These five free tools for podcasters let you edit, record, finish, and check a show without a monthly subscription. Audacity edits audio, OBS Studio records video, Auphonic levels audio automatically, Canva Free makes cover art, and Youlean Loudness Meter checks the finished mix.
Audacity and OBS Studio are open source and have no paid upgrade. The other three have free plans with limits, such as a monthly cap and a jingle on your episodes or content reserved for Pro. None of the five tools will publish your show, so you will still need a podcast host.
Read on to see what each tool does best, which limit to check before you rely on it, and a short test that shows whether it deserves a place in your routine.
The Five Tools Compared
Tool | Job in the workflow | Where it runs | How free works | Main catch |
Editing spoken audio | Local computer | Editing is manual and covers audio only | ||
Recording video and audio | Local computer | Records but does not edit | ||
Leveling volume and loudness | Online service | Monthly free allowance, paid credits beyond it | Free productions carry a jingle, and a monthly cap applies | |
Cover art and episode graphics | Online | Free plan with some content reserved for Pro | Pro content is watermarked on free accounts | |
Checking loudness | Local computer, as a plug-in or standalone app | Measures only, and some features are Pro-only |
Audacity and OBS Studio work offline once installed. Auphonic and Canva need an internet connection, which matters if you record and edit while traveling.
Details here were checked in November 2026. Allowances and terms change, so confirm each tool’s limits on its page before you rely on it.
Start With A Clean Recording
Free tools can polish a decent recording but cannot save a bad one. Audacity’s noise reduction effect, for example, is built for steady background noise such as hiss, hum or the constant drone of an air conditioner. It cannot remove sounds that happen only once, such as a barking dog or a passing truck, so those have to be cut out by hand.
A few habits at the microphone save more time than any software setting.
- Record in a quiet, soft room. Curtains, rugs, and sofas absorb echo that no free tool removes cleanly.
- Keep the microphone close to your mouth, at the same distance throughout.
- Wear headphones so the microphone does not pick up playback.
- Switch off fans, air conditioning, and phone alerts before you press record.
Audacity for Editing
Audacity is a free, open-source editor and recorder for Windows, macOS and Linux. For beginners looking for the best free podcast editing software, it covers what a spoken-word show needs, including cutting a false start, shortening a long pause, trimming an intro, reducing a steady hiss, and exporting a finished file, all on your own computer. It has also supported non-destructive editing since version 3.2, so you can trim clips and adjust real-time effects later without overwriting the original recording.
Audacity 4.0 was released on September 3, 2026, introducing a redesigned interface and updated editing workflow. Audacity 4.0.2, released on November 2, 2026, is the latest version at the time of writing. Older 3.x versions are also available, but tutorials may differ depending on the version being used. Tutorials for one version may not match the other, so the steps below name each effect rather than where it appears on screen.
The main drawback is that editing in Audacity is entirely manual. It gives you the controls, but you decide where each sentence ends and how long a pause should last, which takes longer than an automated tool.
Practice With One Short Edit
A short edit builds skill without risking a full interview.
- Import a copy of a recording, never the only version.
- Select a false start or stumble and delete it with the command that closes the gap. Then play across the join to confirm the next sentence sounds natural.
- Keep the breaths and small pauses that make a speaker sound human. Removing all of them makes answers sound rushed.
- Save the working project separately from the exported audio file, then reopen the export and listen to the opening and ending.
Aim for a clean, natural-sounding edit before you start stacking effects.
Remove Steady Background Noise
Noise Reduction learns the sound of the noise from a sample, then filters that sound out of the audio you select.
- Select a few seconds containing only background noise, with no speech.
- Open Effect, then Noise Removal and Repair, then Noise Reduction, and choose Get Noise Profile.
- Select the audio to clean, usually the whole track, open Noise Reduction again, and apply it with modest settings.
- Run the Noise Only output option once to hear what it removes. If you can hear speech in it, lower the settings and try again.
- Play the result and listen for a metallic or watery sound. If you hear one, undo the effect and lower the amount.
Choose a sample that has only background noise and no speech. If a voice is in the sample, Audacity treats it as noise and removes it from your recording too. Use a low setting when you apply the effect. Removing all of the noise often makes the voice sound thin or robotic, so it is better to leave a little noise in.
OBS Studio For Video Recording
OBS Studio is a popular starting point for recording a video podcast. If you’re figuring out how to record a video podcast for free, OBS Studio is a common answer because it has no watermarks or other limitations.
It is free, open-source software for video recording and live streaming. You build your layout from scenes, each made up of sources such as cameras, window and display captures, and audio inputs, which you can layer, move, and crop.
For example, a solo host might set up one scene with a camera and another showing a slide or diagram, then switch between them during the conversation.
Because it records directly to your computer, your recording doesn’t depend on a web page staying open. The tradeoff is that nothing is automated, so you choose the sources, check the sound, and start the recording yourself.
It also only records, so you’ll need a separate video editor to cut the episode. One free option is DaVinci Resolve, which Blackmagic Design offers in a free edition alongside a paid Studio version.
Set Up And Test A First Recording
A good-looking preview does not prove the saved file sounds right, so make your first session a test. For a solo video podcast, these are the OBS Studio settings to get right before you record anything important.
- Download OBS Studio from the official site and run the Auto-Configuration Wizard. It opens at launch and stays under the Tools menu.
- Add a camera and a microphone to a scene. Speak and check that the audio mixer meter moves and that no unwanted desktop sound comes through.
- In Settings, under Output, choose where recordings are saved. OBS recommends the MKV format because a crash won’t ruin the whole file. You can convert it to MP4 later through File, then Remux Recordings. Hybrid MP4 is a newer option that also holds up well after a crash and opens in most editors.
- Record one minute of speech, switch between your scenes and play it back. Listen for missing audio, a doubled voice, and stray notification sounds, and make sure any on-screen text is readable.
- Once the test file plays back cleanly, you are ready to record the real session.
Bringing In Remote Guests
OBS is not a remote guest service, so decide how your guest will join before you schedule the interview. The usual approach is to bring the guest in through a video call and add the call window to OBS as a source. You can configure your microphone and the guest call audio as separate audio sources in OBS and assign them to different recording tracks through Advanced Audio Properties. This makes it easier to adjust each audio source independently during post-production, provided your call audio is captured separately from other desktop sounds.
Guest audio depends on each person’s connection and surroundings, so ask guests to use headphones and a quiet room, just as you do. Guest audio is often the weakest point of a free setup, so rehearse with a colleague before the real session.
Dedicated remote recording platforms usually record each participant on their own device. Several of them are compared side by side in a podcast software roundup, and some have free plans with tight caps, which the FAQ below covers. If your show also goes live, test the saved recording as well as the broadcast. A successful live stream does not guarantee a usable saved file, and the reverse is also true.
Auphonic for Consistent Volume
Auphonic is an online service, not a program you install. You upload a finished edit, and it adjusts the levels and loudness for you. Its tools include a leveler that evens out volume between speakers, noise and reverb reduction, and loudness targets with a true-peak limit.
Among free tools to balance podcast voice levels, Auphonic is the only automatic option here for matching volume between speakers and bringing an episode to a loudness target in one pass. In Audacity you can get a similar result by hand with the compressor and loudness normalization effects, but it takes more editing time.
The free plan includes two hours of processed audio per month. Unused free credits do not roll over, and productions processed under the free plan include an Auphonic jingle. This is worth considering if you produce sponsored episodes or want complete control over your show’s branding.
A weekly show with 45-minute episodes produces roughly three hours of audio a month, which is over the allowance. Heavier use needs paid credits, which come as monthly plans or one-time packages.
Because you upload your files, check how the service handles unreleased recordings before you submit an embargoed interview. If your recording is clean and you level it carefully by hand and check it with a loudness meter, you may not need Auphonic.
Test With A Short Clip
The free plan works best as a way to test Auphonic’s algorithms before you commit to anything.
- Choose a five-minute section that includes a quiet speaker, a louder reply and some room sound.
- Process the clip and keep the original alongside it for comparison.
- Judge clarity as well as consistency. The quieter answer should be easier to follow, and breaths and room noise should still sound natural.
If the processed clip is clearly better, the tool has earned a place in your workflow. If not, you have not spent your allowance on a full episode.
Canva Free for Cover Art
Cover art is the first thing listeners see, and Canva Free gives you templates and a design editor without a subscription. The limits are in the content, since Canva sorts its library into Free and Pro, and a free user sees a watermark on Pro content until a license is bought for that content in that design or until they subscribe to Canva Pro. A crown icon on a library thumbnail marks Pro content. You can make podcast artwork without Canva Pro if the design uses only free elements, but check the exported file for watermarks.
Canva’s library content also cannot be used in a trademark, apart from fonts, simple shapes and lines, so if you plan to trademark your logo, build it from original graphics.
Cover art also has technical requirements. Apple Podcasts accepts square show artwork from 1400 by 1400 to 3000 by 3000 pixels as a JPEG or PNG, prefers the largest size, and does not allow transparency, so export with a solid background. Designing at 3000 by 3000 from the start avoids having to rebuild later.
Design A Readable Cover
- Start from a podcast cover template and set the canvas to the square size above.
- Use a large show name with very few words, original images or clearly free assets, and a background that does not compete with the text.
- Export a PNG or JPEG with a solid background, open the download, and check for watermarks before sharing it for approval.
- Shrink the exported image to phone-thumbnail size. If the title becomes unreadable, remove an element instead of adding one.
For episode graphics, keep the show name and background fixed, changing only the guest photo and a short label. That keeps a growing catalog recognizable.
Youlean For Loudness Checks
If the music at the start of your episode is much louder than the voices, listeners have to turn the volume down. Youlean Loudness Meter shows how loud each part is, so you can fix it before you publish.
Loudness is measured in LUFS, also expressed as LKFS. Apple recommends an overall loudness of approximately -16 dB LKFS, with a tolerance of ±1 dB, and a true-peak level that does not exceed -1 dB FS.
The free version is available as a plug-in and standalone application, with loudness, true-peak, and loudness-range measurements. The Pro version adds features such as streaming presets, dynamics graphs, exporting measurement reports, and saving custom presets.
Youlean only measures, so you can resolve any problems in your editor. It never touches the file, so it cannot watermark or cut short your episode.
Check Your Episode’s Loudness
- Play the whole episode through Youlean and note the readings for the opening music, the conversation, and the closing music.
- Compare the numbers with the target for your destination platform. Apple’s figures are recommendations that other platforms may not share.
- If the overall level sits well below target, raise it in the editor. If the loudest moments go past the limit, lower them and measure again.
- If one section sounds uncomfortable and the readings agree, adjust that section alone rather than the whole file.
Check Any Free Tool Before You Rely on It
How much of your workflow can safely depend on a free tool comes down to whether it is open source or a limited plan. Both Audacity and OBS Studio are free, open-source tools without paid upgrade tiers. Neither adds a watermark to your recordings, making them useful foundations for a budget-friendly podcast production setup. Auphonic and Canva give you a limited share of a paid product, so their limits matter more.
That makes Audacity and OBS the base of your setup, and Auphonic and Canva better as occasional help, since a plan’s allowance can change.
Before you adopt any free tool, check the following:
- Export. Can you save a clean file in a format your host accepts?
- Watermarks. Does the free account brand your output or mark certain assets?
- Caps. Is there a limit on minutes, files, or features?
- Added audio. Do free exports include a jingle or sound clip?
- System support. Does it run on your operating system?
- Data handling. What happens to unreleased recordings you upload?
Using the Tools Together
These tools don’t share files, so you move each file from one to the next yourself. You also don’t need every tool for every episode. An audio-only show, for example, may never need OBS.
A practical order for one episode looks like this.
- Record in OBS for a video episode, or straight into Audacity for an audio-only one.
- Cut the mistakes and long pauses in Audacity, then export a working file. Audacity edits audio only, so a video episode needs a separate editor for the picture.
- Run the audio through Auphonic only if the volume still jumps around and the free limits suit your show.
- Measure the finished audio in Youlean. If a section is too loud or too quiet, fix it in your editor and measure again.
- Make the cover and any episode graphic in Canva Free, then open the downloaded files to check for watermarks.
- Name each final file clearly, such as “episode-07-approved,” so the wrong version never reaches your host.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
Most problems with a free setup trace back to habits.
- Processing the same audio twice. Running noise reduction in Audacity and again in Auphonic can leave a voice sounding metallic or watery. Choose one place to clean the sound.
- Judging the mix on laptop speakers. Check the edit on headphones and one other device before trusting the meter alone.
- Keeping one copy of the recording. Copy the raw file to a second location straight after recording. Every tool here works on files that can be lost or overwritten.
Don’t Forget Hosting
None of the five tools publish your show. To get your episodes into listening apps such as Apple Podcasts, you need a podcast host. A host stores your episode files and creates the RSS feed that those apps read to find your new episodes. It is the one piece of the setup you cannot skip.
Before you upload your episodes, compare hosts on these points.
- Feed ownership. Can you move your feed and your subscribers to another host later?
- Storage and download limits. Will the plan still cover you as you add more episodes?
- Cost of leaving. How hard is it to move to a new host if you outgrow this one?
Which Tool To Start With
You don’t need all five tools on day one. Start with the one that fixes whatever annoys you most in your current episodes.
- Audacity is the first pick if most of your editing time goes into cutting false starts and long pauses.
- OBS Studio is the best choice if the video side of your setup feels shaky.
- Auphonic helps when a quiet guest and a loud host keep making listeners reach for the volume, as long as the free allowance covers how often you publish.
- Canva Free is the quickest way to rebuild a cover that turns into a blur at phone size.
- Youlean Loudness Meter helps you check whether your intro, outro, and conversation meet your intended loudness levels.
Record one episode from start to finish, notice which stage took the most time, and add a tool for that stage only.
When A Free Setup Stops Being Enough
A free toolkit works well for solo hosts and small teams. It gets harder to manage when guests join from other places, when the show also streams live, or when every episode has to be cut into short clips for social media.
The clearest sign that you have outgrown it is time. If moving files between programs, fixing remote guest problems, or making clips takes longer than recording and editing, it is worth looking at an all-in-one platform.
Airmeet Podcast, for example, brings remote guest recording, built-in editing, and AI-made clips into one place. That removes most of the file moving between separate programs. It does not publish your show, so you would still need a podcast host.
Whichever platform you look at, compare it using the same checks from earlier, including export, caps, watermarks, and data handling.
FAQs
Neither Audacity nor OBS Studio adds watermarks or cuts off anything. OBS Studio has no watermarks or other limitations, and Audacity has no paid tier. Youlean only measures your audio and never touches the file, so it cannot mark or shorten an episode. The two to watch are Auphonic, where free productions include a jingle, and Canva, which watermarks Pro content on free accounts. Open every download before you send it to your host.
Audacity and OBS Studio are the safest choices for commercial work, since neither has a paid tier or a watermark. Auphonic’s free plan adds a jingle to every production, which may not suit a sponsored episode, and a paid plan is needed to remove it. Canva shows a watermark on Pro content until a license is bought, so stick to free elements and read Canva’s licensing terms before you publish. Canva library content also cannot be used in a trademark, apart from fonts, simple shapes, and lines.
Save your project files, export finished episodes in standard formats, and note the date you last checked each free plan’s allowance. Open-source tools are the safest foundation. A plan that can change, like Auphonic’s monthly cap, should sit at the edge of your workflow rather than the center.
OBS Studio can handle a remote guest as long as the guest joins through a video call and you add the call window to OBS as a source. Because OBS is not a remote guest service, it does not connect the guest for you. You can record your microphone and call audio on separate tracks, so you can edit each voice separately.
