Audacity vs. Logic Pro X

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Audacity
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Audacity is a free and open source audio recording and editing software.N/A
Logic Pro X
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Apple offers Logic Pro X, an audio editing application.
$199.99
Per License
Pricing
AudacityLogic Pro X
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Starting Price
$199.99
Per License
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AudacityLogic Pro X
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
AudacityLogic Pro X
Considered Both Products
Audacity
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. …
Logic Pro X
Chose Logic Pro X
We use several different audio editors, the main reason for this is to have software available to cover most staff experience.
However, we find that a good portion of new staff were familiar with Logic Pro X, meaning that there was reduced training time involved by having the …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
AudacityLogic Pro X
Small Businesses
Descript
Descript
Score 9.0 out of 10
Descript
Descript
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Audition
Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Audition
Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Audition
Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Audition
Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AudacityLogic Pro X
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(25 ratings)
9.0
(10 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(11 ratings)
9.6
(5 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
AudacityLogic Pro X
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.
Read full review
Apple
Logic Pro X has been particularly well-suited for recording, mixing, and mastering our full-band audio content. We have used it to capture several songs each year and have mixed and mastered them to professional levels for posting to streaming services. We have been able to use it with our current digital console as a great DAW, seamlessly connecting for the 'live' recording of several services. It is also well-suited for the mixing and editing of podcast and sermon content. Logic Pro X is not the best for mixing livestream audio, in a live environment, even with the added plug-ins and effects available. There is just enough lag that it was not the best option for this usage
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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.
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Apple
  • Incredible breadth of features... it feels like there's literally nothing the program can't do
  • Time stretching... amazing features to change tempo and length with adding sonic weirdness of pitch changes
  • Vast library of virtual instruments and effects included in purchase
Read full review
Cons
Audacity
  • Although the UI is very simple, it's not great to look at. Making the program more exciting visually would be a great plus.
  • The functionality has never been lacking for what it is, but has also not seen major additions in a long time.
  • The support base of the community is truly impressive, but is also very intimidating to wade through. Having better standardized help avenues would be a benefit to new users.
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Apple
  • Could use an Abelton-like synth/effect rack with a quick view.
  • Some built-in plugins are old and need a refresh.
  • Frequent crashes.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Apple
No answers on this topic
Usability
Audacity
Audacity is decently user friendly, while any questions generally have to be answered by externally searching for tutorials or other users encountering the same issue, it is still straightforward, simple, and easily resolved. It's installable on any type of computer, compact, and easy to install. Beginners may have a harder time, but once you know what you're doing, it's very easy to use.
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Apple
Like every DAW, it takes some time and getting used to, but Logic's tools and interface just make sense to anyone who is familiar with Apple products and music tools.
Read full review
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.
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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.
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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.
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Apple
The user community of Logic Pro X is vibrant, responsive, and lively. There are many great forums out there where you can solve any problem you encounter, whether it's sound card latency, a certain plugin not working, audio routing, multitrack issues, or virtually anything else you run into. The community is so helpful that I'm giving Logic Pro X a 10 in this department, despite having never contacted their official support department. I've never had to, since there is such a great user community.
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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.
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Apple
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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.
Read full review
Apple
We use several different audio editors, the main reason for this is to have software available to cover most staff experience.
However, we find that a good portion of new staff were familiar with Logic Pro X, meaning that there was reduced training time involved by having the software available. This was perhaps the main reason we made the purchase decision and this fact is testament to how prolific Logic Pro X is in the audio community, you'd be silly not to have it available in any business where content creation is important.
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.
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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.
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Apple
  • Logic has allowed us to quickly and expertly edit audio for publishing online.
  • It's made a way for us to share projects easily between users.
Read full review
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