Sound Forge is a Windows waveform editor for recording, editing, restoring and mastering a single audio file at a time, built by Boris FX under the Vegas Creative Software brand. It suits anyone who wants a focused mastering and repair tool rather than a multitrack session, and the choice between subscribing or buying a perpetual license decides much of how you will pay for it.
What is Sound Forge?
Sound Forge is made by Boris FX (Vegas Creative Software). It is an installed Windows application, with no Mac, iOS, Android or web version, and it needs no account to run.
Editing audio in Sound Forge
Sound Forge does not function as a digital audio workstation and cannot record a multitrack project: its own product page states it was designed as a specialist tool for working on a single file rather than a session, so it holds no multitrack timeline. It has no spectrogram or other spectral display either; its WaveColor view adds colour coding for amplitude and pitch to a waveform rather than a frequency-based editing view.
Restoration tools include DeHisser, DeClicker/DeCrackler and DeClipper for repairing distorted audio, plus a Batch Converter that applies effects and processes multiple files automatically. Loudness metering is built for CALM Act compliance. Sound Forge supports VST2, VST3 and ARA plugins, with ARA integrating Celemony's Melodyne directly into the waveform editor. A Text to Speech feature, branded BorisFX AI, turns text into speech in multiple languages and voices, processed locally rather than sent to a server; it is a generation feature rather than an audio cleanup tool. Sound Forge imports and exports several video container formats so you can edit or replace a video's audio track, and it can record and edit files with up to 32 channels for surround work.
Working with other people
Sound Forge has no real-time collaboration or comment workflow; it is single-user desktop software. ARA support integrates Melodyne directly rather than through a separate setup step. Support runs through a user forum and a help articles section on the Vegas Creative Software site.
Sound Forge pricing: what each plan gives
Sound Forge is sold as Sound Forge or Sound Forge Plus, which adds Melodyne 5 Essential, Vandal, VariVerb II and 3D Reverb. Each edition can be bought monthly for $24.95 (Sound Forge) or $33.95 (Sound Forge Plus), billed annually at a lower monthly rate of $12.50 or $16.66, or bought once as a perpetual license for $299.95 (Sound Forge) or $399.95 (Sound Forge Plus), which you own outright and keep. There is no free plan; a 15-day free trial is offered instead.
Privacy and support
Sound Forge is installed Windows software that needs no account to run, so questions about a vendor holding or training on your audio do not arise the way they do for a cloud service. Its one AI feature, Text to Speech, is processed locally rather than sent to a server. Support runs through a user forum and a help articles section.
Who Sound Forge suits
Sound Forge suits anyone who wants a focused tool for recording, restoring and mastering a single audio file, with DeHisser, DeClicker/DeCrackler and DeClipper repair tools, CALM Act loudness metering, and the option to buy a perpetual license instead of subscribing. Its 32-channel editing and video import and export also suit surround and video-audio work.
It suits less well anyone who needs multitrack recording or session editing, since Sound Forge is deliberately not built as a digital audio workstation, or anyone who wants spectral, frequency-based editing, since WaveColor is a colour-coded waveform view rather than a spectrogram. It also runs on Windows alone, ruling it out for Mac-only setups.
How Sound Forge compares
Sound Forge scores 4.4 out of 10 among the audio editors we rate. These two do the same job and are the closest to it, compared on what each vendor publishes.
Adobe Audition
Sound Forge is a single-file waveform editor by design, not a multitrack tool, and runs on Windows only. Adobe Audition edits several tracks at once. Sound Forge sells a one-time purchase alongside its subscription, from $24.95 a month, while Audition is subscription only, billed monthly or annually, with no outright licence option. Audition adds spectral editing that Sound Forge lacks, and both can edit audio against video and mix in surround.
Pick Adobe Audition if if you need multitrack editing with spectral repair tools.
Pick Sound Forge if if you want a one-time purchase for Windows editing.
Audacity
Sound Forge is a single-file waveform editor by design, not a multitrack tool, and runs on Windows only, while Audacity is free, open source and edits several tracks at once. Sound Forge sells a one-time purchase alongside its subscription, from $24.95 a month, where Audacity has no cost at all. Audacity adds a scripting API and optional free plugins for AI stem separation and dialogue isolation, none of which Sound Forge has. Sound Forge instead edits audio against video, which Audacity cannot do.
Pick Audacity if if you want free multitrack editing with AI repair plugins.
Pick Sound Forge if if you want a one-time purchase for editing against video.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Sound Forge cost?
Sound Forge is $24.95 a month or $12.50 a month billed annually, with Sound Forge Plus at $33.95 or $16.66 a month billed annually. Both editions can also be bought once as a perpetual license, for $299.95 (Sound Forge) or $399.95 (Sound Forge Plus). A 15-day free trial is available; there is no free plan.
Can Sound Forge handle multitrack projects?
No. Sound Forge does not function as a digital audio workstation and cannot record a multitrack project; it is built as a specialist tool for working on one file at a time.
Does Sound Forge have spectral editing?
No. It has no spectrogram or frequency-based editing view. Its WaveColor feature adds colour coding for amplitude and pitch to a waveform instead.
Does Sound Forge train AI on my audio?
Sound Forge needs no account to run, and its one AI feature, Text to Speech, is processed locally rather than sent to a server.
