Audacity vs GarageBand

Likelihood to Recommend

For just a quick down and dirty audio recording from computer source, Audacity is a no-frills solution that any user can get up and running with quickly without the intimidating functions seen in most standard DAWs. This would be a great tool to start with to record church services, or basic live performances where someone wouldn't want to use a full DAW like Ableton Live or Studio One.

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Carey Roberts

Lead Production Technician

The Love ChurchReligious Institutions, 51-200 employees

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Honestly, switching to Garage Band from Audacity for my podcast was a game-changer in the editing. I can do it so much faster with the tools that are available in editing--especially when you are dealing with more than one track to edit.I also think Garage Band could be fantastic for recording a whole album initially before sending it to be mastered elsewhere. And I think Garage Band could be perfect for sync music licensing because it's still relatively easy to use!

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Tara Brueske

Vocal Workshops and Voice Development

Tara BrueskeMusic, 1-10 employees

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Pros

Audacity has a wide variety of controls and capabilities for editing, making it a very robust tool for audio editing.
Even though it's a robust tool, it is very easy to use to get many basic things done in audio editing. The learning curve is small.
Love that audacity is free! What else could you ask for? There really is no reason not to use it.

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Jarem Atkinson

Founder

Social BaconConsumer Electronics, 1-10 employees

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Easy and simple interface that can be used by anyone.
The visual audio levels are great and help to clean out all the impurities in an audio.
Comes freely built in with all Mac computers, which are widely used.
Very user-friendly and intuitive at the same time.
GarageBand can be self-taught with no experience.

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Musab Nismy

Founder

HatwareApparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees

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Cons

The user interface theme has only two options, light and dark. It would be better if it was more customizable.
Sometimes there is a lag or break when opening the software.
There is no option to listen to the audio live with effects while you are recording.

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Musab Nismy

Founder

HatwareApparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees

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Can't save the preferences for the tracks such as turning off reverb etc.
Project files are large, a 30-minute podcast episode with only 4 tracks is typically around 1 GB
Auto feature to silence guest not talking
Optimize for podcasters (I use the old version 6 as new versions hasn't had podcast options)

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Kira Dineen

Podcast/Radio Host and Producer

DNA Today, LLCBroadcast Media, 1-10 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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Audacity Editions & Modules

—

Additional Pricing Details

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General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

Yes

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

$0

GarageBand Editions & Modules

Edition

Garageband for Mac	Free
Logic Pro (GarageBand Premium)	199.99

none

Additional Pricing Details

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Support Rating

Audacity 7.8

Based on 19 answers

We have not used direct support for Audacity, other than using the information available on their website, which resolved the issues we were experiencing so we had a good experience in that regard.As this is Open Source FREE software, I don't believe there is direct support available. In saying that, it has the following great support options:

Online documentation and FAQ
Online tutorials covering all functions
Online user forums where questions are asked and answered by other users
Online wiki with more information

With these options most issues should be able to be resolved to get full use from Audacity.

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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Computer Hardware Company, 11-50 employees

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GarageBand 9.4

Based on 6 answers

I have never tried it. It's just simple, and you should be able to navigate most of it via self-exploration and Apple Help.

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Verified User

Engineer in Engineering

Computer Hardware Company, 10,001+ employees

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Alternatives Considered

All of the DAW's listed above are great for scoring to picture, which is something Audacity doesn't do. But it's an excellent standalone audio editor, which is a vital tool in any studio. It's very easy to transfer the clip, make the changes, and import it back into your session.

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Rob Gokee

Composer

Rob Gokee MusicEntertainment, 1-10 employees

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I have used Adobe Audition before but found it to be hard to learn. Some of the features were very nice but too much for what I needed to justify the price. GarageBand is perfect for my needs and it came free with my Mac laptop. That is the best deal in town!

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Shawngela Pierce

Life Coach | Public Speaker

Seek Within YouProfessional Training & Coaching, 1-10 employees

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Return on Investment

I was able to make loops of my music to sell on royalty-free music sites years before I had my Mac Pro.
Able to quickly edit music and other audio tracks on a PC without having to purchase a separate program, allowing us to upload more creative videos without having to spend extra money.

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Verified User

Account Manager in Other

E-Learning Company, 1-10 employees

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This has made podcasting much easier which means more episodes.
Due to the simplicity of recording podcasts, we have seen an increase in user traffic.

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Ben Caplan

Risk Manager, and Insurance Agent

Hummel and Plum Insurance Agency Inc.Insurance, 11-50 employees

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Audacity vs GarageBand

Audacity

GarageBand

Attribute Ratings

Likelihood to Recommend

Audacity

GarageBand

Support Rating

Audacity

GarageBand

Pros

Cons

Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

Free/Freemium Version

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Entry-level set up fee?

Starting Price

Audacity Editions & Modules

Additional Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

Free/Freemium Version

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Entry-level set up fee?

Starting Price

GarageBand Editions & Modules

Edition

Additional Pricing Details

Support Rating

Alternatives Considered

Return on Investment

Add comparison