Head-to-head
Audacity vs Sound Forge
2 tools, 10 differing data points, mostly pricing and positioning.
The verdict
Audacity or Sound Forge?
Section 01
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
AAudacity
Free
Free
Free, open-source software with no paid tier
SSound Forge
Sound Forge
$24.95/mo · $12.50/mo billed yearly
Sound Forge Plus
$33.95/mo · $16.66/mo billed yearly
Sound Forge (perpetual)
$299.95 one-time
Sound Forge Plus (perpetual)
$399.95 one-time
Section 02
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
AAudacity
Pros
- Free forever, open source, and needs no account to run.
- Multitrack editing, spectral editing, noise reduction and loudness normalization all built in.
- Whisper AI powers local, on-device transcription of speech to text.
- Supports VST, LV2, LADSPA and Audio Unit plugins plus scripting through Macros and Nyquist.
Cons
- Pulls the audio track out of a video file but cannot display, edit or export back into the video picture.
- Has no dedicated surround panner or monitoring workflow for mixing in 5.1 or 7.1.
- AI stem separation and dialogue isolation are separate plugins distributed through MuseHub, not part of the default install.
SSound Forge
Pros
- Can be bought once as a perpetual license instead of a subscription, for either the Sound Forge or Sound Forge Plus edition.
- DeHisser, DeClicker/DeCrackler and DeClipper restoration tools alongside loudness metering built for CALM Act compliance.
- A Batch Converter applies effects and processes multiple files automatically.
- VST2, VST3 and ARA plugin support, with ARA integrating Celemony's Melodyne directly into the waveform editor.
Cons
- Does not function as a digital audio workstation and cannot record a multitrack project, by design.
- Has no spectrogram or frequency-based editing view; its WaveColor feature is a colour-coded waveform view instead.
- Runs on Windows alone, with no Mac version.
Side by side
| Company | ||
| Founded | 2000 | 1995 |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac, Linux | Windows |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | — | One-time purchase or subscription |
| Free plan | Yes, the whole app | No |
| Free trial | No | Yes, 15 days |
| Starting price | Free | $24.95/mo (Sound Forge) |
| All plans | Free — Free | Sound Forge — $24.95/mo Sound Forge Plus — $33.95/mo Sound Forge (perpetual) — $299.95 one-time Sound Forge Plus (perpetual) — $399.95 one-time |
| Positioning | ||
| Best for | Podcasters and anyone editing recordings who want a free, open-source audio editor | Windows users who master and restore single audio files and want to buy the editor once |
| Differentiator | Audacity is a free, open-source audio editor with multitrack and spectral editing and plugin support. | Sound Forge is a Windows audio editor for mastering and restoration, rented or bought once. |
| Competitors | Adobe Audition, Sound Forge, GarageBand | Adobe Audition, Audacity, Reaper |
Section 03
Audacity vs Sound Forge: common questions
Is Audacity or Sound Forge cheaper?
Audacity's cheapest paid plan is Free and Sound Forge's is $24.95/mo (Sound Forge). Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
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