Audacity vs. Audition

If the audio of your content is not crisp and clear, you will not be able to establish that connection with the audience. Audacity and Adobe's Audition are two of the best-performing apps that you can download right now. These software applications will give you easy access to edit the recorded audio in terms of mixing, trimming, etc., or record new audio.

The Audacity vs Audition debate is an everlasting one where you will have to decide for yourself. In this article, we are going to put out a detailed layout of both the apps and based on your requirements, you can pick one. When it comes to recording a podcast or any audio file, these workstations are not the ones that you just need to have. You can start by using a simple mic and a controlled environment to block the excessive noise.

1. Price

Both the applications are quite feature-rich, and before we lure you with all the quirks, it's necessary to introduce you to the pricing. First, Audacity is a free-of-cost application, and it's an open-source one. All the features that you will get here will be easily accessible, and you will get everything bundled with the app.

On the other hand, Adobe's Audition is an application that you will get based on the monthly subscription. If you are one of those people who don't want to commit for that long, you can opt for the monthly plan that sits at $29.99. However, you will be able to save some bucks by opting for the annual plan which will cost $239.88, roughly around $19.99.

However, if you are professional, there is a whole range of Adobe apps that you will find helpful in enhancing your productivity. Adobe offers a bundled package of all the apps at much aggressive pricing. For a monthly package, it will cost you around $74.99. If opted annually, the same will cost you just $49.99, fetching up a total amount of $599.88.

Winner:

If you are a beginner, I believe that it's not a wise decision to invest such amounts. Audacity offers a wide range of advanced features at absolutely zero cost.

2. Interface

Yes, both the applications offer a somewhat identical set of features, but the UI is nowhere near similar. As you might have guessed, Audition being from Adobe offers a much more intuitive and easily accessible interface. However, for beginners, it might be a bit tough to use for the beginners. Coming to Audacity, you might find it a bit outdated. It can also be an advantage for beginners where they will not need to put in any extra effort to find the features.

On the Audition, the waveform will show you more details in the form of visuals. It doesn't mean that Audacity is not worth using, the interface that you will get here is highly intuitive. It will give you a range of customization options that you will be able to select using the dropdown menus. Audacity will also let you easily adjust the volume using the sliders.

When it comes to Audition, these settings are buried under a few layers of options/settings and a beginner might find it a bit confusing. The Preferences tab will house all these options. All the audios that you are working on will be referred to as projects on the open-sourced Audacity, whereas Audition likes to call them a Session.

Winner:

There can be no clear winner here. It also depends on the user's learning levels. Audacity is a better option for beginners.

3. Recording Features

The ‘premium’ option among the two, Adobe Audition, is the one that offers you to edit the audio where the file has any audio content or not. The application will allow users to mix and edit the sound clips. The application also offers sound enhancements and some advanced repairs.

Moving on to Audacity, this free tool offers you the recording ability with rearranging the existing sound. It will also allow you to save the file in a wide range of formats. There is one thing that you need to keep in mind, and that you are going to need to invest some time in learning the functionality, be it Audacity or Audition.

4. Performance

If you are going to compare these two advanced tools, it's quite understood that Audition is going to stay at the top. Adobe has successfully managed to offer a wide variety of features that users will find quite helpful to incorporate into their workflow.

The multitrack mode of Audition will offer a wide range of features like recording, editing, splitting, or/and merging audio files into an existing one. Audacity has also managed to give quite a good fight to Adobe by offering a wide range of advanced features free of cost, all thanks to its open-source platform. Beginners find it quite easy to fully understand the functionality and the editing tools.

The biggest advantage that Audition has to offer is its non-destructive editing. What it means is that the application will allow you to edit the audio file without destroying the original version.

It will be quite helpful to all the beginners out there who are still on their learning curve. For those who are already working with other Adobe apps, Audition will be the perfect fit. However, before you go out and buy the subscription, you must know that getting only Audition will not be cost-efficient.

Winner:

Here, if budget isn't an issue, Adobe Audition is the one you should go for. Audacity lacks some features, however, it's only when you put Audacity vs Adobe Audition side by side.

Conclusion

The audio recording capabilities are highly underrated, and you must understand the importance of good audio. No matter how crisp or high-res video you are shooting, if the audio isn't well synced and properly recorded, you will not be able to keep the audience engaged. The two applications that we have mentioned here are top of the line, and you will be able to enhance your productivity quite significantly.

For beginners, there is a long list of ‘differences between Adobe Audition and Audacity’ and the primary one is the price. Audacity is an open-source software application that offers full access to the whole list of features. I hope that all the necessary information is covered in this comparison guide. The best value for money if you want to get what you need to do is opt for Adobe's All-apps package rather than just subscribing to Audition.