“You get a podcast. And YOU get a podcast!”
Because of the wonders of on-line streaming and audio enhancing software program, creating and internet hosting a radio-esque speak present is all the fashion. Folks from all walks of life have all of a sudden discovered themselves with podcasts like Oprah hurling them out.
Whether or not a sketch comedian or a conspiracy theorist, the cultural norm is to air your concepts in brief, digestible chunks. And hanging whereas the iron’s scorching, builders are exhausting at work with instruments that make it simple for almost anybody to get entangled.
Finest free podcast enhancing software program
Sometimes, the platforms you’d use to create this content material are the identical you’d use for private music manufacturing or multipurpose audio clips. You document your voice (or voices) on a collection of tracks after which use audio editors to crop or tweak as mandatory. If you wish to paste in a musical interlude and even document some recent jams on prime of your conversations, it is a nice technique to benefit from the software program’s performance.
Frankly, know-how is the straightforward half in terms of podcasting. An authentic idea and a killer podcast script are as much as you to determine, and it might take a number of tries till you strike gold.
Free audio enhancing software program instruments might be your new greatest pal with no monetary dedication getting in your method of making an excellent podcast. We’ve assembled a number of well-reviewed platforms by our international neighborhood of execs and ordered them by consumer satisfaction ranking.
To qualify on this checklist, the software program should have at the very least one of many below-discussed options:
- Enable its customers to add and/or document audio recordsdata
- Present instruments for clipping, arranging, and manipulating audio
- Save and export accomplished recordsdata in a number of file varieties
The checklist beneath contains any podcast recording and audio enhancing software program with a free providing or trial.
*This information was pulled from G2 in February 2024, and a few evaluations could have been edited for readability.
1. Podcastle
The only methodology to make a podcast is with Podcastle. It’s a web-based platform that provides podcasters and different content material producers unparalleled ease of use whereas recording, enhancing, enhancing, transcribing, and exporting their work. Its user-friendly multi-track editor makes it easy to edit audio with capabilities like auto leveling, reducing, and fade out and in.
What customers like greatest:
“I’ve been within the voiceover trade for 25 years, and the one factor I by no means knew learn how to do was be an ideal sound engineer. Podcastle has been a HUGE assist in creating podcasts for my job and enjoyable. They provide custom-made backgrounds, video, audio, and transcript too!”
– Podcastle assessment, Steven L.
What customers dislike:
“There is no such thing as a warning in regards to the absence of a document if the connection is interrupted. It’s unclear at what level it ought to be overwritten. It will be higher if the applying recorded audio and video on an area laptop after which uploaded the outcome to the cloud.”
– Podcastle assessment, Valerii Okay.
2. Riverside.fm
Riverside.fm is the primary (video) podcasting program that enables offline 4K video and lossless audio recording with no community connection. The know-how is utilized by most of the largest media firms and personalities on this planet, together with Hillary Clinton, Spotify, Marvel, and Verizon Media, to document studio-caliber interviews from any location with out sacrificing the sound high quality of the recording.
What customers like greatest:
“Extra than simply podcasts, that is good for course creators too! The enhancing interface and dashboard are really easy to make use of, making exporting the recordsdata tremendous simple. I really like how one can select the format and facet ratio!”
– Riverside.fm assessment, Thad C.
What customers dislike:
“There are glitches with the first movies generally, however having the backup recordings removes the frustration. I would like to not need to take care of glitches, however I imagine the corporate supplies sufficient copies of the recordings in order that there are alternatives, and that provides me hope.”
– Riverside.fm assessment, Zenice H.
3. Descript
Descript is an all-in-one editor that makes enhancing so simple as working with a Phrase doc. It allows you to quickly convert your file into textual content, modify your media clips immediately from the textual content, or document immediately into Descript. With automated speaker identification, its transcriptions are fast and exact. You too can document your display screen and webcam, rapidly repair any errors, and instantly submit your work to a URL for sharing.
What customers like greatest:
“I just like the transcription, and is predicated on textual content. It makes enhancing podcasts very fast, exporting transcriptions and organizing an hour’s price of content material.”
– Descript assessment, Jeremy C.
What customers dislike:
“Very like any automated transcription service, Descript struggles with non-neutral accents. So, for instance, my Scottish accent means I nonetheless must go in and tidy up at the very least 50% of the transcript, generally extra. This could make any time saved on different options moot. I want to see extra work put into regional accents.”
– Descript assessment, Danny B.
4. Murf.ai
Murf.ai is a sensible text-to-speech engine that runs within the cloud and may produce voiceovers for content material akin to YouTube movies, podcasts, commercials, e-learning supplies, shows, audiobooks, and so on. Murf makes use of synthetic intelligence and deep machine studying algorithms to supply extremely practical voiceovers in quite a lot of 120+ voices and 20+ languages.
What customers like greatest:
“You may get voices that sound believably actual and save from utilizing a conventional voice-over artist, and also you get the added versatility of creating adjustments on the fly that you wouldn’t get hiring a voice-over artist. There’s additionally an ideal number of royalty-free music tracks to combine along with your voice-over.”
– Murf.ai assessment, Nathan A.
What customers dislike:
“There are a restricted variety of characters for every language, and the intonation can generally be robotic. Additionally, there are some glitches with creating monologues vs dialogues. Creating dialogues is a really lengthy and drawn out course of which wants to alter to turn out to be extra environment friendly.”
– Murf.ai assessment, Helena M.
5. Audacity
Audiophiles have leveraged Audacity for practically 20 years. This free and open-source audio enhancing program is out there for Home windows, macOS and Unix, and permits customers to combine quite a few tracks right into a completed undertaking. After mixing and enhancing, recordsdata might be exported into a number of codecs for handy posting and sharing.
What customers like greatest:
“The interface could be very easy and intriguing! As soon as I received a bit of steerage on terminologies and learn how to use this program for my wants in voice-acting, I used to be happy with what it is able to! Messing with and cleansing up the audio I submit is fairly enjoyable! I additionally love the added tab on the finish that asks if you wish to prolong the small print of your recordsdata when exporting. This helps me hold issues famous and keep in mind my earlier auditions higher.”
– Audacity assessment, Jessica B.
What customers dislike:
“I do not notably respect that audacity is restricted relating to stay previews of the results you apply. You’ll be able to solely hear the preview earlier than utilizing it for a restricted time. And there’s no technique to disable the characteristic on the go because the audio is completely modified while you apply it.”
– Audacity assessment, Niaz M.
6. Energy Sound Editor
Energy Sound Editor supplies all the mandatory instruments to create, document, edit, and share audio tasks. Customers can lay down tracks with exterior microphones and pull in audio clips or fragments from CDs, DVDs, media gamers, or internet movies. The platform helps a number of customary audio codecs, together with MPEG, WAV, and Home windows Media Audio.
What customers like greatest:
“To begin with, that is the most effective platform. With the assistance of an influence sound editor, I can document sounds from CD, DVD, and MP3 gadgets. Total, Energy Sound Editor gives an entire set of audio enhancing instruments, making it a superb alternative for freshmen {and professional} customers.”
– Energy Sound Editor assessment, Maryam R.
What customers dislike:
“One of many least likable issues about Energy Sound Editor is its outdated consumer interface which might be complicated and tough to navigate for some customers. Moreover, some customers have reported that the software program is vulnerable to crashing and may generally be unstable. The software program additionally lacks some superior enhancing options in comparison with different audio enhancing software program, which can be a limitation for some customers.”
– Energy Sound Editor assessment, Rithikraj D.
7. WavePad
WavePad is a full-featured audio and music editor for Home windows and Mac customers. It permits for simplified recording and mixing of voice and music tracks. Customers can export completed tasks into numerous widespread audio codecs, together with MP3 and WAV.
What customers like greatest:
“It is extremely simple to make use of and has built-in particular results; no must buy plug-ins. I particularly love all of the completely different sound file export choices.”
– WavePad assessment, Roger T.
What customers dislike:
“It’s a little difficult to make use of. Newbies will want a bit of assist from an expert or take the assistance of movies on youtube. Moreover, the software program takes a while to course of the soundtrack.”
– WavePad assessment, Srishti V.
8. Studio One
Studio One, now in its fourth iteration, is a artistic companion for podcasters, musicians, and others working with sound. Its intuitive single-window interface and drag-and-drop enhancing enable a easy recording and mastering expertise. The bottom software program is free, however PreSonus gives a number of paid upgrades and packages for elevated performance.
What customers like greatest:
“The intuitive consumer interface, hotkeys, and instruments make this DAW the most effective I’ve used in the marketplace. The benefit PreSonus offers its customers needs to be the truth that they care in regards to the consumer expertise. This reveals not solely by way of their continuous updates but additionally by way of their tutorial and useful movies put out on numerous platforms.”
– Studio One assessment, Zachary B.
What customers dislike:
“Some options might be exhausting to search out, and the iconography will not be at all times probably the most intuitive (at the very least to me) as to a button’s operate. It will additionally make extra sense to use particular person preferences on the prime of a recording setting.”
– Studio One assessment, David Y.
9. GarageBand
When you’re a Mac consumer, you might have already got GarageBand put in in your laptop. Apple launched this absolutely outfitted audio workstation in 2004, and has been a staple for creatives and professionals ever since. It comes loaded with dozens of options for recording and enhancing, together with a library of sounds and music to make use of in your tasks.
What customers like greatest:
“GarageBand is easy to arrange and use immediately, and it’s intuitive sufficient within the format of its controls that volunteers might be simply onboarded. It has simply sufficient of the instruments mandatory for primary audio recording and producing content material.”
– GarageBand assessment, David C.
What customers dislike:
“There are some limitations to the standard of the audio, notably the extent you’ll be able to edit loops (as a newbie), and the workspace can get fairly messy.”
– GarageBand assessment, Daniel M.
10. Music Maker
Music Maker from MAGIX is utilized by greater than 2 million individuals worldwide, in response to the MAGIX web site, and was initially launched in 1994. It’s marketed as a music creation instrument, however its capabilities may also enable for the seamless recording and enhancing of podcasts. When you obtain the software program, tutorials can be found that will help you be taught this system.
What customers like greatest:
“This software program permits for very quick creation of soundtracks, for both video games or trailers. It has a big assortment of audio tracks to be used, and if wanted, you should buy much more. It’s the good instrument to create audio tracks for enterprise shows.”
– Music Maker assessment, Federico D.
What customers dislike:
“The difficult interface for midi manufacturing, or higher stated, the difficult course of on the midi version, the software program can get clumsy on that facet if you’re not used to it.”
– Music Maker assessment, Victor J
So that you’ve simply recorded your episodic masterpiece. What now? Discovering the right outlet to add and distribute your podcast is essential and may make or break your undertaking’s success. Podcast internet hosting web sites are specifically constructed to deal with your content material so you’ll be able to share it along with your community and be found by swarms of recent listeners. Moreover, a few of these platforms generate listener information and provide help with monetization.
The next are some podcast internet hosting websites that podcast hosts and the listening neighborhood belief. We encourage you to go to their web sites for info on options and pricing.
Prime 5 podcast internet hosting software program:
*Above are the highest 5 main podcast internet hosting software program based mostly on information pulled from February 2024.
Often requested questions on free podcast enhancing software program
Q. What file codecs can I edit with free podcast enhancing software program?
A. Most free choices help widespread audio codecs like MP3, WAV, and FLAC. Some cater to particular codecs like OGG or AIFF. Subsequently, it’s important to verify the compatibility earlier than buying. Some packages are solely accessible for Mac, whereas others are solely designed for Home windows.
Q. What enhancing options can be found with free podcast enhancing software program?
A. Fundamental options like reducing, trimming, and including fades are generally provided with free software program. Extra superior choices present noise discount, EQ, multitrack enhancing, and sound results. Dive deep into researching every software program’s capabilities to match your wants.
Q. Can I document immediately throughout the podcast enhancing software program?
A. Some free software program options like GarageBand enable recording throughout the software program, whereas others like Audacity don’t have this characteristic. They require separate recording software program.
Q. How do I select the most effective podcast enhancing software program?
A. Selecting the most effective free podcast enhancing software program is dependent upon your particular wants and expertise stage. Listed below are some elements to contemplate:
- Assess your wants: Take a look at answering questions like what sort of enhancing do you might want to do? Does it require primary cuts and trims or advanced sound designs?
- Contemplate your expertise: Are you a newbie or a extra skilled editor? Some software program is extra user-friendly, whereas others provide extra superior options.
- Checklist the options you need: Important options embrace multitrack recording, noise discount, audio results, and normalization. Usually, free software program has limitations, akin to export restrictions or closing dates.
- Others: You could additionally be certain that the software program’s interface is user-friendly and has an excellent buyer help characteristic in case of any difficulties.
When you’re new to enhancing, do not get overwhelmed by advanced software program. Experiment with completely different choices to search out what works greatest for you. There isn’t any one-size-fits-all; the most effective software program for you is dependent upon your wants and preferences.
Podcast like a professional
Regardless of your affiliations or what you deem “pod-worthy,” you’ll use the identical instruments to make your present as everybody else. So we’re not so completely different, are we? From well timed and news-focused to random, embarrassing anecdotes, this ever-evolving medium is used for nearly every thing — all made potential by easy-to-use software program right this moment.
So, do not shrink back out of your creativity. All of it begins with the first step!
Be taught how one can make the most of audio enhancing software program and create the right sound.
