should be next on your list. Just like Audacity, ocenaudio features a clean editing environment which makes it easy for beginners to get started. In fact, as far as looks are concerned, ocenaudio looks more modern than Audacity.

Coming to the features, ocenaudio brings all the basic audio recording and editing features. You can just connect a microphone and press the record button and start recording. When you are editing, you can access all the tools including track selection, track cutting and splitting, copy and paste, multi-trackediting and more. Just like Audacity, ocenaudio supports real-time preview for applied effects. Users can not only apply native effects but also use VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins to import effects which are not included with the software.

Like Audacity, ocenaudio also supports the spectrogram view. You can use it to analyze the spectral content of your audio signal for getting a better understanding of all the problems.ocenaudio is also good at handling big files. Even after uploading files which were multiple GB in size, the software didn't hiccup. I have a 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro, so it's not even that I was using it on a powerful machine like an iMac.

While ocenaudio is a good audio editing program, there is one big problem with the software that will turn many users off. The app doesn’t support multi-track editing which makes it useless for many users including me. I have so much fun when using this program and I prefer it over audacity both for its UI and speed. However, the missing support for multi-track editing means that I cannot use this app for my work. Another drawback of this app is that it lacks is a thriving online community.

You won’t find many online video tutorials on this one. If your work involves multi-track editing, you won’t be using ocenaudio. That said, for users who are just getting started with audio editing and doesn’t require a multi-track editing program, this is the best free audio editing software on the market right now.

Pros:

• Free and open-source
• Modern looking UI
• Easy for beginners
• Support for VST Plugins
• Can easily handle large audio files

Cons:

• Multi-track editing not supported
• Not many quality video tutorials available

Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux

Install:Free

6. RX Post Production Suite 4: Best Audio Post Production Tools

iZotope RX Post Production Suite 4 is without a doubt the best post-production tools available for audio editors. iZotope has been leading the industry when it comes to refining audio for decades now and no other company comes even close to it. The latest version 4 update has made its tools even more potent when it comes to editing audio. The suite comprises of multiple tools namely RX 7 Advanced, Dialogue Match, Neutron 3 Advanced, Stratus 3D, Symphony 3D, Insight 2, and RX Loudness Control. Each tool serves a specific purpose and combined they can fulfill all your post-production audio editing needs.

Starting with the RX 7 Advanced, it brings a powerful repair assistant that can automatically recognize noise, clippings, clicks, hums, and more and remove them with a click. Dialogue Match automatically learns and match the sonic character of dialogue recording. Neutron 3 is a professional tool for building great mixes. It brings a “Mix Assistance” which can listen to all the tracks in your mix and gives you a balanced starting point. Similarly, the rest of the tools in the suite bring features to tackle a specific part of audio post-production.

But only the power of tools is not what iZotope known for, it’s also known for the way it presents the tools. All the tools work in a highly visual way, giving you a good look at the problems and what you can do to solve them. Just look at the screenshots above, and see how audio is represented in a detailed way. That said, all this power comes at a cost as if there’s one thing more that iZotope is known for, it’s for its pro pricing. If your work revolves around fixing audio and audio post-production, these tools can save you so much time while delivering a better product that you can justify the price. However, if you are someone who is just looking to get into audio editing, it will be hard to swallow the bill.

Pros:

• Best audio production tools on the market
• Best noise removal
• Available as plugin for your favorite audio editing software
• Repair and salvage lost audio
• Automatic audio processing tools make it easy to use

Cons:

Basic Audio Editing Software Mac 10 9 5

• Cost is too high

Supported Platforms: Windows and macOS

Install:$1844

7. Fission: Best Audio Editing Software for Fast and Lossless Audio Editing

If you find all of the above audio editing software to be too complex then check out Fission. It’s a simple audio editing software that focuses on providing a fast and lossless audio editing environment. You get quick access to all the audio editing tools. You can join, cut, and trim audio, edit audio metadata, use the batch converter to convert multiple audio files at once, and more. I love that it supports multiple file formats and you can easily edit and convert files to MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF, or WAV.

For quick edits, you can also use Fission’s smart split feature which automatically cuts audio files based on silence. Other features include gain adjustment, cue sheet support, volume normalization, and more. Fission is made by Rogue Ameba, a company that is well known in the Mac community for making splendid audio products, and Fission is no different. If you don’t want to invest time in learning audio editing and want a quick and easy-to-use tool, this is the one to get.

Pros:

• Best for quick editing jobs
• Supports lossless editing
• Supports multiple file formats
• Batch processing

Basic Audio Editing Software Mac Download

Cons:

• No pro editing features presence

Basic Audio Editing Software Mac Lightworks

Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux

Best Audio Editing Software: Final Thoughts

There are many other pro-level DAW software on the market which have not made the list as I have no experience in music production. The article is for audio editing software and I have tried to keep my list to reflect that. The only reason I have mentioned Logic Pro X is that I know some users will be looking for a DAW software here and for them it’s going to be useful. If you are just working with spoken audio and want a free editing app, very few apps can beat Audacity and hence it's on the list.

Audio Editing Software Reviews

But I love the user interface and speediness of ocenaudio and hence it made the list too. I guess what I am trying to say is that every person has their own specific requirements and the software you choose will depend on that. I have chosen the seven apps that will meet the needs of 90% of users reading this article. If you want something more specific and don’t know where to look, drop requirements in the comments section below and at the least, I will guide you in the right direction.