Audacity vs. Power Sound Editor Free

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Audacity
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
Audacity is a free and open source audio recording and editing software.N/A
Power Sound Editor Free
Score 0.0 out of 10
N/A
N/AN/A
Pricing
AudacityPower Sound Editor Free
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AudacityPower Sound Editor Free
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AudacityPower Sound Editor Free
Considered Both Products
Audacity
Chose Audacity
It's free, lightweight, easy to use, doesn't require connection to the cloud. Undisputable wins for basic audio editing and enhancing.
Chose 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 …
Chose Audacity
I've never tried any alternatives other than using my phone to record. I'd much prefer to record audio clips than to record videos.
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 …
Chose Audacity
In a sense, this is apples and oranges. The one is lightweight and free, the other is expensive and feature-rich. We use both for different situations and skill levels.
Chose Audacity
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.
Chose Audacity
Adobe audition is also a recording and audio editing software, as a user of both software [programs] I can say that Adobe Audition has way more features and tools than Audacity, but the catch is that it is not free, in fact, the complete opposite, it is very expensive. …
Chose Audacity
Audacity holds its own against the leading industry competitor software, Audition. For free software, it is incredible the range of options and features that you can find in the paid alternative. Audacity allows us to roll out the software to large teams and get them up to …
Chose Audacity
Audacity is very basic in comparison to Adobe Audition.
Chose Audacity
Audacity doesn't have nearly all the functionality of GarageBand, but for a free program (and one that can be used on PC as well) it is incredibly well-designed for basic audio editing. You can't beat free, and it has excellent functionality for what it does. Even now I …
Chose Audacity
I had used Sound Forge before, but it wasn't worth the price compared to Audacity's $0! Sound Forge looked a little bit more polished overall, but it wasn't exactly worth the asking price when compared to Audacity. As previously mentioned, it is open source as well, so it is …
Chose Audacity
I haven't used other products like Audacity. This program came highly recommended to me by a producer when I was looking for an inexpensive way to edit and save music files. I have been using it for the past seven years and have been extremely happy with how easy it is to use, …
Chose Audacity
There are a few features that you will find in Audition that you will not find in Audacity. Most of these are the top-end, professional tools that you will not use very often. You are also going to have to pay significantly more for Adobe Audition than you are Audacity.
Chose Audacity
Garageband has a vast library of sounds to select from, and this is the only advantage that Audacity doesn't have over Garageband. But in terms of usability, Audacity shines. Audacity is far more intuitive than Garageband, and thus, it's a no-brainer that I use it.
Chose Audacity
Audacity may have some limitations but for the majority of users, Audacity will meet their requirements. It offers multiple tracks, can record directly from the computer, has multiple effects that can be applied, can apply and record macros, and can export to different audio …
Chose Audacity
Using Apple's GarageBand for audio editing felt like fighting someone else's highly opinionated ideas of how we should be working. Simple tasks (like keeping audio in sync while making edits across multiple tracks) felt like more work than they should've been, while other tasks …
Chose Audacity
We support multiple programs but like to offer Audacity as an easier to learn and free alternative so all users don't feel the need to pay for software or work within our computer lab. Audacity offers the functionality that most of our users need, and has been generally well …
Chose Audacity
While the comparison it's really apples-to-apples, since Audacity is only designed for audio editing, and I use other tools like Camtasia and Screenflow for both audio and video, the other tools do make it convenient to edit the audio within the same software as I edit the …
Chose Audacity
As I mentioned, Audacity does not have the bells and whistles of Audition, nor is it as reliable for multitracking. Using Audacity as a simple solution for simple projects is a relatively safe bet.
Chose Audacity
The only other related program we've used is Praat, and while Praat is unmatched for acoustic analysis, it also has a brutally steep learning curve and its recording leaves much to be desired (and is incredibly risky in terms of losing your recording). If you need to make …
Chose Audacity
Depending on the task being accomplished, we utilize different audio editing software for each purpose. Audition and AVID ProTools are our go-to software for advanced audio editing projects. Garageband is great for mid-level difficulty multi-track productions (1-3 day basic …
Chose Audacity
I haven't used other similar programs that are still in existence. Alas, I feel certain that had I done so, I would still be a fan of Audacity because of all that it offers and affords for our uses.
Power Sound Editor Free

No answer on this topic

Best Alternatives
AudacityPower Sound Editor Free
Small Businesses
Descript
Descript
Score 8.5 out of 10
Descript
Descript
Score 8.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 9.0 out of 10
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 9.0 out of 10
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AudacityPower Sound Editor Free
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AudacityPower Sound Editor Free
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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Pros
  • Simple editing of waveforms without much prior knowledge of audio manipulation.
  • The UI is very simple, but also helpfully sparse. This cuts down on the sense of feeling overwhelmed by the task.
  • It does incredibly well with different audio formats and is able to work with all major audio sources.
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Cons
  • 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
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Likelihood to Renew
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.
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Usability
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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Reliability and Availability
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.
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Performance
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.
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Support Rating
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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Implementation Rating
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.
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Alternatives Considered
While the comparison it's really apples-to-apples, since Audacity is only designed for audio editing, and I use other tools like Camtasia and screenflow for both audio and video, the other tools do make it convenient to edit the audio within the same software as I edit the video, rather than having to do both in separate software solutions.
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Scalability
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.
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Return on Investment
  • 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.
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ScreenShots