Audacity vs Adobe Audition: Free Editor or Pro Suite?

Pick Audacity if you record and edit podcasts, voiceovers or music on a budget and want a free, open source editor that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Pick Adobe Audition if you do audio work for video in Adobe Premiere, need a full multitrack mixing and restoration workflow, or already pay for Creative Cloud.

Both can record, cut, clean up and export audio. Audacity is free with no paid tier, and its version 4 brought a redesigned interface. Audition is a paid professional tool that sits inside Adobe's subscription apps.

Audacity vs Adobe Audition at a glance

Which is cheaper, Audacity or Audition?

Audacity, because it costs nothing. Audacity says it "has always been and will always remain free for everyone," and it is open source under the GNU GPL.

Adobe Audition costs US$22.99 a month as a single app on an annual plan billed monthly. A free trial is offered. Audition is also included in Creative Cloud Pro alongside Premiere, Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator, so if you already pay for that plan you have Audition at no extra cost.

Students and teachers can get Creative Cloud Pro, which includes Audition, at a discount: Adobe listed it at 74% off for eligible buyers when we checked, after an eligibility check. That can make Audition far cheaper than the single-app price for anyone in education.

What can Audacity do for free?

Enough for most podcasts and voice work. Audacity records and edits audio, and supports all major audio formats for import and export, so you can convert WAV to MP3 or FLAC. It supports third-party plugins, including VST3 and Nyquist, and has a spectrogram view and Vamp analyzers for looking at frequencies.

Audacity 4, the current major version, has an updated interface, Workspaces and productivity improvements. Audacity is also tied to Audio.com, its online companion, where you can back up project versions, collaborate and share your work. Downloading through MuseHub, the official distributor, also offers free extras such as Muse Sounds and Muse FX plugins, but you can download Audacity on its own too.

What does Audition add?

A professional workflow, especially around video. Adobe describes Audition as offering "multitrack, waveform, and spectral display for creating, mixing, editing, and restoring audio content." Adobe says the Essential Sound panel helps you "achieve professional-quality audio," and its restoration guidance uses the spectral frequency display alongside effects such as noise reduction.

The biggest reason to choose it is the link with Adobe Premiere. Adobe describes a "seamless workflow with Adobe Premiere," and Creative Cloud Pro includes both apps. If your audio work is mostly for video you cut in Premiere, keeping both in one subscription is the simplest setup.

What we checked ourselves

On 6 November 2026, the latest Audacity release on GitHub was Audacity 4.0.2, published on 2 November 2026. Its 64-bit Windows installer was 49,823,744 bytes, about 50 MB, and the release also included Windows on Arm, Apple Silicon, Intel Mac and Linux Arm builds. Audacity's own download page offered the same version for Windows, macOS and Linux.

Which runs on more computers?

Audacity. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, with installers for both regular and Arm processors on every system. Audition runs only on Windows and macOS, so on Linux, Audacity is the one to use. Adobe's current requirements for Audition list Windows 11 (version 24H2) or macOS 14 Sonoma as minimums, with at least 8 GB of RAM, so older computers that still run Audacity may not run current Audition.

Want to compare more audio editors? Our guide to Audacity alternatives covers other free and paid options.

Which is easier to use?

Audacity is simpler for single-track work: record, cut, apply an effect, export. That is most of what a solo podcaster or voiceover artist does.

Audition has more to learn because it does more. Its separate waveform and multitrack views, spectral editing and mixing tools are built for people who work on audio all day. If your edits are simple, that depth can get in the way; if they are complex, it pays off.

Which should you choose?

• You record a podcast or voiceovers and want to spend nothing: Audacity.
• You use Linux: Audacity.
• You want to convert audio between formats: Audacity.
• You edit video in Adobe Premiere: Audition.
• You already pay for Creative Cloud Pro: Audition, since it is included.
• You do professional restoration and multitrack mixing: Audition.

FAQ

Is Audacity really free?

Yes. Audacity is free and open source, released under the GNU GPL version 3, with no paid version.

Is Adobe Audition free?

No. Audition costs US$22.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly, or comes with Creative Cloud Pro. Adobe offers a free trial.

Can Audacity use VST plugins?

Yes. Audacity supports third-party plugins, including VST3 and Nyquist plugins, so you can add effects beyond the ones built in.

Can I save Audacity projects to the cloud?

Yes, through Audio.com, Audacity's online companion, which keeps versioned backups of your projects and lets you collaborate and share your work.