Best Easy Audio Editor For Mac

Best Audio Editing Software 2019 - Clean and Edit Vocals, Podcasts

Best audio editor free download - Macsome Audio Editor, MediaHuman Audio Converter, Audio Hijack Pro, and many more programs. IrfanView (64-bit). Best Video Software for the Mac. Audio Editors - This is where you will find software for recording, editing, and manipulating digital audio such as samples, songs, wave and aiff files. Specialized audio editing software can be used as stand-alone software but can be very useful to use in conjuction with other music programs such as Multitrack recorders, trackers etc. As these programs offer additional functionality not always found in the basic editors that come with other software. We've tested the most popular options to help you choose the best audio editing software. And if you've got a Mac. No notation editor. No easy way to import session data or save I/O.

We tested 10 audio editing programs that cost less than $100 to find out which have the best editing and audio restoration tools as well as which are easiest to use. After considering our test results and overall impressions of each product, we recommend Adobe Audition. It is the best audio editing software because it has the best tools for editing and restoring poor-quality recordings. This is the only program we tested that requires a monthly subscription rather than a one-time purchase, but you can cancel at any time.

Best Overall

Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition is a powerful editing software with a customizable user interface. You can record multiple sources simultaneously, and the restoration tools ensure your recordings sound professional.

Best Value

Audacity

Audacity is free and easy to use. Further, its great selection of editing and restoration tools ensure your audio projects sound professional on any platform.

Best for Beginners

Acoustica Standard Edition

Acoustica Standard Edition has an easy-to-use interface and supports multitrack editing. Also, it includes an impressive set of restoration tools.

ProductPriceOverall RatingPricingEase of UseRecording & Editing FeaturesEase of Use: InterfaceEase of Use: Editing & RestorationOne-Click Restoration ToolsOperating System CompatibilityNoise Reduction EfficiencyMaximum Audio TracksNumber of Effect Plugins
Audacity4.5/554.74.7B+BWindows, MacC+Unlimited33
Adobe AuditionView Deal5/54.555A-AWindows, MacA3235
AcousticaView Deal4.5/53.54.74.7B+BWindows, MacA-Unlimited16
MAGIX Audio Cleaning LabView Deal4/53.84.93.9AB+WindowsA+114
WavePadView Deal4/53.34.83.5B+B+Windows, MacB-124
Magix Sound Forge Audio StudioView Deal4/53.54.33.5BBWindowsC+225
Cockos Reaper3.5/53.534.5BB-Windows, MacBUnlimited16
Sound StudioView Deal3.5/54.32.93.4BC+MacC220
WaveLab ElementsView Deal3.5/52.533.5BC+Windows, MacB-318
Mac

Best Overall

Adobe Audition

Audition single app subscription
$20.99

Best Audio Editor For Mac

Great audio restoration tools
Customizable user interface
Long-term use is expensive

Adobe Audition is one of the most user-friendly audio editing programs available. You can customize the layout to accommodate your workflow, and the software has all the best tools for editing and finalizing any audio project.

This is one of the few programs we reviewed that allow you to record multiple sources simultaneously on separate tracks. This makes post-production tasks like editing and effects processing easier.
Audition’s audio restoration tools make it easy to fix damaged or old recordings. To do so, you highlight a portion of the recording that has too much background noise or pops and clicks and use the sound sample tool to analyze the problem area. Once the software learns which noise you want to remove, you apply the tool to the entire track to eliminate every occurrence of it. Audition doesn’t negatively affect the source material when it restores poorly recorded audio.
To use the program, you pay for a monthly, yearly or multiyear subscription. It also comes packaged with Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription, which is a better deal if you plan to also edit photos or videos. Adobe offers discounts to students and teachers as well as businesses that need multiple licenses.

Best Value

Audacity

Audacity
Free
Great selection of editing and repair tools
Plugin presets are limited

Audacity is free, open source audio editing and recording software with an impressive list of editing and restoration tools. The interface isn’t attractive, but it is easy to navigate.

Audacity’s noise-reduction plugin is a one-click solution for removing unwanted room noise, and it performed well in our tests. The click-removal tool also worked well, but it can drastically alter the source material and make it sound worse, so use it with caution. Luckily, Audacity allows you to preview the edit to adjust the settings before making any destructive changes.
This program works on Macs and PCs and is a light load for your computer. The software crashed a couple times during testing, but that’s normal for free software. It’s compatible with most of the important audio file types, including MP3 and lossless formats like WAV, AIFF and FLAC. Audacity imported our 1.5-hour podcast test segment in less than five seconds, which was faster than most of the for-pay programs we tested.

Best for Beginners

Acoustica Standard Edition

Acoustica Standard Edition
Acoustica Premium Edition
User-friendly interface
Extract audio from popular video formats
Limited tutorials and product support

Acon Digital’s Acoustica audio editing software has an attractive, well-organized user interface. The effects, recording tools and plugins are divided into logical categories in the menu ribbon, which streamlines the post-production process.

Acoustica is one of the most customizable audio editing programs we tested. In addition to the editing window, there is a file browser, an effects chain and a waveform analyzer you can add or remove at your convenience. The program also allows you to customize the toolbar with the editing tools you use most to maximize your workflow.
The software’s noise-reduction, declicker and declipper tools successfully removed unwanted clicks, pops and background noise from a podcast we uploaded. In fact, Acoustica’s tools created some of the best results in our audio restoration test.
Acoustica’s premium version has more advanced restoration tools, but it is four times the price of the standard edition. The standard edition works on Macs and PCs. Since it costs less than $60, the standard edition is also one of the best value audio editing programs we reviewed.

Best for Audio Repair

MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab

SOUND FORGE Audio Cleaning Lab
Easy and powerful repair tools

MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab has a simple user-interface and a great selection of tools for repairing and restoring noisy recordings.

Don’t worry if you have limited experience using audio restoration tools, there are more than 290 one-button presets to get you started. The repair tools in this program are the perfect solution for removing hiss, hums and crackles from poorly recorded audio or digitized vinyl. You can only record and edit one stereo track per session, so consider a different program if you want to record and edit a podcast.
This software has an inviting layout that makes it easy to find tools and speeds up your workflow. There aren’t any hidden windows or tricky menus to navigate, and the restoration tools are clearly labeled. If you plan to digitize a vinyl collection, or repair field recordings, this is a simple, low-cost solution.

Best for Recording Instruments

Cockos Reaper

REAPER License
Studio-quality recording and editing features

Reaper records unlimited amount of audio tracks per session and has a good selection of mixing and mastering plugins.

The layout is easy to navigate and customizable to improve workflow and give you easy access to the tools you use most. It doesn’t have a good selection of repair and restoration tools, but it is compatible with most of the third-party plugin formats. You can also use Reaper to overdub or replace audio tracks from most the popular video formats.
There’s a free 60-day trial without any exporting or editing limitations. If you enjoy the layout and workflow, the full version only costs $60 and includes free updates that continue through the next version.

Why Trust Us

I have 20 years of experience with audio editing software in both a recreational and a professional capacity. My formative years were spent recording voice-overs and producing sound effects as a Foley artist. Many environments were poorly sound-proofed, so I experimented with early versions of audio editing software to create more professional recordings.

As an engineer and producer for a broadcast radio station, I produced hundreds of commercials and advertisements using similar editing software. I also spent two years teaching audio recording and editing at a local university.

My recommendations are based on my impressions of the programs as I edited and restored poorly recorded audio with each one, and I specifically focused on testing features I think are the most useful if you have limited editing experience. I focused my recommendations on the value of each feature and how each program’s interface incorporates those important tools.


How We Tested

We tested and researched programs that are easy enough for novices to use. As we tested, we focused on the applications’ audio restoration (noise reduction) capabilities, editing tools and ease of use – the most important features for podcast production and cleaning up digitized vinyl recordings.

To test noise-reduction capabilities, we uploaded an unedited podcast recording that was laced with hiss, hums and pops. We used all the tools available in each program to edit the track without adversely affecting the sound of the voices.

I talked to Brandon Long, a veteran podcast producer at the Banyan Collective, about the features he uses most as well as his tips and tricks for fledgling podcast enthusiasts. He suggests using audio editing software with multitrack recording capabilities because recording each mic separately saves time in the post-production process and results in a cleaner, more cohesive product.

He also suggests taking a little extra time before you start recording to make sure microphone levels are correct. “If it's a bad recording, it's a bad recording. It can be cleaned up, but it will never sound as good as if it was a clean recording to begin with.” He likens the process to taking a bad photograph and relying on software to fix it, noting, “editing software can only put so much lipstick on the pig.”

Important Features to Consider

Recording Capability
Some audio editing software can only edit files. If you plan to record your voice for a podcast, make sure you choose a program that can record from a USB microphone or audio interface. Some of the programs we reviewed can record multiple sources simultaneously, known as multitrack recording. This is a handy feature for podcast producers who use more than one microphone, and it allows you to edit those tracks separately.

Editing Tools and Effects
All the programs we tested can handle simple editing tasks like fade-ins and fade-outs, volume normalization, and copying and pasting. However, the best programs include advanced tools that apply fun effects like delay, echo and pitch-shifting. They also have mastering effects so you can publish your results at industry-standard volume levels for online and physical distribution.

Track Count
All the programs we tested allow you to record audio, but only about half of them can record more than two tracks per session. The best programs we tested support more than 20 tracks per session. If you plan to record more than one mic and integrate other audio content, such as beat-beds and sound effects, the post-production process is much easier if each source is on its own track.

How Much Should I Spend on Audio Editing Software?

The only reason to spend more than $100 on editing software is if you plan to compose music with virtual instruments, produce complex arrangements or mix and master recordings professionally. We recommend $200 as the right price for music production software, and $500 or more if you are recording and finalizing projects in a professional capacity. The programs we tested for this comparison are the perfect solution for recording podcasts, editing and repairing field recordings and digitizing an old vinyl collection.

Best USB Microphones

Other than audio editing software, the most important piece of gear you need to produce a podcast is a microphone. USB microphones offer the easiest setup process and don’t require an audio interface to communicate with software. If you plan to record with multiple microphones simultaneously, an audio interface is a better option. But if you need to record only one source at a time, here are a couple of our favorite USB microphones:

Blue Yeti Pro
The Blue Yeti Pro is the most versatile USB microphone available. It has a USB output to connect directly to your laptop or home computer, as well as a standard XLR output to send an analog signal to a recording interface. It’s compatible with all of the audio editing software we tested, and it comes with a heavy-duty tabletop stand. It has three polar patterns, including an omnidirectional setting for picking up voices 360 degrees around the mic. The zero-latency headphone output and gain control allow you to dial in the perfect levels while eliminating the annoying delay associated with using your computer’s sound card as the output device.

Audio-Technica AT2020USB+
If you’re looking for a USB mic for less than $200, the Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ is the best option. Audio-Technica is well-known for producing some of the best recording mics available, and the AT2020USB+ is a best-in-class option for USB mics. It has an internal headphone amp with volume control and a well-designed A/D converter that records at 16 bits, which is CD quality. It comes with a tripod desktop stand, a USB cable and a padded pouch.

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Jul 25,2019• Proven solutions

Many people are looking of free Mac video editing software since they have tons of videos and are eager to edit the videos either for better presentation or preservation. Are there any free video editing software for Mac users that are really good? Many people ask this in forums. Here we compare some great Mac video editors, followed by the detailed information of each editor for your reference, and we also made a comparison table for Mac video editor in terms of video format, pros and cons of the 10 best free video editors for Mac. Check it out!

Updates: Are you also looking for video editors for Windows, Linux, mobile phone, or online? Check our latest post 36 Best Video Editors for All the Platforms.

Part 1: Best Free Video Editing Software for Mac Quick Comparison Table

We’ve summarized the features, pros and cons of these best video editing software for Mac users in the comparison table below. You can choose the best suitable one based on your editing skills and needs at the current stage.

Level Products Input formats Output formats Pros Cons
For beginners Apple iMovie DV, HDV, AVCHD, Apple Intermediate Codec, Motion JPEG/A, iFrame, h.264, MP4, MOV... H.264/MPEG-4, MOV, AVI, DV... Available on iPhone/iPad; Comptiable well with Apple ecosystem Audio is copyrighted
Avidemux 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, H263, JPEG, MKV, MP4, MPEG, MPEG4, MPG, and OGM AVI, FLV, M1V, M2V, MKV, MP4, MPEG, MPG, OGM and TS Clean and easy to use interface; Open source software without built-in purchase Exporting process is slack
OpenShot WebM, AVCHD, HEVC... MP4, AVI, MPEG... Provide free built in effects and animations; Support 3D title Buggy at times; Freeze and crash often
ZS4 Video Editor AVI, WAV, Image Files AVI, WMV, WAV, Jpg, Png More than 120 built-in video effects; unlimited tracks User interface is not friendly
HyperEngine-AV AVI, BMP, Cubic VR, DLS, DV, FLC... AIFF, AVI, BMP, DV Stream, FLC, MPEG-4... Includes twelve studio-quality effects; Create slide shows Discontinued to release new version
For semi-pros Kdenlive AVI, MP4, FFmpeg... QuickTime, AVI, WMV, MPEG... Open source software Not friendly for greenhands; Update slowly
Blender STL, ABC, FBX... FBX, DAE, ABC... Fast poly modeling tools; Customizable input Unintuitive layers system; Animation management is not smooth
For pros Davinci Resolve MP4, MOV, MTS, AVI... QuickTime, AVI, R3D, MXF, DPX... Learning curve is not steep; Offer advance color grading Single screen editing workflow is not friendly
Lightworks MPEG-2, AVC, RED R3D, DPX, Apple Pro Res... MPEG4/H.264 Package is lightweight; Only need 3GB RAM to use Effect library is limited
HitFilm Express H.264, AVCHD, QuickTime, AVI, M2T, M2TS, MTS, MXF H.264, Apple ProRes, AVI High level ideo effects compositor No motion graphics feature

From the above comparison table, we can see there are so many pros and cons in different aspects. However, you may want to take look at another software - Filmora9- before you decide to use the one you like. It is anexcellnt Mac video editor that can meet your basic and advanced needs.

Part 2: Best Free Video Editing Software for Beginners: Wondershare Filmora9 for Mac (Video Tutorial)

Wondershare Filmora9 for Mac offers some persuasive advantages over other video editing tools available for Apple Mac. It not only includes basic video editing tools but also provides various advanced video effects for you to apply. Below are some features that can help you understand the best Mac video editor. Download it now to have a try!

  • Supports almost all kinds of video formats, including MP4, AVI, MOV, AVCHD, MKV and more.
  • Complete all classic video editing like crop, trim, cut, split and combine in a few clicks.
  • Make your footage look like Hollywood film with color tuning tool.
  • Make good use of your music with Audio Mixer and Audio Equalizer.
  • Exclusive Action Cam Tool allows you to cut and merge large action cam footages within minutes.
  • Advanced video editing tools like Tilt Shift, Face off, Mosaic, Jump Cut, etc for you to explore.
  • Convert your edited to any popular video format or fit video to mobile devices.
  • Burn your own DVD collection or upload to YouTube and Vimeo instantly.
  • Up to 100 audio and video tracks to organize your project and layer media.
  • Make exciting GoPro/action cam videos with precise speed controls.

How to Edit Videos with Wondershare Filmora9 (originally Wondershare Video Editor)


Import Media Files

Upload media files from your computer or transport from all kinds of cameras, smart phones and elsewhere. Or directly drag-n-drop them to the program.


Edit Your Video

Easily complete basic video editing by clicking the icons above the timeline. Add different video effects and filters to personalize it. For advanced video editing, you can easily create green screen effects.


Save & Enjoy

Save your video in different formats, share via Vimeo, YouTube, burn to DVD and more.

Part 3: Top 10 Best Free Mac Video Editors for Beginners/Semi-pros/Professionals

We’ve done some research and found out the following free video editing software for Mac users. Some of them are for video editing novice, while some free video editing software are for professionals (but if you need to use the professional features, you may need to purchase the Pro version). Hope you can find the right video editor based on your needs from the following list.

Best Free Video Editing Software for Mac [Beginners]

1. Apple iMovie

iMovie comes with every new Mac (OS X) and you don't need to pay extra money for it. The latest iMovie 11 is a great and free video editor for Mac with many great features such as movie trailer, one step effect, audio editing, etc. And in just a few steps, you can share your movies to YouTube or export videos for your iPhone, iPad, etc. However, iMovie is only free if you buy a new Mac. And when getting started with iMovie, you will find it hard to master this software. All in all, iMovie is one of the best free video editing software for Mac users and receives good reputation. You can learn some iMovie video editing tips and trick at how to use iMovie.

Features:

  • Supports editing 4K video
  • You can also use it on iPhone/iPad
  • 10 video filters are for you

Pros: Available on iPhone/iPad; Comptiable well with Apple ecosystem

Cons: Audio is copyrighted, so you need to download royalty-free music by yourself

2.Avidemux

Avidemux is another great free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux and BSD under the GNU GPL license and supports a variety of video, image and audio formats, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4, MOV, ASF, JPG, AAC, AC3, etc. High compatibility with many video formats is the highlight of this free video editing software for Mac. You can also cut ads from a TV recording, or just save a small part of the video.

It also offers some filters to use, such as color correction. You can apply these filters to your video to make it more beautiful.

Features:

  • It supports AVI MP4 and ASF
  • Based on H.264 encoder

Pros: Clean and easy to use interface; Open source software without built-in purchase

Cons: Exporting process is slack, which means it will take longer time

3.OpenShot

OpenShot is a free, simple to use open-source video editor for Mac, Windows, and Linux. It is a good video editor for beginners to learn and train video editing skills. If you just want to mae some basic editing without having to spend too much time, OpenShot can be one of your best choices.

Apart from doing basic video editing, you can also render 3D animation. This free editor for Mac also supports more than 70 languages. No need to worry about the language barrier to stop you from editing video.

Features:

  • You can trim/slice video quickly
  • Show waveforms while editing
  • Offer templates to edit titles

Pros: Provide free built in effects and animations; Support 3D title

Cons: Buggy at times; It freezes and crashes often

4.ZS4 Video Editor

ZS4 Video Editor is a free video editor for Mac which provides media experts with a facility to combine a variety of media types into one (or more) output file(s). Besides Mac, it is also available for Windows and Linux. ZS4 Video Editor comes with over 150 built-in video effects which can help you bring your videos to the next level instantly.

More importanly, you can use it to combine various media files into one, like video, audio and photo. With this all-in-one editor, no more needs to install too many annoying apps.

Features:

  • You can edit photos, videos, and audio files
  • It is easy to use

Pros: More than 120 built-in video effects; unlimited tracks

Cons: User interface is not friendly

5.HyperEngine-AV

HyperEngine-AV is a free video editing software for Mac used to capture, edit, organize process, and export video, audio, and text to create DVD quality movies and slide shows. It comes with twelve studio-quality effects from Arboretum's Hyperprism suite of audio processors. Besides, it offers text features to display credits, section titles, or karaoke lyrics with fully editable font, size, type, color, style, alignment, and scroll direction. Definitely, HyperEngin-AV is really a good free video editor for Mac users.

Features:

  • You can use it to create slide shows
  • Supports capturing desktop and editing video

Pros: Includes twelve studio-quality effects; Create slide shows

Cons: It is discontinued to release new version

Best Free Mac Video Editing Software for Semi-pros

1.Kdenlive

Easy Audio Editor Free Download

Although the development team has moved full-stream-ahead on Linux, you can still use this excellent free video editor on Mac with packages available via MacPorts. Kdenlive supports almost all popular media formats, and you can easily add the files to software's multitrack timeline.

You can create 2D titles to light up project like aligning texts and rotating. For editing huge size of video file, it offers proxy to make the editing experience smoother.

Features:

  • It allows you to edit several audio and video tracks
  • You can customize shortcuts easily

Pros: It is open source software

Cons: Not friendly for greenhands; Update slowly

2.Blender

Like Avidemux, Blender is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD and OpenBSD. It's a free 3D graphics application and considered as one of the best free video editor for Mac. It can be used for modeling, rigging, texturing, UV unwrapping, skinning, animating, rendering, water and smoke simulations, particle and other simulations, non-linear editing, compositing, and creating interactive 3D applications, animated film, video games, or other visual effects. Blender has lots of advanced features like powerful character animation tools, modifier-based modeling tools, a node-based material and compositing system, Python for embedded scripting and so on.

Features:

  • It is a 3D creation suite
  • It supports CPU and GPU rendering
  • It has various sculpting tools and brushes

Pros: Fast poly modeling tools; Customizable input

Cons: Unintuitive layers system; Animation management is not smooth

Best Free Mac Video Editing Software for Professionals

In our impression, professional-thing costs a lot. But it isn’t true when coming to video editing software like DaVinci Resolve, Lightworks and HitFilm. There are two versions for those video editing software, and the lite version or the free version usually costs no money with limited features which makes them good choice for people who are looking for professional video editing solution to some degree.

1. Davinci Resolve

Blackmagic Design's Davinci Resolve has been growing from an advanced color-grading tool to an video post-production solution. If you are an experienced video maker and want to apply a high quality color correction/grading to your footage, Davinci Resolve's free basic version can be your choice.

Timeline curve function is a powerful feature for you to add keyframe if you want to edit a specific scene. Also it offers full 3D editing particle systems to let you release creativity.

Features:

  • Multi track timeline you can choose
  • Trimming video is easy to use
  • You can adjust constant or variable speed

Pros: Learning curve is not steep; Offer advance color grading

Cons: Single screen editing workflow is not friendly

2.Lightworks

Lightworks is a professional video editing software for Windows and Mac, its free version offers you limited export option. It includes video effects, multicam editing, titling, as well as the multi layered timeline approach which is perfect for advanced video editing needs.

Features:

  • It is a rewarded editor in the world
  • It offers Proxy for 4K
  • Compatible well with Mac

Pros: Package is lightweight; Only need 3GB RAM to use

Cons: Effects library is limited

3.HitFilm Express

HitFilm Express is more like a compositing video editor, compared with Adobe After Effects, it's more easy-to-use and friendly to semi-pros. People who are not familiar with the video editing process may find using HitFilm Express difficult.

Features:

  • Various courses are available
  • It offers Proxy for 4K
  • More than 400 video effects

Pros: High level ideo effects compositor

Cons: It lacks motion graphics feature

Conclusion

You may have found the best video editor for Mac after reading this article. I’ll try my best to keep the list up to date, but if your favorite free video editor for Mac isn’t listed above, please leave a comment and let me know. This article is for mac version, click here to get more info about free video editing software for Windows.


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  • Choosing Video Editing Software
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