Updated May 6, 2023
Difference Between Audacity vs GarageBand
Audacity is a digital audio editor and recorder, which is free and open-source software of this category and can access several operating systems. Audacity allows users to post-process all types of audio and add different effects such as trimming, normalization, fading in or out, and so on. On the other hand, GarageBand is a digital audio workstation that enables you to create music and podcasts. With its music and podcast creation, users can create multiple tracks with pre-made loops, pre-made MIDI keyboards, and various instrument effects, and voice recording can be done in it. Now let us start discussing different facts and aspects of Audacity vs GarageBand software to establish a good understanding of them.
Head to Head Comparison Between Audacity vs GarageBand (Infographics)
Below is the Top Comparison Between Audacity vs GarageBand:
Key difference between Audacity vs GarageBand
Both software options are effective for their specific features when it comes to audio editing and manipulation work. Let’s take a closer look at the particular terms of each software.
- There are several audio file formats we can import and export in Audacity software, and these files are formats of WAV, AIFF, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, and all files that the libsndfile library supports. GarageBand supports various music file formats, including AIFF, WAV, and MIDI, making it compatible with various audio support formats. Additionally, it can export songs to MP3, AAC, MP4, or AIFF file formats, which makes it user-friendly.
- In Audacity, there are modern multi-track audio features such as navigation controls, single as well as zoom tract edit, which helps in refining editing of the audio track, project pane with XY project navigation, non-destructive as well as destructive effect processing, manipulation of the audio file with different command (cut, copy, paste). Furthermore, GarageBand is a music sequencer that can playback and record multiple audio tracks with other effects. Furthermore, there is a built-in audio filter in GarageBand that is AU (audio unit), and it allows users to enhance the quality of the audio track by adding various effects, reverb, echo, and distortion to it.
- Audacity enables us to precisely adjust the audio speed while maintaining pitch to synchronize it with video or for other purposes. On the other hand, GarageBand can record at both 16-bit and 24-bit audio resolutions, resulting in high-quality work, but its sample rate is fixed at 44.1 kHz. Additionally, GarageBand has a tuning system that assists with pitch correction and adds an autotune effect during tuning, which is a noteworthy feature.
Comparison between Audacity vs GarageBand
By going through this section of the article, you will know the basic requirement of these two software such as operating systems, supported languages, latest versions, and so on. So let us have a look at these features.
| Parameters | Audacity | GarageBand |
| Definition | We can use Audacity, a free and open-source audio editing software, to edit, record, and add effects to audio tracks. | In addition, GarageBand functions as a digital audio workstation that aids in the creation of both music and podcasts. With music and podcasts, we can get the best editing result in audio editing work. |
| Developer and Initially released date | It was started by Dominic Mazzoni and Roger Dannenberg in 1999, and its first version was released on May 28, 2000, by Audacity Team, and its name was the 0.8 version of it. | Apple developed it as a digital audio workstation and was part of the iLife software suite along with iDVD and iMovie. Its first version was released on January 6, 2004. |
| Latest or currently stable version | Its latest version was released on April 19, 2021, and it was released with the name 3.0.2. | 10.4.3 is its latest version and was released on April 6, 2021, with an advanced level of audio editing features. |
| Written In | It is written in C, C++ using the wxWidgets toolkit. | This software is written in C and C++, and Apple uses the Xcode SDK tool kit. |
| Operating systems | You can install this software on various operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Unix-like systems. | As it is compatible with Mac OS operating systems, you can efficiently run it on this system. |
| Type | It is a type of digital audio editing software based on the task performed by it. | It can categorize under Digital audio workstation software. |
| License Type | It has a GPL, CC BY 3.0 type of license. | It has a Proprietary license type which means you have to make payment for a subscription of it. |
| Supported languages | It is available in different languages to become accessible to other users. These languages are Afrikaans, Arabic, Bulgarian, Basque, Catalan, Chinese (simplified and traditional both), Corsican, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Finnish, German, Galician, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Lithuanian, Japanese, Macedonian, Marathi, Norwegian(Bokmal), Polish, Russian, Slovak, Romanian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese and Welsh.
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You can visit the official website of Audacity to check the various languages that this software supports. |
| Availability | For more details about this software, you can visit www.audacityteam.com, which is their official website, and find the download link of this software here. | You can have more information about this software from its official website, which is www.apple.com. |
These were those points with which you can analyze these two software’s basic requirements and characteristics. Now let us move to the other section of this article, and in this section, I will tell you the special features and facts of Audacity and GarageBand.
Conclusion
Now you have a good understanding of Audacity and GarageBand software, and you clearly know the purpose of using this software.You can perform audio editing by adding various types of effects and necessary accessories with either software. Each software has its own unique way of functioning, so you may find both software options easy and enjoyable to use.
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