If you have a passion for creating a masterpiece for your next big podcast, it is necessary that your audio should be clear. You have to avoid any background noise that can spoil your audio. There are many audio editing software for Mac available with which you can do all the basic edits that can make your audio track perfect. But most of them are very costly.
Here, we present you with free audio editing software for Mac. You can take a look at this list of the best free music mixing software for Mac and know about its striking features, pros, and cons.
Audacity
The music mixing software uses wxWidgets software library. This gives a similar graphical user interface on whichever source you use the software. There are many features in this audio editing software that you can make use of like audio spectrum analysis and multi-track mixing. You can also use Vocal Reduction for creating karaoke tracks and also adjust the pitch.
Pros:
- Free and open-source
- Simple user interface
- Helping online community
Cons:
- VST plugins not supported
Key Features: Editing | Recording | Cross-platform operation | Multitrack mixing | Detection of dropout errors
Download: Audacity (Free)
Related: 10 Best Audacity Alternative for Android: List of Best Free Android Audio Editor Apps
TwistedWave
TwistedWave is a very simple audio editing software. The software mainly lets you edit the track. You can do basic edits like copy and paste, undo and redo. You can also apply effects like fade in and out, pitch shifting, and time stretching. If you use Audiobus, you can record audio from a different device.
The music mixing software supports audio formats like WAV, AIFF, CAF, and many more. Moreover, you can also import files using iTunes. Twisted Wave also has browser access so that, you can upload files from/to easily. In the software, you can even copy and paste audio to share with other application.
Pros:
- All essential edits
- Simple UI
- Many audio formats supported
Cons:
- Noise removal not supported
key Features: Copy and paste audio | Apply effects | Pitch shifting | time stretching | May audio formats supported
Download: Twisted Wave (Freemium)
Free Audio Editor
An easy-to-use and best audio editing software that enables you to cut unwanted parts from your audio files. Free Audio Editor has a simple user interface. With the software, you can easily convert your audio files to a wide range of formats. Besides, the volume of the audio files can be adjusted. Also, there are tags or selections in it which can make your work much easier.
The software supports audio formats like MP3, WAV, AAC, and many more. It does not contain any spyware and is free and safe to operate. In order to use Free audio editor, firstly, you should import audio. After that, you can start editing and then choose output options and save the audio. You can also choose from different saving options within the software.
Pros:
- Intuitive UI
- Many audio formats supported
- Safe
Cons:
- Not all basic edits available
Key Features: Simple UI | Many audio formats supported | Adjust volume of audio files | Many saving options | No spyware
Download: Free Audio Editor (Free)
Related: How to Trim Videos on Mac with QuickTime Player
Fission
Fission is a free audio editor for Mac that is used for fast editing. Fission makes sure that the quality of the audio is not lost in the process. This is applicable even when you are editing an MP3 or AAC file. In addition, you can also convert formats in this music mixing software. Batch converting is also possible. You can convert files to MP3, AAC, WAV, and many other formats.
You can use this music editing software for splitting a long audio file, removing unwanted contents from your audio file. Within a single file, you can re-arrange audio. Also, it is possible to create great-sounding ringtones in MP3 and AAC formats.
Pros:
- Easy and intuitive interface
- Quick editing
- No quality loss
Cons:
- Limited capabilities in complex editing
Key Features: Batch processor | Suitable for beginners | Create custom ringtones | Stretching and squeezing part of audio files
Download: Fission (Free)
Soundation
Soundation is a free audio editor for Mac that helps you create music. You can collaborate with the large, helping online community within the app for the same. Soundation works completely on the web and has a simple and intuitive user interface. You can easily import and export audio files to the online audio editor for Mac. Simultaneously, you can also record audio in the music mixing software.
Various sound effects like hip hop, trap, dubstep, drum, and bass can be added to your recorded audio. There are also other real-time effects like delay, reverb, Butterworth filter, and distortion to modify your audio track. The best audio editing software for Mac supports input/output audio formats of many different kinds.
Pros:
- Ready to use sounds
- Free lifetime updates
- Easy installation
Cons:
- Basic library of loops fairly limited
Key Features: 700 royalty-free loops | 5 Virtual synthesizer | 4 sample players | 14 real time effects
Download: Soundation (Free)
Related: 8 Best Online Banner Maker Websites for Brand Building
Apple Garageband
Apple Garageband has multi-touch gestures that let you play many musical instruments like a pro using the software. You just have to plug in your guitar or MIDI keyboard to record up to 32 tracks. Moreover, from the sound library, you can download free instruments, loops, and sound packs. When creating a song using Garageband, you can use the multi-take section that lets you select the best from the multiple times you recorded.
You can also add lyric ideas to the song you are recording if you have an integrated notepad. Also, access your recordings from any device using iCloud Drive. You can create your music like a DJ by using Remix-FX to add DJ-style effects. By using any Touch instrument, the music editing software lets you create custom loops by recording directly into the cell.
Pros:
- Easy
- Simple UI
- Great visual audio levels
- User-friendly
Cons:
- Lack of effects
- Lack of pre-sets to edit audio faster
Key Features: Audio recording | Guitar features | Music lessons | Additional audio loops | Sample multitrack source files
Download: Apple Garageband (Free)
Related: 12 Best GarageBand Alternatives for Android Users
Reaper
You can easily customize the user interface of Reaper using user-built themes. The music editing software comes with many audio production effects. Moreover, there are many tools available within the software like ReaEQ and ReaVerb. JSFX plugins are also available for adding standard effects to MIDI and audio.
Reaper is a dedicated audio editor that can trim and cut audio files. It can also be used to align audio files in a project. The free audio editor for Mac does not include any third-party plugins. It is compatible with all versions of the VST standard. Reaper also has built-in support for BCF2000, TranzPort, AlphaTrack, and MCU.
Pros:
- Fast working software
- Most types of plugins supported
- Stable DAW
Cons:
- Routing audio between tracks complicated
Key Features: 64-bit internal audio processing | Supports 1000+ third party plug-in effects | MIDI hardware & software support | Fast to load
Download: Reaper (Freemium)
Zortam Mp3 Media Studio
Zortam Mp3 Media Studio has several modules such as Auto Tagger, Audio Tag Editor, and Mp3 Volume Normalizer. The music editing software supports audio formats like MP3, FLAC, WMA, MP4, and WAV tags. With the software, you can also rename files and search for files using tag information.
The software supports batch processing for all tagging operations. You can easily add album art and lyrics to the audio track. Also, the music mixing software lets you remove tags and cover arts. The free music editor for Mac has implemented an audio player. With the help of the software, you can also add song lyrics to all your music files.
Pros:
- Auto labeled record
- Easy-to-use
- Document volume indicated
- Built-in player
- Automatic tagging
Cons:
- Limited to MP3 audio
- Crammed interface
Key Features: Search duplicate MP3 | MP3 tagger | MP3 manager | Cover arts & Lyric support | Drop playlist manager | Batch processing
Download: Zortam Mp3 Media Studio (Free)
Related: 10 Best Video Converters for Mac Users
CDex
A simple but effective application that lets extract audio from CDs. You can convert these audios to an MP3 file using this music editing software. CDex has CDDB support that lets you add information about tracks and artists. The free audio editor for Mac can be used for automatic tagging, naming, and sorting ripped files.
The audio editing software supports audio formats like WAV, Vorbis, and MP3. You can create PLS and playlist files using CDex. There are regular updates in CDex. Its latest version includes encoder updates and better configuration settings. The audio editing software rips and converts audio files. Also, it can do CDDB queries and automatic file naming.
Pros:
- Simple UI
- Many audio formats supported
- Regular updates
Cons:
- Risks of glitches in ripped audio files
Key Features: Media file player | Advanced jitter correction| Easy to use interface | Supports CD paranoia software extraction libraries
Download: CDex (Free)
Ocenaudio
oceanaudio is a free music mixing software that is ideal for people who want to edit their audio files without much complication. It can analyze applications across multiple platforms. In addition, it has a powerful library called Ocen Framework to let you edit and mix audio across your devices.
The free audio editor for Mac supports many VST plugins. You can use VST effects to use real-time preview. Moreover, the software enables you to use effects like EQ which is necessary for filtering important parts of the audio. In spite of that, oceanaudio efficiently edits large files and has a fully featured spectrogram for analyzing the audio graph.
Pros:
- Not complicated
- Many VST plugins supported
- Large file edits
- Easy installation
Cons:
- Can’t switch from stereo to mono view
Key Features: Stability fixes | VST plugins support | Real-time preview of effects | Cross-platform support
Download: Ocenaudio (Free)
That’s our list of the best free audio editor for Mac. Many of these software support many input/output formats. You can also do your basic edits in this music editing software. Do try out them and tell us which one of these worked the best for you. If your focus is on music production, have a look at our list of the best Mac music editors.
You may want to look into Soundbug Audio Editor for MacOS (www.boomaudiotechnologies.com)
I’m always on the lookout for new, maybe more convenient tools so had a peek at Soundbug. Works only on Catalina and above, so unusable for anyone with an older Mac and/or necessary 32bit apps/plugins. Also very much not free; however $50 isn’t too bad a price for a perpetual license so might splash out as it seems to have a couple of handy utilities.
Reaper isn’t exactly free either, but its demo version is unlimited, it just keeps nagging you on startup in perpetuity. It’s also a full-fledged DAW, not just an audio editor with very capable plugins straight out of the box (most of these actually are 3rd party, not developed by Cocos). In my experience is entirely on par with Pro Tools in professional studio use – in some respects it even trumps PT; not only because it only costs a tenth.
About Ocenaudio… what’s that perceived “con” about “mono view”? If you have a mono file, you’ll see a single waveform; if your file is stereo, you’ll see separate waveforms and are able to audit or manipulate both channels individually. You can summarize a stereo file to mono, or extract channels individually to new files. It can record and work with up to 8 channel audio – what would “mono view” even mean in that context? It comes with a good basic toolset, but if that’s not sufficient it also supports my entire VST/AU plugin libraries, about 1000 in total.
Disclaimer: I’m affiliated with neither Cocos nor Ocenaudio. These are simply tools I’ve ended up with as after testing all major free applications I’ve found to be most capable and versatile: Reaper with recording / mixing / mastering multitrack audio; Ocenaudio for more lightweight work up to and including sound design and even occasional mastering with an appropriate plugin. In 2 decades I’ve yet to come across anything better. YMMV, obviously.