Top 20 Voice Recording Software in 2024: A Comprehensive List for Transcription

Recording your voice has so much power, whether it’s capturing thoughts as private audio clips or creating a studio-grade production of a podcast. You need to rely on the right recording software to nail the results—but choosing the right one can be a nightmare.

What if you don’t know your MP3 from your FLAC? Why won’t the app you’re using identify your microphone? And in which folder are all your favorite plugins stored?

If you work with audio in any capacity, you’ve probably been there. Either struggling to get clean vocals from an outdated piece of software that’s probably too basic for your needs or pulling your hair out because the DAW you paid for has a steeper learning curve than Mount Everest.

So how do you choose the best voice recording software that not only feels a breeze to use but gives you the best value for money and end result? Keep reading as I’ve tested and broken down the top 20 tools, free and paid, that you can use to produce the voice tracks you need.

Comparing the Best Voice Recording Software

Our List of the 20 Best Voice Recording Software

Notta

Best for recording and transcribing simultaneously

It’s only natural we’d start by sharing our online voice recorder. Notta has the benefit of recording live vocals using your microphone, or by joining video meetings to record your conversation. It’ll transcribe your audio with up to 98.86% accuracy and in 58 languages, complete with speaker labels so you know who’s saying what.

Often, when you’re recording an interview, class, or your thoughts, you’ll go back and write notes—Notta can do this automatically with Notta AI summary, saving you time. Notta’s available on the Web, Android, and iOS.

Notta Key Features

• Records live audio from your microphone or video meeting

• Transcribes recording with up to 98.86% accuracy

• Transcribes in 58 languages

• Android and iOS apps are available for live recording on the go

• Real-time cross-platform syncing

Notta Pros

• There’s a free plan for light users

• The platform is easy to navigate

• You can add notes and photos to your recording’s transcript

• It’s easy to share recordings with your team via a shareable URL

Notta Cons

• The audio quality is compressed so it can sound distorted

• You have to have an internet connection for it to work

Cakewalk by Bandlab

Best for Windows users who want to record broadcast-quality vocals

Cakewalk is another piece of software I use regularly for music and vocal production. It’s so easy to record new tracks, with the option to individually select different input microphones per track. You can even export them as individual files or merge them as one. It’s another DAW that scans your PC for plugins for convenience, while also offering lots of editing and mixing tools as standard.

Cakewalk Key Features

• Multi-track, multi-device recording

• Plugin support

• Supports all major audio formats

• Studio-quality effects

Cakewalk Pros

• Vocal Sync audio alignment tool to produce overdubs on vocal tracks

• It’s incredibly feature-rich for a free DAW, making it one of the best free recording software

Cakewalk Cons

• Only for Windows

Wondershare DemoCreator

Best for recording your voice as part of a presentation

Wondershare is known for its cutting-edge video editing software, and DemoCreator is definitely geared toward making presentation videos. You can record your own voice in DemoCreator in a couple of ways, which is ideal if you want to make videos for a course or demonstration. In recording mode, start and stop your voice recording at will as you’re sharing your screen. If you’re editing a video and want to record a voiceover, use the voice recording option as a new track instead. The main downside is that there aren’t many audio editing options.

DemoCreator Key Features

• Available for Windows, macOS, and Chrome browser

• Record your voice with screen and video options

• Add your vocals as a new track in editor mode

DemoCreator Pros

• You can control all audio inputs individually

• Attractive, feature-rich UI

DemoCreator Cons

• Free version is limited

• Is quite expensive unless you’ll use every feature often

Apple GarageBand

Best for free mixing and editing on macOS

Garageband is a popular choice for musicians and it’s free for all macOS users. It makes a great free voice recorder! You can add up to 255 audio tracks in one project, which could be useful if you’re recording your voice for a podcast with music, sound effects, and guests. Just plug in your microphone and record directly into Garageband, then use tons of free effects and plugins.

There are the usual tools such as compressor, EQ, stereo panning, and volume control. Plus, add loops, samples, and instruments to get creative.

Garageband Key Features

• Up to 255 tracks

• Editing tools

• Effects and presets included

• Color code your tracks

Garageband Pros

• Easy to use

• Minimal interface doesn’t feel overwhelming

• Free

Garageband Cons

• Only available for macOS users

Avid Pro Tools

Best for serious audio engineers

Pro Tools is the industry standard for creating music and soundtracks, but it’s accessible enough to use to record your voice, too. The immense number of features might feel like a bit of a learning curve, but you can multi-track record, and edit fairly easily.

You can fully cut, paste, trim, and change your audio tracks. There are tools to shift the pitch and tempo of your voice with sliders. The mixing automation is a great way to refine your vocals with plugins. If you’re not sure exactly what you want to record yet, you can ‘sketch’ your ideas first and then lay them down in the timeline view.

Avid Pro Tools Key Features

• Multi-track recording

• Plugin support

• Wide variety of editing and mixing tools

• Real time pitch and tempo change

Avid Pro Tools Pros

• Huge number of effects included

• The editing tools have real-time preview

• Quarterly software updates

Avid Pro Tools Cons

• Subscription only, which could get expensive

• Learning curve for beginners

• Focused more on music production

Ocenaudio

Best for those who want editing features without a complicated DAW

Ocenaudio is a simple and compact audio recording software for Windows with a tidy interface that’s easy to navigate. You can record straight into it and add other tracks from your device if you need to—they’re organized into a neat tray for simplicity. I was impressed by the spectrograph view of audio tracks, handy for manipulating frequencies to enhance the sound of your voice. To cut editing time, this software lets you select multiple areas of the same track to apply edits simultaneously—not something you often see in free software.

Ocenaudio Key Features

• Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux

• Multi-track editor

• Spectrograph editing

• Tons of editing tools

Ocenaudio Pros

• Very lightweight UI so it’s easy to navigate

• Scan automatically for VSTs

• Real-time edit preview

• Select multiple parts of the same track to apply edits

• Looks the same cross-platform

Ocenaudio Cons

• Lacks some of the advanced editing features of other DAWs

Magix Sound Forge

Best for advanced editing

Although Sound Forge is designed for pro audio engineers, it’s still fairly easy to get started. Record your voice from your microphone into a track, then edit and mix with the built-in tools like noise reduction and EQ to clean up the sound. Like Garageband, you can organize your workspace with color coding so it’s easy to navigate once you start using multiple effects and tracks. I enjoyed the audio restoration tool that improves the sound of your voice recording in one click—definitely a big help if you’re a novice using editing tools.

Sound Forge Key Features

• Wide range of editing tools

• Multi-track recording

• Supports plugins like Melodyne for pitch correction

• Spectrum analysis for advanced editing

Sound Forge Pros

• Color coding for organizing your tracks

• Audio restoration tools to improve sound quality in a click

Sound Forge Cons

• Only available for Windows

Online Voice Recorder

Best for basic recording on the fly

For those times when you just need a basic voice recording, Online Voice Recorder is a web-based tool and is as simple as it gets. There’s no learning curve and you don’t need an account—just plug in your microphone and hit record. What I enjoy about using this tool is that it’s lightning-fast with no annoying load screens or timer to download, like some competitor sites. When you’ve recorded your audio, you can drag the sliders to trim any unwanted silence or sounds before and after. Download as an MP3 to use in your favorite DAW for editing.

Online Voice Recorder Key Features

• Web based voice recorder

• Simple recorder with real-time waveform viewer

• Trimming tool

Online Voice Recorder Pros

• No registration or download needed

• The website is fast with minimal loading times

Online Voice Recorder Cons

• No editing or mixing features

• You have to have internet access to use it

Ardour

Best for editing audio for videos

Use any device plugged into your computer to record your voice or sound using Ardour. The software even syncs with freesound.org so you can add Creative Commons sound effects to enhance your vocals. This would be so helpful for adding a voiceover to a video, particularly as Ardour also has an advanced feature that extracts audio from video frames so you can edit with precision. Of course, like most DAWs, you can also perform basic edits like cut and paste, volume panning, and mixing with effects.

Ardour Key Features

• Integrates Creative Commons audio library

• Multi-track recording

• Export in a wide variety of audio formats

• Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Ardour Pros

• Record and edit using built-in tools

• Unlimited tracks

• Supports a wide variety of plugin formats

• Free and open-source

Ardour Cons

• The user interface can feel overwhelming to new users

NCH WavePad

Best for recording and editing your voice on iOS and Android

WavePad has the look and feel of a traditional DAW, with its toolbars of editing tools and waveform viewer. To record your voice, it’s really easy—just plug your microphone in. It has smart editing tools to refine your audio, such as lossless normalizing and amplification to avoid any unwanted sound distortions. There are the basic tools that you’d expect, too, such as pop removal, noise reduction, and a handy spectral analysis tool. Unlike most DAWs, you can even install it on iOS and Android for on-the-go recording.

WavePad Key Features

• Lossless editing

• Supports all major audio file formats

• Includes a sound effects library

• Plugin support

• Download for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android

WavePad Pros

• Batch processing makes bulk editing quick and easy

• You can bookmark sections of audio for easy reference

• Restore poor quality vocals with built in tools

WavePad Cons

• The wealth of options could feel daunting for beginners

Zynewave Podium

Best for recording unlimited tracks

Podium looks similar to other DAWs like Pro Tools and Cakewalk, and has both a free and paid version. A huge benefit with this software is that you don’t need to make an account to use it—just install and start recording straight away. It features easy recording and editing tools, plus you can record as many tracks simultaneously as you need, then arrange them in the timeline view. Import your favorite plugins to refine your vocals for any project and use easy automation envelopes to control your recording’s sound.

Podium Key Features

• Download for Windows

• Plugin support

• Multi-track recording

• Basic editing and mixing tools

• Timeline and waveform views

Podium Pros

• Receives regular updates

• Save multiple profiles for different layouts

Podium Cons

• Only available on Windows

Audacity

Best for no-nonsense recording and editing

Audacity is one of the most popular open-source voice recorders and one I’ve used extensively as my go-to voiceover software. On the face of it, this desktop recorder and editor looks basic and even a little old-fashioned, but it features helpful tools and plugins for recording great-quality audio.

Plug in your microphone and record raw audio, then refine it with built-in tools like the compressor, amplify, noise reduction, and normalize functions. It recognizes VST plugins by scanning your computer and installing them so you can use your favorite third-party production tools. The Audacity developers even include their own add-ons like a punch copy-paste tool which you can use for repeating samples of your audio, and an ACX checker for narrators to polish audio tracks for Audible.

There are even advanced features like time-sync to edit multiple tracks on the fly and different driver options can provide low latency audio. It’s a lightweight piece of software whether you want to record your thoughts out loud, right up to producing broadcast-quality podcast episodes or audiobooks.

Audacity Key Features

• Adjust timing, pitch, tempo, and gain with sliders

• Auto-scans for VST plugins

• Built-in editing tools for compression, noise reduction, loudness, silence, and more

• Record multiple tracks

• Mono and stereo recording options

Audacity Pros

• It’s free forever

• The UI is minimal for easy navigation

• Easy to modify recording and playback devices

• Supports all major audio formats

• Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Audacity Cons

• You have to scan manually for software updates

• It’s not the prettiest or the most customizable software

Wavosaur

Best for those who need basic editing in a tiny footprint

If you just want a basic sound recorder with a few editing tools to get the job done, Wavosaur could be a great choice. It’s been a trusted free recording software since 2006, which might explain its fairly outdated appearance. The download is a tiny 3mb, taking up virtually no space on your hard drive. Record your voice with the simple interface and use the basic editing tools to refine your track. For times where you need to enhance your vocals and need a bit more power, import your favorite plugins, too.

Wavosaur Key Features

• Dock or float windows and toolbars

• Basic editing tools

• Plugin support

• ASIO support for low latency recording

• Tiny file size

Wavosaur Pros

• Easy to use

• Non-destructive editing so you can undo changes without reloading your audio

Wavesour Cons

• Not the best to look at

• Lacks advanced editing features

Ashampoo Audio Recorder

Best for basic recording that needs no editing on Windows

Windows has a built-in sound recorder but it’s often not the most reliable. For the next best thing, Ashampoo offers a basic recording and trimming tool to download to your Desktop. It’s easy to select your microphone and speakers from the floating selector and record straight away. When you’re ready, you can trim the track and save it as most audio formats from a high-res FLAC to a compact MP3.

Ashampoo Key Features

• Supports multiple file types for lossy and lossless audio

• Built-in playback feature

• Records from your microphone or system audio

• Made for Windows

Ashampoo Pros

• Quick and lightweight interface

Ashampoo Cons

• You have to provide an email address to use it, even for personal use

• Lacks editing tools and sound effects

Adobe Audition

Best for users who want to refine a voice recording with a bit of help

If you want to step up your basic recordings with smart editing tools, Audition has some great options that feel fairly easy to get to grips with, even if you’re a beginner. Record directly into the DAW with your microphone and add additional tracks to your timeline. The spectral waveform editor lets you analyze the sound and remove unwanted frequencies.

Does this sound too complicated? Don’t worry, there are clever tools that can do this automatically. The DeNoise tool removes hissing or humming from fans and computers with one click, without the need to create a noise profile first. Even transform echoey audio with the reverberation remover, which cuts the bouncy noises from walls and hard surfaces.

Of course, there is a range of basic editing tools that you’d expect from a DAW like a compressor, EQ, and amplifier among others. What sets Audition apart is that you can create ‘favorites’ to perform your most common actions with a click.

Audition Key Features

• One of the best vocal recording software for Windows and macOS

• Spectral waveform editor

• Create favorites to shortcut editing tools

Audition Pros

• Low latency recording and editing

• Automatic tools for noise enhancement

• Beginner-friendly

Audition Cons

• The wide range of manual tools might feel overwhelming for new users

• Subscription is expensive

Cleanfeed

Best for recording meetings or group calls

This browser-based software records your microphone and any other participant, no matter where they are in the world. Instead of asking individuals in a group call to handle their own recording, you can do it from Cleanfeed’s console. Invite guests and they join in a few clicks. Cleanfeed records all participants’ audio feeds, then you can download them individually to use in a DAW of your choice for further editing.

Cleanfeed Key Features

• Records each participant as a separate audio file

• Connect with an unlimited number of people

Cleanfeed Pros

• You can use the free version for commercial use

• Browser based so it’s easy to use from anywhere

• You control the recordings so tech hiccups are easier to manage

Cleanfeed Cons

• No way to edit the audio using Cleanfeed—you’ll need to rely on another software

• You need stable internet to use it effectively

Free Sound Recorder

Best for recording your voice and system sounds

It might not look as detailed as one of the premium DAWs but Free Sound Recorder has some impressive features. You can record any sound from your computer, whether that’s a YouTube video, video game audio, group call, or your own voice using your microphone. Once you’ve captured your audio, edit it with the built-in tools. There are the usual ones you’d expect such as cut and paste, compress, and normalize the sound. Then it goes deeper with automatic gain control to even out unsteady audio and a ‘voice active system’ to enhance the sound of your vocals.

Free Sound Recorder Key Features

• Record audio from anywhere on your computer

• Schedule recordings to start and stop

• Support all major audio file formats

• Built-in editing tools

Free Sound Recorder Pros

• Free

• Works on Windows and macOS

• Lightweight, simple layout

• Unlimited undo and redo

Free Sound Recorder Cons

• Missing advanced editing features

NCH MixPad

Best for multi-track mixing

Another voice recording software by NCH, MixPad is similar to WavePad but provides more options to mix and master your recorded audio. This could be helpful if you’re mixing multiple speakers and sound effects for a presentation or podcast. It supports nearly every audio format, plugin, and provides ASIO support for low latency recording. You can record as many tracks as you need simultaneously and bulk add audio effects.

MixPad Key Features

• Unlimited tracks

• Multi-track recording and mixing

• Add sounds from the included SFX library

• Supports major audio formats

MixPad Pros

• Easy to navigate interface

• You can perfect your vocals with the pitch correction tool in a few clicks

MixPad Cons

• A learning curve if you’re new to mixing

Apple QuickTime Player

Best for simple recordings on macOS

For macOS users, Quicktime is built into your operating system and offers playback tools alongside audio and video recording. It’s a pretty simple interface allowing you to record directly from your microphone, screen, and camera. It has a few simple editing tools like trimming and rearranging your recording, but if you want to manipulate the sound of the audio then you’ll need to use an alternative DAW. If you’re hoping to record quick thoughts or actions on your screen and nothing more, Quicktime could be all you need.

Quicktime Key Features

• Record audio and video

• Simple editing tools to trim, crop, and rearrange your recording

Quicktime Pros

• Free

• Built into the operating system as standard

Quicktime Cons

• Only available on macOS

• Lacks advanced editing features

Hya.Wave

Best for recording multiple tracks in your browser

Hya.Wave is a super simple, lightweight voice recorder that you can use in your browser. You don’t even need to register to begin dictating your thoughts into your microphone. Although you can record a single track at a time, you can layer recordings as multiple tracks, then mute and solo them individually. There are volume and pan knobs to refine your audio and when you’re done, simply download as a WAV file to your device.

Hya.Wave Key Features

• Volume and pan controls

• Multiple track recording

• Download as WAV

Hya.Wave Pros

• Based in your browser so you can access it from anywhere

• You can layer multiple recordings

Hya.Wave Cons

• No waveform view as you record, so you can’t see the levels until you stop recording

• No editing options

• The old version of Hya.Wave had more features and is still available, but it doesn’t work correctly

• The UI has a lot going on, so it can feel distracting

How to Choose the Best Sound Recording Software

Ease of Use

To use a piece of software to the best of your ability and take advantage of its features, you’ll want to make sure that the software you’ve chosen is easy to use. If it seems too complicated and you can’t wrap your head around it—for example, if you’re new to audio editing and you’ve picked a software made for audio engineers—the task will seem too daunting and you won’t get the results you need.

If possible, see if your software has a free trial so you can get to grips with it before you pay for a subscription or license. Many have YouTube videos or dedicated video libraries built in to help you navigate the learning curve.

Features

If you’re using recording software to document thoughts or ideas, it makes sense to pick something basic as you won’t use complicated features for advanced editing and post-production. Similarly, if you’re creating a video that requires a high-quality voiceover or you’re putting together a radio show that requires broadcast-quality vocals, you don’t want to just use a free online voice recorder because it won’t have effects and enhancement tools.

Supported Formats

A compressed MP3 file that’s easy to share with your team won’t offer the same sound as a lossless FLAC file for a podcast episode. Most software supports basic MP2 or WAV files, but if you’re using something more unusual like OGG or AAC, check that your software can import or export it.

Price

Everyone’s budget is different. Think about the features you need and how often you’re going to use the voice recording software to decide if you can warrant the subscription or license fee. If you feel that you’ll use 90% of the features every day for your projects, it may be worth paying for a more expensive piece of software. However, expensive doesn’t mean better—many free options offer similar features to well-known paid ones.

FAQs about Vocal Recording Software

What is the Best Free Audio Recording Software?

From the voice recording software I’ve tested, I would recommend three different kinds:

• For Windows, Audacity is the best. It’s easy to use, free forever and scans your computer for plugins. There’s no hefty learning curve and it supports low latency audio drivers. As a PC user, Audacity is what I turn to for creating voiceover and video audio.

• For macOS, Garageband is hands down the best choice. It’s hard to believe it’s free with the huge array of editing and mixing tools. Plus, you can color code your tracks to make organizing your voice recordings easy.

• For web-based recording, I love Notta Voice Recorder. It’s fast, simple, and free with no signup required.

Remember that your needs might be different from the next person’s, so compare tools to decide which is best.

How Do You Record High Quality Vocals?

Your voice recording is only as good as your microphone. If you’re recording vocals just to save thoughts and ideas, your phone or headset mic is probably good enough. If you’re creating videos, podcasts, audiobooks, or video courses, opt for a condenser or shotgun microphone to capture a wider range of frequencies with less noise.

Next, you’ll want to record somewhere quiet. A small room is best—large rooms are echoey. Try making your own sound proofing out of egg cartons or moving blankets to reduce some of the reverb.

Take care of your voice! Mouth sounds and a raspy throat aren’t nice to listen to, so sip water throughout your recording and use a pop filter on your microphone to minimize ‘plosives’ (those abrupt sounds when you make with P and T words.)

Finally, invest in a high-quality voiceover software that saves in lossless formats.

Which Software is Best for Audio Recording?

Choosing the best voice recording software depends on what you need it for. If you’re just using a voice recorder for taking notes, and recording your thoughts out loud, and you don’t have time to learn complicated software with lots of features, a browser-based recorder like Hya.The wave could be enough. For the added bonus of transcribing your audio into writing or a summary, you can record with Notta and even download the transcript and audio as separate files.

For broadcast-quality audio, I recommend Cakewalk or Audacity to create lossless audio with a wide range of editing and mastering tools.

How Do I Record Audio on an iPhone?

iPhones have a recorder called Voice Memos built right into the Utilities menu. Use your phone or external microphone to record your voice, then save it to your device.

For added features including transcription and AI summaries, download Notta from the App Store.

How Do I Record Sound on an Android?

Android smartphone interfaces vary slightly depending on the version you’re running, they all have a sound recorder built in. It might be called ‘Voice Recorder’ or ‘Audio Recorder’, but you’ll find it in your app drawer. Click to record and play using your microphone. Just like iOS, there’s a Notta app in Google Play if you prefer cross-platform syncing and transcription tools for on-the-go dictation.

Choosing the Best Voice Recorder Software

We’ve narrowed down a huge variety of online and desktop voice recording software (free and paid) to 20 of our favorites, each with unique features and use cases. Before you buy a subscription or license, check its features so you get great quality results without the headache of the software not being fit for purpose. That includes whether your system is capable of running it lag-free, as audio rendering can use a large chunk of your resources!

Finally, here’s a tip I’ve learned; Use the equipment that you already have. If you’re making quick audio memos, your phone or headset mic should be good enough. Upgrade to a condenser mic if you’re producing audio content. Have fun and get creative!