Top 6 Open Source Audio Recorder on Windows/Mac/Linux

Melissa Lee updated on Dec 20, 2024 to Screen Recording Utility

Are you looking for a powerful and flexible open source audio recorder? We researched most of the open source voice recording software on the market and picked out 6 excellent ones here. Keep on reading.

Looking for open source audio recording software to meet our needs of capturing audio in daily work and life? In this guide, we recommend 6 top software for you.

Whether you are a music producer, podcast enthusiast, or ordinary user, these open-source voice recorders can meet your basic and advanced recording needs, making the recording more professional and personalized.

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Items OS Rating Easy or Not
EaseUS RecExperts Windows and Mac 4.7⭐ Very easy
1. Audacity Windows, Mac, Linux 4.6⭐ Medium
2. WavePad Audio Editor Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Chromebook 4.5⭐ Medium
3. OBS Studio Windows, Mac OS, and Linux 4.7⭐ Medium
4. Ardour Windows, Linux, and macOS 4.5⭐ Difficulty
5. Tenacity Windows, MacOS 4.4⭐ Medium
6. Captura Windows 11/10 4⭐ Easy

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Best Easy-to-Use Audio Recorder for Windows & Mac

EaseUS RecExperts is the best option for hassle-free recording sound from Windows and Mac. Users can customize the recording parameters to capture high-quality audio without restrictions. It can record the microphone and system simultaneously or separately. Its AI-powered reducing background noise feature also helps you get high-resolution recordings.

EaseUS RecExperts

  • Scheduled recording ability to start recording tasks automatically.
  • Records audio in MP3, OGG, AAC, etc, formats.
  • Start or stop recording with one click.
  • Capture content from YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms as a live stream recorder.
  • Transcribe text from recordings easily.
  • Built-in advanced editing feature.

Here are the top 6 simple-to-use and open-source sound recording software for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Let's delve into them together.

1. Audacity

Audacity is a free and open source audio recording and editing software, supporting Windows, macOS, and GNU/Linux. This all-in-one audio recording software can record sound directly from microphone or desktop, or other audio input/output devices.

It also has built-in rich audio effect plug-ins, such as fade in and out, echo, noise reduction, etc. Users can easily add or remove these effects. Besides, you can import or export multiple audio formats, such as WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3, etc.

Features

  • Support voice input from multiple devices like system, microphone, and other data sources.
  • Supports noise cancellation, noise reduction, equalizer, echo, and compression.
  • Provides rich plug-ins to meet multiple needs of audio editing.

🔗You may also interested in: How to Trim/Cut Audio in Audacity and Its Alternatives

2. WavePad Audio Editor

WavePad Audio Editor is a professional and free open source audio recorder that provides comprehensive functions for recording, editing, adding effects, and sharing audio. This audio recorder for PC, Mac, and mobiles has rich editing capabilities that support cutting, copying, pasting, inserting, trimming, etc.

At the same time, it also provides a variety of audio effects, including echo, amplification, noise reduction, etc. Users can adjust the audio according to their needs.

You can search WavePad Master's Edition on your iOS devices or WavePad Audio Editor on Android and Chromebook devices.

Features

  • Multiple audio file formats, such as MP3, WAV, VOX, AIF, FLAC, OGG, etc.
  • Advanced editing tools such as spectrum analysis (FFT), speech synthesis, and voice changer.
  • Integrated audio restoration features, including noise reduction and pop removal.

3. OBS Studio

OBS Studio is a free, open-source video recording and live streaming software, and also can be an open-source audio stream recorder. It can only record audio from multiple sources like system sound and microphone and stream it to Facebook, YouTube, or other platforms. Its mixer function allows independent adjustment of volume, real-time monitoring, noise reduction, and application of audio filters.

Features

  • Record multiple audio sources, including microphone, system sound, and external audio devices.
  • Configure advanced audio properties to balance different audio tracks.
  • Active user community support.
  • Suitable for game live broadcast, online education, corporate meetings.

🔗You may also interested in: How to Stream on YouTube with OBS

4. Ardour

Ardour is an open-source digital audio workstation (DAW) software that provides professional tools for music production, recording, editing, and mixing. With Ardour, you can record an orchestra, create with audio/midi loops, edit the perfect vocal take, etc. This MP3 grabber suits audio engineers, musicians, soundtrack editors, podcasters, and radio producers.

Features

  • Multi-track audio recording and editing.
  • Supports multiple plug-in formats, including LADSPA, LV2, and AudioUnit.
  • Multiple standard file formats, such as BWF, WAV, WAV64, AIFF CAF, etc.

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5. Tenacity

Tenacity is an easy-to-use and cross-platform multi-track audio recorder and editor. It supports recording from real or virtual audio devices and editing and processing high-sampling and high-bitrate audio files to obtain high-quality audio effects.

This full-featured, open source, privacy-focused audio editing and recording software is suitable for various audio processing needs.

Features

  • Import and export multiple audio formats, extensible via FFmpeg.
  • Support for VST, LV2, and AU plug-ins.
  • Includes support for up to 32-bit float audio.

6. Captura

Captura is another free and open source screen and audio recording software. Users can enable its audio-only recording function to record microphones, systems, or other audio devices. Meanwhile, it can create separate files for each audio source to manage them better.

Although Captura has stopped development, the existing version still runs on Windows platforms such as Win10 and Win11.

Features

  • Separate files for every audio source.
  • Integrate the FFmpeg plug-in to provide more format options.
  • Small Recorded files, saving space and transferring easily.

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Conclusion

We share the 6 best open source audio recorders in this post. If you are looking for suitable audio recording software, you will find the answer here.

Among them, EaseUS RecExperts will be one of the best choices for recording high-quality audio. Although it is not open source, it provides rich recording and editing functions to meet your high-resolution recording needs. Download it by clicking the button below.

Audio Recording Software Open Source FAQs

1. What is the best alternative to Audacity?

EaseUS RecExperts, Adobe Audition, WavePad Audio Editor, and Ocenaudio are some great audio recording software that can replace Audacity.

2. What is the best recording software for PC free?

EaseUS RecExperts is an audio and screen recording program for PC. It can record videos for up to 1 minute free and without limit, which is very suitable for recording multiple short clips. It also provides powerful editing functions.