When it comes to recommending the best audio editing programs, it's very easy to go in the direction of Adobe Audition or Apple's Logic Pro X, but those resources usually require a budget that not all users can handle. Fortunately, there are very complete free alternatives that work wonderfully, even with a couple of years on their shoulders.
I still remember with some fondness the Cool Edit Pro era and my endless edits of poorly compressed MP3 files to remove pops and clicks. Cool Edit Pro became Adobe Audition in mid-2003, and under its current software-as-a-service policy, Adobe wants 24 euros per month in yearly packages. Of course, if you're an audio professional, this detail is minor, since you'll surely get the most out of the application and obtain all the value you need from it, but it's inevitable to ask whether audio editing has to be expensive. In reality, the answer to that question is no, and many of the best programs to edit audio can be downloaded for free.
The best free audio editing programs
Imagine you just want 20 or 30 seconds of a song to insert into a home video, create a kind of mashup, or fix something as simple as low volume. The vast majority of free audio editors will let you do that and much more, but first you need to find one you feel comfortable using. Today we're going to recommend five.
Audacity
Our first suggestion is the most obvious because no one in their right mind would leave out Audacity. Open source, recently updated, and compatible with the main trio of operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS), Audacity lets you record, import, export, convert, mix, add plugins, and insert effects without issues. The web is full of Audacity tutorials, and many are in Spanish. For more information, visit the official Audacity website.
Ocenaudio
It might not be at the same level as Audacity, but if you feel your audio editor should be a bit more intuitive, the Brazilian software Ocenaudio emerges as the ideal candidate. Its built-in analyzer is excellent, it gets along great with Linux, the official page offers portable editions, and it's available in both 32 and 64 bits, ensuring it runs on older operating systems (Windows XP SP2 is the minimum). You can download it from the Ocenaudio website.
DVDVideoSoft Free Audio Editor
Now, if what you're looking for is the definition of 'basic' in audio editing, DVDVideoSoft Free Audio Editor fits that category perfectly, to the point that there isn't even an option to edit individual channels. However, everything essential is there: You can select, cut, adjust volume, and export audio with ease. It supports a good variety of formats. Visit the DVDVideoSoft Free Audio Editor page for more details.
Acoustica Basic Edition
Technically, the free edition of Acoustica is no longer in development and is now stored in the legacy section of its official page, but it remains a very solid option. If multi-track editing and 7.1 support aren't among your priorities, Acoustica Basic Edition should be more than enough, and its user guide is one of the best we've seen, with precise details for injecting audio into your computer and starting to record. You can download it from the Acoustica downloads page.
Wavosaur
And to close, one of the lightest audio editors, Wavosaur. When I say 'light', I mean a total of 1.3 megabytes in its installer, and compatibility with systems as old as Windows 98. ASIO support, VST processing, offset correction, voice removal, analysis modules... it's hard to believe such a small editor holds such a number of functions, but they're all there. For more information, visit the Wavosaur official website.
We've reached the end... for now. If you've been looking for the best programs for editing audio or know someone who's on that quest, you should definitely take a close look at the programs we've mentioned here. On the other hand, if you feel another name deserves to be here, leave a comment! Good luck!
