iZotope Review

iZotope RX 12 is desktop software for repairing and restoring audio, covering noise removal, voice cleanup and loudness control, used across film, TV, podcast and music post production. Because it installs locally as a standalone editor and DAW plugin rather than running in a browser, and is priced by tier rather than by hours of audio processed, it suits a different kind of buyer than a subscription cloud cleanup service.

What is iZotope RX?

iZotope has made audio technology since 2001 and is now operated under parent company Native Instruments USA, Inc., based in the United States. RX 12 installs on Windows and Mac as a standalone editor, plus plugins that load inside a DAW or video editor; there is no browser or mobile version.

What iZotope RX fixes

RX 12 is sold in three tiers, Elements, Standard and Advanced, with different module sets in each. This review covers RX 12 Advanced, the tier with the full set, and notes where a feature belongs to Advanced specifically rather than the cheaper tiers.

Noise removal runs through named modules including Spectral De-noise, Voice De-noise, Guitar De-noise, De-hum, De-wind and De-rustle, each aimed at a different kind of unwanted sound. Voice De-noise also gives a real time preview while you edit. Dialogue Isolate and Dialogue Contour go further, working to clarify speech rather than just strip noise around it. Loudness Control and Loudness Optimize handle level targets and perceived loudness.

Trim Silence, an Advanced tier module, detects and deletes gaps in a file once you set a threshold. RX has no automatic filler word removal: Mouth De-click removes mouth noises such as clicks and lip smacks, not spoken "um"s and "ah"s. There is also no multitrack mixdown across separate speaker tracks; Multiple Speaker Detection, another Advanced tier module, and Stems View instead split a single file into stems. RX is an offline editor built for post production work on files you already have, not a tool for processing a live call as it happens.

Working with other people

RX 12 loads as a VST3, AU, AAX and AAX Audiosuite plugin inside Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, Nuendo, Studio One, Reaper, FL Studio, Adobe Audition, Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Reason, or runs on its own as a standalone editor. It has no public API for scripting or automating RX from other software.

iZotope RX pricing: what each plan gives

There is no ongoing free plan, only a time limited free trial. RX 12 Elements costs $99 as a one time purchase. RX 12 Standard costs $399 one time, and RX 12 Advanced, the tier this review covers, costs $1,399 one time; the Advanced tier is the only one with the full module set, including Trim Silence, Scene Rebalance, Multichannel Processing and Multiple Speaker Detection.

A one time purchase is a licence you keep. As an alternative, iZotope Plus is a subscription at $15 a month ($12.50 a month billed yearly) that includes RX Elements, and iZotope Pro is $25 a month ($20.83 a month billed yearly) and includes RX Standard.

Privacy and support

RX processes audio on your own machine rather than uploading it to iZotope's servers, which is why questions about data training or cloud security do not come up the way they would for a service that processes your files remotely. Support is available through iZotope's help center.

Who iZotope RX suits

RX 12 Advanced suits post production engineers, and podcast, film and TV editors, who want the full de-noise and restoration module set inside a DAW or NLE they already use, and who would rather own a licence than pay a subscription forever.

It suits less well anyone who wants automatic filler word cutting, a way to mix several speakers' separate tracks together, or a browser based tool that needs no install: none of those are part of what RX does.

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Frequently Asked Questions