Best Free Music Editing Software in 2026

Looking for a free audio editing program to edit music? In this article, we recommend 10 programs to edit your favorite songs or important voice files for free. Check out the pros and cons of each program below, as well as their suitability for different situations.

1. Audacity: Focuses on basic features like cutting and pasting.
2. Ashampoo Music Studio: A high-performance MP3 editor for Windows.
3. Logic Pro: 360-degree music editing on macOS.
4. Adobe® Audition®: Professional audio editing program available for both Mac and Windows.
5. FL Studio: For those who do a lot of bit-stacking audio editing.
6. Audiotool: Create music online without installing programs.
7. PreSonus Studio One: A lightweight DAW audio editing program.
8. Ocenaudio: Basic audio editing that runs on a variety of operating systems.
9. Acoustica: Mid-level audio editing software.
10. GarageBand: Easy audio editing software for macOS and iOS.

Used for decades as an open-source audio mixer, Audacity still stands as one of the most popular free audio mixer options out there. The app is available for a PC, Mac, and Linux. It recently added a new bar-beat grip that enhances recording, and offers basic audio editing functionality that still rivals newer sound mixer options.

What we like about Audacity is that it allows you to add plugins according to your recording and editing needs. Some of its most notable features include:

• The ability to adjust the tempo or pitch while leaving the other untouched
• A highly responsive editing toolbar that’s easy to learn
• Live recording using a mic
• Audio enhancement functions for crisper sound

Those who still use Audacity have learned how to achieve more in less time thanks to its clever keyboard shortcuts. For those newer to this program, it contains an in-program support facility to teach you the ropes as you edit your audio files.

Although Audacity is predominantly used for audio-only projects such as dialogue, music, and podcasts, it can still be used for video editors. By isolating your audio files and working on them, you can later transfer them back to your video editing project and synchronize them with your video.

Ashampoo Music Studio is an all-in-one audio software suite that provides a complete set of tools for ripping, editing, converting, and organizing digital music files. Developed by Ashampoo GmbH, this Windows-based application caters to music enthusiasts who need straightforward yet powerful tools for managing their audio collections – from basic file conversion to disc burning and audio restoration.

Key features include:

• Audio format conversion
• CD ripping and burning
• Audio editing and recording
• Music organization tools
• Audio restoration features
• Cover and label designer

Starting out as an Apple-only program, Logic Pro is now available for Windows users too, under the name Logic Pro X. Whichever one you choose to use, they are virtually identical in user interface and functionality. Bear in mind though that you will need an iOS device to get this program, and then you can activate it on a Windows PC if you so choose.

For the purposes of this review, we’ll give you the features that appear on the Apple version. Here are some notable features you’ll enjoy:

• Comes with a myriad of optional plugins to adapt your audio mixer software to what you need
• Works perfectly for touch devices like iPads and iPhones
• Change existing sounds and shape them to your desires
• Can export to a Dolby Atmos format for Apple compatibility
• Royalty free sound packs

The interface of Logic Pro may look complicated to new users, but the sound mixing functionality is actually quite intuitive. There are countless tutorials to help you learn this platform, along with all the optional plugins that come with it. If you’re accustomed to using Apple software, you’ll most likely catch on pretty quickly.

Logic Pro also comes with sound packs of existing sounds and music clips to help you tweak and incorporate them into your final product. These clips are all royalty free, so you can play around with as many as you like and create unique music or sound clips for your videos.

Popular among students, teachers, and speakers, Adobe® Audition® delivers a comprehensive set of functions for anyone who wants to edit audio files or music tracks. It also lets you restore audio that has been compromised by background noise, low quality recording, or mild equipment failure.

Equipped with waveform and multitrack, Adobe® Audition® allows video editors to isolate their audio and work on the fine details of its sound. After this, you’ll be able to make enhancements on the entire audio clip as one whole track, and upload it to your video editing platform for final syncing.

Some of the features you can expect to see when using Adobe® Audition® include:

• Waveform and multitrack capabilities
• An in-app tutorial to help you navigate its functions
• Whole track audio enhancements
• Fine detail inspection within audio clips and tweaking of them
• Dedicated tools for podcast recorders and editors

In addition to these features, Adobe® Audition® also has a smart auto-fit feature, which cleverly estimates the best duration of a track in order to fit it into your video. For video editors, this automatic function saves a lot of time and effort, making it a great audio mixer software addition to the toolbox of video editors.

FL Studio has one of the cleanest interfaces we’ve seen among live audio mixing tools. This audio mixing tool will appeal to both amateurs and professionals alike because it’s visually pleasing to work with, and easy to understand. Buying this program license once will ensure free lifetime updates, so it’s worth trying out the free trial if you’re looking for a long term mixer that delivers functions on a professional level.

Compatible with Windows and Mac, FL studio has an array of helpful plugins that will customize your music mixer to exactly what you want. You can also program presents into your settings so that editing is quicker. Plugins include instrumental sounds for music mixing, and other helpful tools for editing dialogue audio and enhancing your sound files.

Other features of FL Studio include:

• User-friendly mobile compatibility for iOS and Android
• Music-focused tools and functions that will appeal to musicians
• Compatible with professional DAW
• Affordable licensing options
• Plugins that are easy to access and not overpriced
• One month of free FL Cloud

A definite great option for musicians who want audio mixer software that’s dedicated to making music tracks.

Audiotool is a powerful cloud-based digital audio workstation (DAW) that runs entirely in your web browser, allowing users to create, produce, and collaborate on music without downloading any software. Originally launched in 2008, it provides a comprehensive suite of virtual instruments, effects, and mixing tools that rival many desktop music production applications.

Key features include:

• Browser-based production – Create full tracks directly in your web browser with no installation required, accessible from any computer with an internet connection
• Virtual analog synthesizers – Access to classic emulations including the Pulverisateur (modeled after the Roland JP-8000), Heisenberg (phase modulation synth), and Bassline (TB-303 clone)
• Drum machines and samplers – Built-in rhythm tools including the Machiniste drum computer and Beatbox drum samplers with extensive sound libraries
• Professional effects rack – Complete mixing and mastering tools including EQ, compression, reverb, delay, distortion, and modular routing options
• Real-time collaboration – Work on projects simultaneously with other producers, share projects publicly, and remix tracks from the community
• Sample library and recording – Import your own samples, record directly through your microphone, and access a growing library of loops and one-shots

Presonus is a relative newcomer in the world of audio tech, and Studio One is their answer to a lot of the existing DAWs on the market.

This is more of a tool for composers, with MIDI support for writing music and using virtual instruments. It does fully support audio recording in a variety of formats, so it is also suitable for people who want to record voice-overs or podcast audio, for instance. You can connect an audio interface or USB microphone.

The software is good for those who want to write music and record songs too, but it may be overkill for simple audio editing. The excellent compression and “mastering” features set this apart.

If you’re still on the amateur side of audio mixing, then Ocenaudio is the perfect entry level audio mixer software to choose. It’s simple to use, easy to access, and provides all the basic functions of other mixing tools.  Since it’s 100% free for anyone to use, you can simply download it risk-free and try it for yourself to see if it possesses all the features you need.

There are some sound editors that will skip over this option, simply because:

• It doesn’t have intricate functions like paid-for audio mixing tools.
• It’s not compatible with professional DAW.
• It occasionally prompts you to make an optional donation to the students who developed it.

But on the positive side, this sound mixer has a lot to offer. Ocenaudio allows you to use color coding to distinguish various sound channels when amalgamating various clips into one file. The interface is clean and easy to learn, making it ideal for newbies who are starting out in the sound mixing world.

Hotkeys make your experience much easier, with a lot of easy-to-learn shortcuts to speed up each project. The menu and toolbars are pretty self-explanatory, leaving very little deciphering when learning the program. Students who want to try their hand at mixing music will love Ocenaudio, and it’s the right audio mixer to pick if you’re still deciding if you want to do this long term.

Acoustica is a comprehensive digital audio editor and mastering suite developed by Acon Digital, designed for both professional audio engineers and home studio enthusiasts. The software offers precise waveform editing, multitrack mixing capabilities, and an extensive collection of audio restoration tools – making it particularly well-suited for podcast production, music mastering, and audio post-production work.

Key features include:

• Multitrack editing environment – Mix unlimited audio tracks with full automation support, real-time effects processing, and flexible routing options
• Advanced audio restoration suite – Remove noise, clicks, pops, and other artifacts with specialized tools including DeClick, DeNoise, DeHum, and DeClip processors
• Spectral editing capabilities – Visualize and edit audio in the frequency domain for surgical precision when removing unwanted sounds or frequencies
• Extensive format support – Work with all major audio formats including WAV, MP3, FLAC, M4A, WMA, and high-resolution formats up to 32-bit/384 kHz
• Built-in effects and processing – Access professional-grade EQ, compression, reverb, chorus, flanger, and other effects with support for VST, VST3, and AU plugins
• Batch processing functionality – Apply effects chains and format conversions to multiple files simultaneously for efficient workflow management

If you’ve bought an Apple device in recent years, such as an iPad or iPhone, you might have noticed that GarageBand is already installed on it by default. It’s a powerful DAW, free for Apple users.

This allows multi-track recordings and you can change the input, so you can easily set up an external mic such as a USB microphone. GarageBand also allows you to do a lot of editing, such as adding effects, cutting out sections of audio, and multi-tracking.

If you aren’t familiar with audio editing, then it can be a little daunting, but this software allows high-quality recordings. It gives you full control over the audio quality and file formats. For Mac users, this is one of the very best options you can get without paying.