Download Audacity 4+ Portable for free. This multi-track audio recording and editing software supports WAV, MP3, FLAC, FFmpeg, VST3, Nyquist, Spectrogram, Noise Reduction, and ASIO. Use it for recording audio, podcasts, and editing audio files.

What is Audacity?

Audacity This is an open-source audio recording and editing program that's completely free to use, with no hidden costs. It has over 100 million downloads since 2000. Podcasters, music producers, video editors, or anyone who simply wants to record speech and remove unwanted sections can manage it all with this one program, without needing an expensive DAW. The main interface works with multiple tracks; you can record from a microphone or connected audio device, then cut, move, copy, paste, or mix multiple audio layers together on a single timeline. It includes Waveform and Spectrogram tools for detailed audio signal analysis, along with built-in Normalize, Compressor, Equalization, and Noise Reduction tools. Whether you're recording voiceovers, removing noise from interviews, or balancing volume throughout a file before export, you can do it all in one place.

Importing and exporting supports WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3, and OGG formats. Other formats can be accessed via FFmpeg, with VST3, LV2, Nyquist, and Audio Unit plugins available on supported systems. For detailed editing, use Envelope to adjust audio levels in segments directly on tracks, or place label tracks to mark chapters and cuts in long files such as interviews or podcasts. For a lighter option focused on editing files piece by piece, other options are available. OcenAudio It's another option, while Audacity excels in multi-track applications and live recording.

Version 4 migrates to Qt, featuring a more modern interface, native high-DPI display support, and the ability to save layouts as workspaces. On Windows, the official installation supports ASIO, allowing users to select playback and recording devices based on the host, and project files use the .aup4 format, allowing for the opening and conversion of older .aup3 files without altering the original. It's suitable for beginners, students creating audio for assignments, YouTubers, podcasters, and serious music producers, as it includes all the necessary tools from the first launch.

Key Features

Record multiple tracks from microphones, mixers, and audio interfaces.
Cut, copy, paste, split, move clips, and mix audio on the Timeline.
Supports WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3, OGG and additional media files via FFmpeg.
Displays waveforms and spectrograms for detailed analysis of sound and frequency.
It features built-in noise reduction, compressor, normalization, EQ, and basic effects.
Supports VST3, LV2, and Nyquist plugins for adding effects and analysis tools.
Use the Envelope Tool to adjust the volume gradually across different sections of the track.
Label Track helps mark chapters, dialogue sections, or intersections in long audio files.
Macros are used to combine multiple commands for tasks that need to be repeated across multiple files.
Supports ASIO on Windows for compatible audio devices and drivers.
There are multiple Undo/Redo steps, and in some cases, session recovery is possible after program or computer problems.
Supports changing tempo, pitch, and speed, selecting the processing method best suited to the task.

What's new?

Version 4.0.1

Export multiple is back. Export each labeled track or segment as a separate audio file all at once.
A portable version for Windows. Just extract the files and open them; no installation required. You can even carry them on a USB drive and use them on other computers.
Bring back all the missing Audacity 3 keyboard shortcuts that disappeared in version 4.0. Users can now press them like before.
On the Cloud projects tab, there's now a button to open the folder in the file manager. The slider on the Welcome screen is clickable, and the icons on macOS have been updated to a Liquid Glass style.
Improved keyboard access. The timeline and vertical ruler of the track can be scrolled using the keyboard. Opening the Effects panel immediately focuses on the Add effect button. The toast notification can be read aloud by the screen reader.
Fix the faulty project. This includes cases where the save fails and the file cannot be opened, as well as distorted clips when converting a .aup3 project.
Files and folders containing Thai or other non-ASCII characters in their names can now be opened. This also addresses other non-ASCII text issues, such as Unicode preset names, and starting new projects.
This fixes issues where Audacity won't open on Windows with Smart App Control enabled, and where app images won't install or open on some Linux distributions.
Effects and plugins. Fixes crashes when opening the Effect menu in German, an unexpected program closing message that appears when checking plugins, VST3 settings being reverted at the start of audio playback, and inability to type values into effect controls.
Dragging clips and labels across tracks is faster and no longer crashes. Dropping duplicate clips over the original doesn't cause them to disappear. The realtime effects window can remain open while editing or undoing/redoing, and undoing/redoing is faster when many effects are applied.
Fixed flickering clip when selecting tracks after applying effects, audio synchronized with the beat when the song is faster than 120 BPM, view jumping when pausing or double-clicking, and track selection from the header that caused the playhead to move accordingly.
The new labels are no longer misplaced. The name of the first label can be edited immediately after creation. Also, the "-9996 Invalid device" error that wouldn't appear when input monitoring was enabled no longer bothersome.
Several other minor issues were fixed, including truncated exported filenames, case-sensitive extensions like .WAV (which Linux doesn't recognize), unsaved keyboard shortcuts, tooltips on sliders, untranslated dB ranges on meters, and the inability to open files by dragging them to the Dock icon on macOS.
On the cloud side, issues were resolved such as resume downloads after internet disconnection, imported mono audio becoming stereo, corrupted project audio previews, duplicate sync dialog appearances during saving, and errors when overwriting local files.