There are now over 800,000 active podcasts with over 54 million podcast episodes currently available worldwide. Because of a low cost of entry, in the first ten months of 2019, a record 192,000 new podcasts have been launched. According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, and PriceWaterhouse, ad revenue is expected to reach $679 million this year, increasing to $863 million in 2020 and over $1 billion by 2021. Popular podcasts can charge advertisers between $10 to $50 for every 1,000 listeners, approximately two or three times the ad rate for broadcast radio. Many blue-chip online advertisers now sponsor podcasts and a growing number are producing their own.
Podcasts have found their way into our daily lives. You can find just about any topic, idea, or niche on the platform, and yes it all for free. Due to the high demand, every celebrity (be it a chef or an author or any other specialized field), TV shows, websites now have a podcast. Anyone can start a podcast – all you need is a topic, a good quality microphone, and a way to record it. There are many software products available in the market for recording and editing podcasts. Which one you select will depend on the budget, your goals, and the audio editing skills you have. We will explore some of the best podcast recording and editing software products, with the aim of helping you find the one best suited for you to attract the attention of the audience.
Before we list the options for recording and editing podcast software, let us understand why we would want to use podcast editing software in the first place.
- Recording – podcast editing software also serves the purpose of recording software. This works well as it means that you only need one platform to record as well as edit the podcast. Though there is one exception in the case of recording remote conversations with a co-host or an interviewee. You will need to use dedicated recording software to later import into the podcast editing software and put it all together.
- Editing – podcast editing software is mainly used to edit the podcast of any mistakes and unwanted sections.
- Fixing the volume levels and cleaning up – editing software is used to clean out any background noise, ensure the consistency of the volume throughout the podcast and ensure that the volume level of the podcast is at the acceptable level.
10 Podcast Recording and Editing Software
- GarageBand – It is a free Digital Audio Workstation known for its audio recording capabilities featuring a versatile set of audio recording tools. The software interface is easy to understand and get used to and is a great choice for anyone who wants to create podcasts with ease. The editing tools are as remarkable as the recording tools. It allows the users to clean up and remove any mistakes and control the volume. What makes this software more attractive is the fact that it is iOS based which means it is accessible from an iPhone and an iPad and you can record the podcast in the app without having any access to a Mac computer. Some of the other advantages of using GarageBand are that it is free and is included in all apple devices, offers a portable podcast recording and editing tool for on-the-go podcasting, and allows users to share their audio recordings on social media.
- Audacity – Many popular podcasters started with Audacity for their initial episodes. It is a free Digital Audio Workstation that works with macOS, Windows 10, and Linux. Recording your podcast, music or any other type of audio material through a microphone or a mixer is a smooth and easy process that even beginners can use it. Having said that the editing tools of the software are powerful enough to meet the demands of professionals as well. This cross-platform editing software supports many plugins that allow its users to apply audio effects to their recordings. Many online tutorials can be found on how to use this software.
- Alitu– Is a perfect software for people looking to make podcasting as easy as possible. This software removes background noises from any and all the audio clips you import and improves the overall quality. It also merges the audio files automatically which allows you to create a new episode quickly and reduce the postproduction time. One of the attractive features of the software is that it has a theme music maker that can be used to create intros and outros for the podcast. Post-editing, the podcasts can directly be exported on to the podcast hosting platforms like Buzzsprout, Libsyn, or Speaker.
- Hindenburg Journalist – Specially designed Digital Audio Workstation for podcast, interviews, and radio, this software works on Windows and macOS and has an easy interface. It allows you to record and edit and the software automatically sets levels for you based on loudness. Post recording and editing, you can upload the podcast directly to SoundCloud or Libsyn. It is one of the best podcasting solutions available at the price in the market.
- Adobe Audition – Professional podcasters are well aware of the Digital Audio Workstation made available by Adobe as it has set the industry standards for years. This iconic recording and editing software has everything you need to record and edit your podcast. There are many templates to choose from and one can set up multitrack recording sessions if several voices are to be recorded at the same time or you can access the software library for royalty-free sound effects to make the podcasts more interesting and entertaining. The Essential Sound Panel allows for audio levels to be adjusted with precision.
- Pro Tools – This Digital Audio Workstation has every possible tool imaginable for recording, editing, and mastering the audio. Pro Tools supports collaboration in the cloud and enables the inclusion of other Pro Tools users in the project. It allows you to add plugins to apply audio effects or create high quality reverbs. ProTools when connected to a number of control services help in speeding up the mixing process and even allow audio and video mixing. It can be challenging for newcomers and needs good sound engineering experience to work with this software.
- TwistedWave– It is a simple podcast editing software that also offers audio recording options for all-new episodes of the podcast. It requires you to push a button to add markers to parts of the recording that you want to edit and reduce the postproduction time. Compression and limiting are some of the editing tools that help improve the quality of the podcast. This software can be used through a web browser or on all Apple devices. Some of its additional features include automatic silence detection and metadata support.
- Zencastr– This software provides a mix of features that make it a very attractive option for long-distance solution for podcast recording and editing. It can feature unlimited guests, records each one of them in a separate lossless WAV track, and saves the file on the host’s local drive or cloud services. Zencastr has a soundboard that can be used by the host while recording which leads to less editing later. It is easy to add intros and outros music, sound effects, and clips to the podcast while recording. In the end, the finished audio is processed in a single mixed track with adjusted levels. Some of its additional attractive features include a sleek web-based interface, up to 3 hours of recording time per session, the free version offers users 8 hours of unedited MP3 recording for 2 guests.
- WaveLab10 – This software is designed for professionals to perform the most challenging audio editing tasks. WaveLab10 is used to process recordings before they are published in the digital format. It features restoration tools that help recover damaged or inaudible sections of the recordings. You can use the software to create stereo and multitrack recordings of the podcasts and apply the professional tools to add a finishing touch to each new recording made in the audio editor. Some of its additional features include powerful batch processing tools, excellent sound design features and offers industry-leading audio analysis options.
- Fission – This podcast editing software has a varied set of audio editing tools that makes the editing process easy and simple. It integrates with Audio Hijack software that can be used to record the podcast and then edit in fission before uploading it to the hosting platform. It allows you to fade, cut, or merge multiple files without any quality loss, and chapters for the podcast can be created. All audio files edited using Fission can be uploaded to SoundCloud directly which makes it a perfect choice for podcasters using it as their hosting platform.
The quality of the audio you share with your audience through your podcasts can play a major role in the popularity and its success. It is imperative to find a podcast recording and editing software that preserves the quality of your material and helps you in establishing yourself as a success in the podcasting niche. Which podcasting software you select will depend on your experience and your expertise in podcasting.