14 Best Free Audio Editors

1. 

   1. Acoustica Basic Edition

   Acoustica is a beautifully designed, comprehensive audio editor built for recording, editing, mixing, mastering and batch-processing.

   Most of the features are available with the free edition, but the multitrack editing, offline analytics tools, certain audio effects and audio restoration funcations are behind a paywall.

   The Standard version costs $39.90; the Premium is $119.90. Click here for a full list of features and their respective prices.

2. 

   2. Audacity

   Audacity is a great open-source audio recording and editing program compatible with most operating systems. The software lets you record live audio through a mixer or microphone; you can also import MP3, WAV, AIFF and OGG file formats -- then, digitize previous recordings, edit them and export.

   It comes with an array of effects, from Equalization to Bass Boost, and lets you remove superfluous background noise.

   There are keyboard shortcuts to optimize your workflow, too. And the best part? It comes with automatic crash recovery.

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   4. Tunekitten Audio Editor

   Tunekitten Audio Editor is a lightweight audio app that lets you cut tracks and apply basic effects, like fade-in and fade-out. It's non-destructive, so you can undo and redo your edits repeatedly. You can also input various file formats, including AVI, MP3, OGG and WAV files. You can't, however, record audio directly through the program.

   The app is powered entirely by JavaScript, so no Flash required. However, some user reviews report problems with crashing.

5. 

   5. MP3 Cutter

   MP3 Cutter is an audio cutter. In other words, it helps you edit down MP3 files into small audio snippets. Once you've edited the clip, export it as an MP3, WAV or OGG file.

6. 

   6. MP3Gain

   MP3Gain isn't a complete editing program, but it does provide an essential audio service. As with most normalizers, you can peak normalization, so you're not constantly adjusting the volume of tracks.

   What makes it superior to other normalizers is that it also lets you statistically analyze how loudly your files sound to the human ear. It adjusts the MP3 file directly, so there's no quality lost through decoding and re-coding.

7. 

   7. Audio Joiner

   Audio Joiner is a great app for combining several songs onto a single track. The app lets you cross-fade tracks and adjust certain intervals. There's no limit to the number of songs you combine, and it's compatible with a number of file formats, including MP3, M4A and WAV. It runs entirely online, too, so there's no need to download anything.

8. 

   8. Reaper

   Reaper is a compact, downloadable digital audio workstation. Using it, you can record, arrange, edit, mix, layer and render audio. It's non-destructive, so you can undo and redo edits without corrupting your file.

   Reaper is compatible with almost all operating systems; however, you can only use the editor while connected to the Internet. The free trial period lasts for 30 days, but after that, it's $50 or $225, depending on the plan.

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10. 

    10. WavePad

    WavePad is free for non-commercial use -- something it reminds you whenever you open the program. It has a clean, modern interface and supports a wide array of file formats. It additionally has a text-to-speech module, lets you rip and burn CDs and comes with tons of editing effects and batch-processing.

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    12. Wavosaur

    Wavosaur is a Windows-only application that lets you record, render and mix audio. The file is extremely small, taking up only 225 KB of storage, but still boasts some of the best features for editing. You can change the bit rates of files, convert file formats, normalize and apply other edits to audio files; plus, the editing process is non-destructive, so you can easily undo and redo any changes.

    It's compatible with other downloadable software additions and plugins, too.

13. 

    13. Fission

    Fission is a freemium app exclusively for Macs. Using it, you can crop, trim, paste and join audio files. Fission doesn't decode and re-code files, so you don't lose any quality when making adjustments. It also supports file conversion, so you can rapidly export or batch-convert files to the MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF, and WAV formats.

14. 

    14. Nero WaveEditor

    Nero WaveEditor is an audio processing tool for basic editing and recording. It accommodates AC3,AIF, AIFF, MP3, WMA, MP4, OGG, WAV, WAVE and NWF files. It also allows for non-destructive processing.

Audio editing software can be expensive and difficult to use.

That's why we scoured the web to compile the 14 best free audio editing apps, for your creative — and frugal — pleasure. Programs range from Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) to audio cutters, normalizers and file-converters.

See also: 10 Excellent Video Editing Apps

Take a look through the gallery up top. What's your favorite audio editor? Is it free? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image: Flickr, Gabriel Saldana