Audacity Download: Get the Free Audio Editor Safely

The official website is audacityteam.org. Its download page links separate pages for Windows, macOS and Linux and shows the current version, which at the time of writing is Audacity 4.0.1. Audacity 4 brought an updated interface and new workspace features, so screenshots in older tutorials may look different from what you see after installing.

The project's homepage answers the most common question directly: Audacity has always been free and will remain free for everyone. It is also open source, so anyone can read or modify the code. The site is run by Muse Group and contributors, and it also promotes optional extras such as cloud storage for projects and paid plug-ins. None of those are needed to record or edit audio.

On the homepage, the main button installs Audacity through MuseHub, which the site describes as the official distributor of Audacity. MuseHub is a separate app from the same company that installs and updates Audacity and offers free extras such as sound libraries and effect plug-ins. The homepage also offers a "Download without MuseHub" option, and the per-platform download pages list the plain installers directly.

Both routes are official. Choose MuseHub if you want those extras and automatic management. Choose the direct installer if you prefer to install only Audacity itself, for example on a work PC or an older machine. Either way, start from audacityteam.org rather than a search ad or a download portal.

The Windows download page offers four files:

• x86_64 MSI installer: the right choice for nearly every Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC with an Intel or AMD processor.
• ARM64 MSI installer: for Windows on ARM laptops, such as Snapdragon models. The page notes that this build has no plug-in support.
• x86_64 and ARM64 portable archives: versions that run without a full installation, handy for a USB stick or a locked-down PC. Our portable vs installer guide explains the trade-offs.

For macOS there is a Universal DMG that runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, plus separate Apple Silicon and Intel DMGs. Linux users get AppImages for x86_64 and ARM64. Each file on the official pages is listed with its SHA-256 checksum, which you can compare after downloading; see our guide to checksums.

The official pages describe requirements in terms of tested systems rather than strict minimums:

• Windows: tested on Windows 10 and Windows 11; it may also work on Windows 8.1, 7 and Vista. There are no specific CPU or GPU requirements.
• Windows on ARM: requires Windows 11, does not support plug-ins such as VST, and needs an ARM version of the FFmpeg library.
• macOS: tested on macOS 14 and 15, and it may work on releases from macOS 10.11 El Capitan onward. macOS 10.14 and earlier cannot use the Universal DMG, so pick the Intel-only file.

One requirement is easy to overlook: Audacity needs fast, uninterrupted access to a hard drive or SSD. The official page warns that network storage, consumer-grade external drives and USB thumb drives may be unreliable for project files. Save projects to your internal drive and copy them elsewhere afterwards.

If you search for "audacity download free windows 7", the official answer is on the Windows page: the last version tested on Windows 7 and Vista was Audacity 2.3.3, which is available from the official older-versions archive. Old releases do not receive fixes, so use them only if upgrading the operating system is not possible.

1. Open audacityteam.org, go to Download and pick your operating system.
2. Download the installer that matches your PC (usually the x86_64 MSI on Windows).
3. Run it and follow the prompts. If you see offers for unrelated software, cancel: that is not the official installer.
4. Launch Audacity, check your microphone and playback device in the toolbar, and press the red Record button to test.

Audacity handles WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3 and OGG out of the box. To import or export formats such as WMA, M4A and AC3, the download pages point to the optional FFmpeg import/export library, linked from the same official pages. Install it only from that link rather than from a random FFmpeg bundle.

"Is Audacity safe" is a frequent search, and the answer is yes when you install it from the official site or through MuseHub. The risks come from elsewhere: portals that wrap Audacity in their own installer with adware, sites that charge for a "pro" version that does not exist, and phone apps that borrow the name. The official download pages list Windows, macOS and Linux builds only.

Three habits keep you safe. Type the address yourself or use a bookmark. Compare the file's checksum with the one on the official page. Keep Audacity updated from the same source. Our guides to avoiding fake download buttons and scanning downloads for malware cover the rest.

If you need more than an editor, for example multitrack music production with virtual instruments, the audio editor guide compares Audacity with full digital audio workstations. To record your screen together with your voice, see our OBS Studio guide, then trim the audio in Audacity afterwards.

Once Audacity is installed, a short routine gives you clean recordings from the start:

1. Plug in your microphone before opening Audacity, so it appears in the device list.
2. Select the microphone as the recording device and set the channels to mono for a single voice.
3. Click the meter and speak at your normal volume. Aim for peaks well below the right-hand end of the meter, so loud words do not clip.
4. Record a few seconds of silence first. Background hum can then be reduced later with the noise reduction effect, using that silent section as the noise sample.
5. Save the project often, then use the export option to create an MP3 or WAV file when you are finished.

Keep a copy of the original recording before you apply heavy effects. Every export to a compressed format such as MP3 loses a little quality, so do your editing on the project and export once at the end.