Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Audacity VS Audio Hijack

Compare Audacity VS Audio Hijack and see what are their differences

Audacity logo Audacity

Audacity is a free and open-source audio production software suite that includes a surprising array of editing tools and recording systems.

Audio Hijack logo Audio Hijack

Record any audio, with Audio Hijack!
  • Audacity Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-18
  • Audio Hijack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-13

Audacity features and specs

  • Free and Open-Source
    Audacity is completely free to use and its source code is openly available, which allows for continuous improvement and customization by the community.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Audacity is available on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing flexibility for users across different platforms.
  • Extensive Editing Features
    Audacity offers a wide range of editing tools like cut, copy, paste, delete, and mute, that cater to both basic and advanced audio editing needs.
  • Support for Multiple File Formats
    Audacity supports various audio file formats such as WAV, AIFF, MP3, and OGG, making it easy to work with different types of audio files.
  • Wide Range of Effects
    The software includes numerous built-in effects like reverb, equalization, and noise reduction, as well as support for VST, AU, and LADSPA plug-ins for additional functionality.
  • Multi-track Editing
    Users can work with multiple tracks simultaneously, which is particularly useful for creating complex projects like podcasts and music compositions.

Possible disadvantages of Audacity

  • User Interface
    The interface can seem outdated and cluttered compared to other modern DAWs, which might make it less appealing or harder to navigate for some users.
  • Learning Curve
    While powerful, Audacity can be somewhat overwhelming for beginners due to its extensive range of features and lack of guided tutorials within the software.
  • Non-Destructive Editing
    Audacity lacks non-destructive editing, meaning changes are applied directly to the audio files, potentially leading to loss of original audio if not carefully managed.
  • Limited MIDI Support
    Audacity's MIDI capabilities are limited, which could be a drawback for musicians looking to integrate MIDI instruments and controllers into their projects.
  • Real-Time Effects
    The software does not support real-time effect processing, requiring users to apply effects offline, which can be less efficient for users needing immediate auditory feedback.

Audio Hijack features and specs

  • Versatility
    Audio Hijack allows you to capture audio from any application on your Mac, making it highly versatile for various needs, including podcasts, interviews, and music recording.
  • User-friendly Interface
    The software offers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, making it accessible for users of all skill levels.
  • Real-time Audio Processing
    Audio Hijack features real-time audio processing capabilities, allowing users to apply effects and filters as the audio is being captured.
  • Scheduling
    The built-in scheduling feature allows users to set up automatic recordings at specified times, which is useful for capturing live streams or radio shows.
  • High-quality Recording
    Audio Hijack supports high-quality audio formats, ensuring that recordings are of professional grade.

Possible disadvantages of Audio Hijack

  • Price
    The software is relatively expensive compared to other audio recording tools, which might be a barrier for some users.
  • Mac-only
    Audio Hijack is only available for macOS, limiting its usability for Windows and Linux users.
  • Complexity for Advanced Features
    While the basic features are easy to use, some advanced features may have a steeper learning curve.
  • No Multi-track Recording
    Audio Hijack does not support multi-track recording within a single session, which can be limiting for complex projects.
  • Resource Intensive
    The software can be resource-intensive, potentially affecting the performance of older or less powerful Mac systems.

Analysis of Audacity

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Audacity is a good choice for individuals or small teams looking to perform audio editing tasks without incurring costs. While it may not have all the advanced features of professional paid software, its functionality is more than sufficient for many users.

Why this product is good

  • Audacity is widely considered a good software because it is a powerful, free, and open-source audio editor. It offers a range of features suitable for both basic and more advanced audio editing needs. Users appreciate its cross-platform compatibility, ease of use, and extensive community support. Audacity supports a variety of audio formats and offers tools for recording, editing, and mixing audio, such as effects, frequency analysis, and plugin support.

Recommended for

  • Podcasters seeking to create and edit episodes
  • Musicians and audio enthusiasts working on projects
  • Students and educators needing an accessible audio editing tool
  • Anyone interested in learning about audio editing without incurring software costs

Analysis of Audio Hijack

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Audio Hijack is considered an excellent tool for anyone seeking a reliable and feature-rich audio recording and processing solution on macOS. Its intuitive design combined with professional-grade features earns it high marks from both casual users and audio experts alike.

Why this product is good

  • Audio Hijack by Rogue Amoeba is renowned for its versatility and robust features that appeal to users who need to capture audio from a variety of sources on macOS. It offers a user-friendly interface with powerful capabilities such as scheduled recordings, multiple format support, extensive audio processing tools, and integration with other audio software. These features make it a go-to tool for podcasters, musicians, and audio professionals who require precise control over their audio recording and manipulation.

Recommended for

  • Podcasters looking for seamless audio recording and processing.
  • Musicians and producers who need to capture and manipulate audio from different sources.
  • Educators and content creators requiring high-quality audio for their projects.
  • Users who need to record audio for webinars, video conferencing, or online streams.

Audacity videos

Audacity Review | Free Audio Editor

More videos:

  • Review - Professional Producer Tries Audacity
  • Review - Audacity as a DAW
  • Tutorial - Audio Editing A-Z with Audacity
  • Demo - https://youtu.be/Nr6IK9UypMg
  • Tutorial - 7 Ways To Identify Someone Is In Love With You

Audio Hijack videos

How I Use Audio Hijack (Review)

More videos:

  • Review - How I Record Podcasts with Audio Hijack
  • Review - Audio Hijack 3 Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Audacity and Audio Hijack)
Audio
82 82%
18% 18
Audio & Music
86 86%
14% 14
Audio Recording
84 84%
16% 16
Music
92 92%
8% 8

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Audacity and Audio Hijack

Audacity Reviews

Top 14 The Best Spotify To MP3 Converters-[latest feature]
Not only can it record music from Spotify, but it can also record other sounds coming from a microphone. Therefore, when recording Spotify music on Audacity, please make sure your microphone is noise-free. Additionally, converting Spotify songs with Audacity may result in quality loss.
10 Best Vocal Removers for Karaoke on Desktop, Mobile, and Online
Last on our list of the best vocal remover apps available on Windows, Mac, or Linux is Audacity. It's an easy-to-use multi-track audio editor to create karaoke videos on any platform. Audacity is free and open-source software, so you can use it immediately.
Source: www.media.io
Top 18 Free Music Making Software for Beginners [2023]
Audacity is also an open-source project. But unlike LMMS, it comes with a recording functionality, allowing you to track live vocals without requiring an external audio editing tool. Another cool thing about Audacity is its support for Nyquist, a programming language that enables you to code your own plugin effects.
Expand Your Arsenal of Music Creation Tools With BandLab Alternatives
Audacity is a free open-source audio editor that can be used to record, edit, mix, and master music files on Macs, PCs, and Linux machines alike. It includes basic editing tools and more advanced features like noise reduction, pitch correction, spectrum analysis, and audio restoration tools. Audacity is great for those just starting in audio production who don't want to...
Source: bandlabwin.com
15 Best LALAL.AI Alternatives 2023
Among the best alternatives to LALAL.AI is Audacity, an audio editing and recording software. It is open-source and free software with no usage limitations for audio recording and editing programs.

Audio Hijack Reviews

  1. Word.Studio
    · Editor at Word.Studio ·
    An essential tool for podcast or video producers who work with audio.

    Once you figure out how to use it, it is very easy to capture any audio coming out of your speakers. It is nice to be able to isolate the audio captured to only record from a specific app. So if you are trying to capture audio from a browser, and a notification from your messages app comes in, the notification "chime" from the messages will not be captured and you'll get a clean capture only from the browser (or other app you might specify). You can also capture from two different sources and mix the levels in real time as you capture. So you can record a zoom call and also record music you might play in a separate app, and adjust the mix to your liking.

    👍 Pros:    Macos|Simple yet flexible|Free version is very usable|Ability to mix and add filters to captured audio in real time
    👎 Cons:    Learning curve

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Audio Hijack should be more popular than Audacity. It has been mentiond 64 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Audacity mentions (28)

  • Keeps freezing at 4.09% when rendering for Youtube
    If you have audio clips in a compressed format, such as MP3, we recommend converting them to a lossless format like WAV or FLAC using free audio editor software like Audacity. OpenShot prefers working with uncompressed audio during project editing. Similarly, if your video clips are in a format other than MP4, use free video converter software, such as Handbrake, to convert them to MP4 format, as OpenShot prefers... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Voice Over
    OpenShot does not have a record feature. You can use free audio editor software such as Audacity to record your voice-over audio and export the clip as an uncompressed audio file (I recommend FLAC). Import the audio clip into OpenShot and align the clips on the Timeline. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • I downloaded audacity from github as that was what was linked on the ds modding wiki and I needed it for theme background music
    That's valid, but unless you have a reason to specifically want that old version you might wish to get the current version from its official source at https://audacityteam.org . Source: about 2 years ago
  • Question from a frustrated user.
    The only other thing I can think of to try is a completely clean install; not just uninstalling Audacity, but trashing any config, cache, and other files it may leave on your computer after uninstall. Only after you've zapped away any trace of Audacity from your system should you download it again from https://audacityteam.org and reinstall. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Progressing through the late beginner stage?
    What changed my playing ( and my life ) was a digital multi-track recorder. I use a BOSS Micro BR, but a laptop equipped with Audacity ( https://audacityteam.org ) would work as well. I started working on multi-part pieces recording one line and then the next over it. I got better quickly, and it was fun. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Audio Hijack mentions (64)

  • Ask HN: Is anyone making money selling traditional downloadable software?
    I don't know if they're making money, but they're charging money and I'm paying it. a) Audio Hijack [1] - software that should be part of macOS where you can route the audio output of any program to the audio input of any other program. b) Eazy Draw [2] - I have clients with massive legacy libraries of commercial AppleWorks drawings, and EazyDraw is the only product I could find that would open/convert them. I... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • EQ Mac audio INPUT?
    This is the basic idea, but there are other apps which can make it easier. I prefer using Audio Hijack for the EQ part and sending it to a pass-through device set up in Loopback (which, for this use case, functions the same as BlackHole). Source: over 1 year ago
  • Upgrading my gear, need some advice for recording multiple people
    - Audio Hijack (also by Rogue Ameba) so I can record myself, the soundboard, and QuickTime all to individual .aiff files. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Why does Mac doesn't record internal audio?
    Another option that has been around for a long time. https://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • MacOS Audio API
    Definitely doable though might point to Rogue Amoeba re: implementation/execution particularly: SoundSource, Loopback & Audio Hijack. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Audacity and Audio Hijack, you can also consider the following products

Reaper - Reaper is a focused digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by Cockos. In the creation of the software, the digital audio technology company intended to make audio editing accessible to the masses.

Loopback by RogueAmoeba - Get all the power of a high-end studio mixing board, right inside your Mac!

FL Studio - Image-Line's FL Studio, now on it's 12th version, is a well-known music production suite and the most popular beat processor on the market, due no doubt to its longevity. Read more about FL Studio.

Adobe Audition - Mix, edit, and create audio content in Adobe Audition CC with a comprehensive toolset that includes multitrack, waveform, and spectral display.

Ardour - Record, edit, and mix on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

Piezo - Piezo makes it a snap to record audio on your Mac.