Audacity for Windows
Open-source GPL audio editor for Windows 10/11, with x64 and ARM64 builds of Audacity 4.0.1.
Audacity 4.0.1 is the current official Windows release of the free, GPL-licensed editor for recording, cutting, and exporting common audio formats.
Editorial description
Audacity records from a microphone or mixer, imports existing files, and edits clips with cut, paste, labels, trim/stretch, loop regions, and a spectrogram view. Official pages list noise reduction, EQ, compressor, limiter, reverb, and tempo/pitch tools, plus import/export of MP3, M4A, AIFF, FLAC, and WAV. Optional FFmpeg adds more formats. Audacity 4 is rebuilt on Qt; .aup3 projects from Audacity 3 open natively. MuseHub is the official extra-content distributor and is not required for the editor.
Windows packages include a MuseHub installer, an x86_64 MSI, a portable 7z, and ARM64 MSI/7z builds. ARM64 needs Windows 11, has no plugin support, and needs a Windows-on-ARM FFmpeg build. The FAQ says Audacity is not a full MIDI DAW. Optional audio.com cloud storage can be paid; the desktop app itself remains free. SHA-256 values are published for the GitHub packages.
Features
Record and edit
Capture live audio or import files, then cut, label, stretch, and mix clips.
Built-in effects
Official docs list noise reduction, EQ, compressor, limiter, reverb, and tempo/pitch tools.
Common formats
Import and export MP3, M4A, AIFF, FLAC, and WAV; FFmpeg is optional for more types.
Audacity 4 on Qt
4.0.0 rebuilt the interface; 4.0.1 dated 30 September 2026 adds portable Windows and export-multiple.
