Best Free Audio Editing Software for Windows and Mac

Whether to make an audiobook, cut wanted part of a song, or add effects to an audio file, you may need an audio editing tool to help. Which audio editor is right for you depends on what you're going to use the editor for, your overall editing skill level, and, most importantly, your budget. 

Based on different needs for editing, we collect some audio editors in this guide for you to choose from. Now, follow this instruction to pick your music editor.

Top 1. EaseUS MakeMyAudio (Windows)

Best for beginners and those who know some editing tips but has a small budget for audio

If you're looking for a simple and quick way to edit audio files, this audio editor - EaseUS MakeMyAudio is one of the best options you can have. It is perfect for begainers and those who want to generate a professional-like audio track. With this program, you can do things such as:

• Record audio from the computer
• Convert audio to a wide range of formats
• Extract an audio track from a video
• Trim sound files in a straightforward way
• Remove unwanted noise from a sound file

Wondering how to use EaseUS MakeMyAudio for perfecting your audio tracks? Here are the steps. 

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Top 2. Audacity (macOS, Windows, Linux)

Best for beginners with no budget for audio

Audacity is a popular and open-source audio editing software you can use to cut, trim, copy, and duplicate audio files. Additionally, it also allows you to capture the sound with a microphone or even computer playbacks. While doing that, you can adjust the volume through the toolbar. In addition to that, it has many other features such as:

• Cut, copy, paste, and trim audio files
• Record live audio through microphone
• Combine sound files and export recording in various formats
• Supports numerous plugins

If you want to use Audacity to edit audio files, you can get your audio files prepared and then follow these steps to edit them.

Step 1. Launch and open Audacity on your computer.

Step 2. Drag and drop the audio file to the open Audacity window. 

Step 3. Then, Audacity will load your file in the timeline as a stereo track. 

Step 4. From the top menu, you can see many options and buttons, which might be a bit overwhelming to new users. Click on the "Selection" tool from the options if you want to make simple edits.

Step 5. Then, you can edit the waveform as you want. 

Step 6. Once you've edited your audio files, you can go to the "File" menu and choose "Export Audio," and then select a place where you want to save the audio files. 

Top 3. Adobe Audition CC (macOS, Windows)

Best for the audio editors or engineers with a big budget

Adobe Audition is a powerhouse and paid audio editor designed for professional audio editors. It offers tons of features, such as removing background noise from recordings, recording over 32 tracks, adding multiple tracks or bus tracks, zooming to specific durations with customizable presets, etc. Some of its features are listed below.

• Reduce or remove reverb and background noise from recordings
• Quickly add multiple audio or bus tracks of any channelization at once
• Zoom to specific durations with customizable presets.
• Import all 3rd party effects scanned by a previous version of Audition
• Open Premiere Pro projects 

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Adobe Audition CC's whole feature. If you want to explore more features, you can directly move to its official site. 

To edit audio files with Adobe Audition CC:

Step 1. Download the Adobe Audition CC on your computer.

Step 2. You can start your free 7-day trial. If you need to make edits frequently, you can upgrade it to the Premium version.

Step 3. Import your audio file and start editing.

Top 4. TwistedWave (Web)

Best for the beginners who pursue convenience and has no big budget

TwistedWave is a browser-based audio editor that can help you record o credit any audio files. No installation is required. You can access it with any browser. Unlike other audio editors that have rich features, this Online audio editor is very basic. It can only help you do a simple and fast edit. Moreover, it contains the free and paid version. With a free account, you can edit mono files up to 5 minutes in length. Once you have an account, you can purchase a subscription to increase this limit. If you prefer this tool, you can navigate to this site: https://twistedwave.com/online.

The Bottom Line

Those are all audio editors we want to introduce. You can pick the one you like most. If you have no budget for audio, you can use Audacity or online audio editors like TwistedWave. While if you have a small budget and want to create a professional-like audio track, the EaseUS MakeMyAudio is your best option. As for those who need to work with audio files frequently and require advanced editing tools, just use Adobe Audition CC.