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What is The Best Free Editing Software?

  • Writer: Kallen Daynes
    Kallen Daynes
  • Mar 23, 2021
  • 4 min read

So I’ve received requests to cover more budget alternatives for those starting out, whether that be budget or buying second-hand equipment or even like the subject of today budget (in this case free) editing software. Mild spoilers but I’ve tried Audacity before and was not a fan so wanted to see what other options where out there.


I discovered a wide variety of blogs already out there who have covered this subject but decided I did not necessarily agree with their findings. A lot of these writers have a background in making music, so I felt it was still warranted to cover from a podcast editors’ perspective. A lot of the instrument tools, particularly in Garagband and Audio Tool I wont be discussing here as they aren’t relevant to my workflow but will perhaps be more relevant to you if you do make your own music.



Lots of plug ins

Lots of support

Works on everything

Good background noise tool

Looks ugly

Really slow


Kind of said it in the intro but I don’t like Audacity, in my experience it is slow and its export times are a massive bottleneck. To its credit it works on basically anything, probably even a typewriter, has lots of support for third party plug-ins and has a really good native background noise tool. There’s also an overwhelming amount of hobbyist developer support out there for it so that combined with the fact it can work on basically anything means it can be clutch in a pinch.



Clean and simple design

Can easily change shortcuts and turn features on and off in settings menu

Can edit non-destructively

Irregular updates

No clear way to adjust strength of Fade in/Fade out and Normalise tool


I like the layout and the customisation options as well as the simple design and menu layouts. The fact there is no way that I could tell to adjust the normalisation tool is kind of a deal breaker for me, bit of a shame as I otherwise really liked the app. Would consider using if I was boring a computer that didn’t have another editing software pre-installed and I knew its functionality wouldn’t interfere with my workflow.



Ashampoo music studio 2019 https://www.ashampoo.com/uk/gbp/media/1530

Commonly used tools are easy to find

Must create an Ashampoo account

Only works on windows

Features more suited to music production

No multitrack support


Safe to say I don’t recommend this one, wouldn’t be too bad if it had support for multiple tracks but is otherwise still outclassed by all the others on this list. The lack of support for multiple tracks makes this application completely unsuitable for my workflow.



Doesn’t need to be downloaded

Good if you hot-desk a lot

Have to create an account to use

Really ugly and confusing design

Heavily catered to music, not really any good for podcast editing due to limited features

Only works through Chrome browser


Would only recommend if your podcast quite heavily relies on music and you have some sort of technical knowledge about music production, maybe also if you find you don’t like the layout of several of the other applications I mentioned. As for me I find the layout too confusing and a lot of the features I wont use so it’s a no from me.



Ability to add Plugins

Looks like an advanced version of audacity

Fantastic fade tool with multiple modes

No customisation

Don’t like menu layout

Cannot guarantee it will receive any updates or bug fixes in the future


As this app has been replaced by version 7 which is a paid version I cannot guarantee how long it will continue to work. Otherwise though I think this is a pretty safe bet, would say I do prefer it to Audition and it’s definitely trading blows with Ocenaudio depending on what the workflow would consist off. The ability to add plug in’s makes it technically superior but the menu layout does irritate me a tad.


Looks cool

Lots of features

Navigate speech feature

Multi window controls bit confusing at first but nice when only working on one screen

Horrible fade in controls


Not bad I would definitely use this app if I had to edit down long interviews because of its navigate speech function; even if the text isn’t always the most accurate. Otherwise pretty midrange.



Lots of features

Customisable design

Ability to use plugins

Could look a bit daunting to users at first

Some things not where you expect them e.g. export menu being in song rather than file


Certainly not the most user friendly on this list but definitely something you could easily adjust too for someone more experienced with Pro Tools or Reaper. Lots of great features but for sure not my preferred from this list.



Garageband

Lots of online guides and resources

Really simple to use

Pre-installed on Macs

Lack of features

Only works on mac


Very friendly for first time editors thanks to it’s simple layout and the wide array of online guides and tutorials. The fact it’s only available on Mac means it will be unsuitable for a lot of people though. Use if you want something simple and don’t plan on adding on loads of effects.



Great for ripping clips from youtubes or CD’S

Computer really did not like it and seemed convinced it was trying to install malware

Kept trying to force me to install updates despite thinking I had uninstalled the app


Probably safer to avoid



Decent layout

Nice features

Supports Plug-ins

Installation is rather slow due to large file size

Menus aren’t the cleanest


All in all, pretty good if you are willing to wait about 30 minutes for it to install or have decent internet (1GBPS and up). Might be worth trying if you only use one computer or if you also use music as part of your workflow. Definitely the most functional of the ones I’ve tried, could be convinced to pick it over Acoustica or Ocenaudio.



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