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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Audacity

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AAudacity is a free and open source audio recording and editing software.N/A

    iMovie

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AApple offers iMovie as a video editing platform supporting video creators with high quality effects, support for 4k resolution, audio editing, and other features supporting the creation of videos and movies.

    $0

    Pricing
    AudacityiMovie
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Free Tier
    $0.00
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    AudacityiMovie
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    AudacityiMovie
    Considered Both Products
    Audacity
    Chose Audacity
    iMovie is a user-friendly option for simple audio and video editing, but it requires a Macintosh which many offices may not have. For audio-only editing, Audacity is a free, open-source, accessible option with plenty of tutorials and plugins available for users. They both have …
    Incentivized
    Apple
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    22 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    17 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    22 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    17 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    22 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    17 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    19 Answers
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    22 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    15 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    AudacityiMovie
    Small Businesses
    Descript
    Score8.5 out of 10
    invideo
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    Final Cut Pro
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    Adobe Premiere Pro
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    AudacityiMovie
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (28 ratings)
    10.0
    (32 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.7
    (4 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    5.0
    (11 ratings)
    8.1
    (6 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    AudacityiMovie
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Audacity
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    iMovie is a great editing tool for beginners and users with little to no experience. If you are looking for a simple, straight forward way to edit your videos without having any training, this is the tool for you. If you are looking for a robust and very advanced editing platform, you may wish to look elsewhere.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Audacity
    • 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.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    • iMovie allows users to upload their own clips and edit them together. You're able to add in more clips as you're working on your project which is great as some film editing software don't allow add ons of video clips once you've begun the editing process.
    • iMovie continually saves as you're working on your project and syncs with your devices so you can work on your project from other like computers.
    • iMovie is quick to update changes which allows time to be saved during the editing process. It's very helpful when you need to adjust 1-2 things and don't want to spend hours waiting for the changes to go through.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Audacity
    • easier to grab and re-order tracks, the grab area is small
    • I am constantly zooming in and out to grab a small piece of track; make it easier to grab an audio clip
    • a button to move the focus to the beginning of the tracks
    Read full review
    Apple
    • Audio for video editing is a bit limiting. A pro user would feel limited, but the average person can pretty well do what they need in iMovie and that's what matters for this platform.
    • The design of the UI could use some updating so it doesn't feel so bubbly. This may purely be an aesthetic concern, and maybe the old style makes it more approachable, but i'd prefer to see a more slick design so you don't feel like you are using a kids program.
    • If you ever want to share the project or manually manage files, it can be a bit difficult to figure out. Fortunately Apple allows you to import a project from iMovie into FCPX if you ever want to be upwardly mobile.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Audacity
    With no subscription fees unlike other products on the market, I am very confident I will continue using Audacity for my simple audio editing needs. I'm not an expert in audio editing, I'm sure what works for me as a more general user in a public institution would not suit someone more experienced, but I'm very happy with the quality of work I'm able to produce.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Audacity
    Audacity is for audio prodcasts only and not for video podcasts. Audacity does not have a transcript development feature. Audacity can not edit using the transcript feature that does not exist. I use another program to develop a transcript and edit using that transcript. Then I move the file into Audacity for final processing.
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    Apple
    Once again, iMovie is a fast application. It's easy to use and navigate through. It has never frozen or glitched. There is an auto-save feature which helps you to easily close and re-open the software and continue from where you left off. Being an Apple product I do believe there is a level of superiority that surpasses Windows as well.
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    Reliability and Availability
    Audacity
    Audacity is great for this, it doesn't require a network connection once downloaded, and previous versions of the software are still functional in my experience. I have never experienced the program crashing, lost work, corrupted files, anything of the sort.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Audacity
    I have never had issues with speed in Audacity, I don't integrate it with other software but the program runs smoothly even with larger jobs. I haven't measured the CPU while using Audacity, but I imagine it's not high compared to other, more professional or specialized programs in the same category.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Audacity
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    Apple does a great job supporting its products. I have never encountered trouble that could not be solved through chat or email. The knowledgebase section of the website, video tutorials online and various user forums also help with most issues. If after using all of these avenues you still have an issue, it may be time for you to outsource your project to a professional!
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Audacity
    Again I found it helpful to write up a step-by-step tutorial for coworkers based on our institution's standard practices. This combined with support from coworkers to answer questions is very effective for simple everyday use of Audacity. The support in-program is minimal but troubleshooting in the internet age is straightforward.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Audacity
    Easier to use than Garage Band. I have tried to use Garage Band for the same thing as I used Audacity and have had to give up. Not as easy. With the simple things that I have been able to accomplish, Audacity does it faster and better than anything I have tried. I have also used Pro Tools, however, that is more expensive
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    Not as easy to use as iMovie, and a similar cost structure. iMovie is easier for Apple users / and MS users, to both get proficient at. Movie Maker isn't bad, it just isn't as slick as iMovie. We actually used MovieMaker for a couple of years before migrating most users over to iMovie. We have not regretted the move.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Audacity
    I feel that Audacity is useful, simple, and suited both to casual users and more advanced use cases. There are options for expanding functionality in complex situations, but the option to not mess with it as a beginner is perfectly fine and suited to most everyday uses in my institution.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Audacity
    • Audacity is completely free, so it has helped us to eliminate the expense of paying for recording software.
    • It is fast and efficient, which helps us save time and generate a great workflow.
    • Even though we have what we need there are some features that cannot be found on Audacity, this affects the quality of our audio in a way.
    Incentivized
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    Apple
    • iMovie is a very inexpensive alternative to other video editing software.
    • It's very easy to train new users on iMovie, so time is saved there.
    • We started a project where we were tasked to create a new 5 minute video every week. We started with little to no knowledge of video editing, but iMovie was so easy to pick up and use that we were able to start filming and putting together videos right away. If we had to learn a more complex program, like Premiere Pro, it would have pushed our timeline back considerably.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots