Audacity
Free, open-source audio editor for recording, cutting, and cleaning audio.
What it is
About Audacity
Audacity is the world's most widely used free audio editor. It handles recording, cutting, noise removal, format conversion, and basic mixing — and runs on every major operating system. It's not a full DAW (no non-destructive workflow by default, no MIDI instruments), but for podcast editing, voice-over cleanup, and straightforward multitrack work, it covers everything most people need at zero cost.
What you can do with it
Capabilities
Record audio from a microphone or line-in directly into a multitrack project
Cut, trim, and rearrange audio clips on a timeline using destructive editing
Apply noise reduction by sampling a section of background noise and subtracting it from the recording
Convert audio files between formats (WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG) using built-in export options
Analyse frequency content using the spectral view to spot clicks, hum, or unwanted artefacts
How to learn it
Learning Resources
Audacity's official manual at manual.audacityteam.org — comprehensive and free
YouTube: Mike Russell (Music Radio Creative) has thorough beginner tutorials
Record and clean up a 5-minute podcast episode — covers 80% of typical use cases
Pro Tip
The noise reduction tool is Audacity's most powerful feature — but it works best when you record 2 seconds of room noise at the start of every take specifically so you have a clean sample to feed it.
Skills that use this tool
Roles that use this tool