Audacity is a free and open-source digital audio editor and recording application software, which is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems.
As of February 15, 2026, Audacity is the second most popular download at FossHub, with over 114.2 million downloads since March 2015. It was previously served by Google Code and SourceForge, where it was downloaded over 200 million times. It has been part of Muse Group since 2021.
Audacity 4.0 is distributed under version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPLv3). Many individual source files are also available under GPL version 2 or later. Its documentation is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.
The project was started in the autumn of 1999 by Dominic Mazzoni and Roger Dannenberg at Carnegie Mellon University, initially under the name CMU Visual Audio. On May 28, 2000, Audacity was released as Audacity 0.8 to the public.
From the Wikipedia article “Audacity (audio editor)”, CC BY-SA 4.0
What is Audacity?
Audacity by Audacity (developed by Audacity Team) is open-source Windows software in the audio editors & daw category. It ranks 1st by popularity among audio editors & daw in this catalogue. The first release dates back to 2000. It is written in C++ and C. Besides Windows, it is available for Linux, macOS, Unix-like operating system and ReactOS.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides MSI installers for 64-bit and ARM64 Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches. An MSI package is available for deployment with Group Policy, Intune or Configuration Manager.
Updates and version history
The current version is 4.0.1.262721353, released on September 30, 2026. The version history goes back to April 20, 2021: 40 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 7.3 releases a year. The last update is less than a month old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 2,791,170 times. The source code on GitHub (audacity/audacity) has 18,812 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 37 of our languages. On Windows it registers 10 file types, including .mp3, .mp4, .wav, .flac and .ogg. Similar programs include MuseScore, LMMS and REAPER.
Project description on GitHub: “Audio Editor ”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- MSI package for managed deployment
- Documented silent install
- Frequent updates (about 7.3 a year)
- Also runs on Linux, macOS and Unix-like operating system
- Large user base
Cons
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: Audacity is an open-source audio editors & daw tool for 64-bit and ARM64 PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Key features
- Record live audio
- Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs
- Edit WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3 or Ogg Vorbis sound files
- Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together
- Change the speed or pitch of a recording
- Apply a wide range of other effects to audio recordings
- and much more!
AppStream · Flathub
Screenshots
Is Audacity safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
EFB652BF04168F5D4893F28B7CEFAAF5EF385D9251544540AC774E3BF54793A3· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the audacity/audacity repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- Actively maintained10
- Code review10
- No dangerous workflows10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared9
- Restricted token permissions0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Security policy0
- Fuzzing0
- Signed releases0
- Pinned dependencies0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 40 versions ›40 versions over 5 years · about 7.3 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0.1.262721353Latest | September 30, 2026 | — | ARM64 MSI64-bit MSI |
| 4.0.0.262451524 | September 3, 2026 | — | ARM64 MSI64-bit MSI |
| 3.7.9 | September 1, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)ARM64 EXE (Inno Setup)ARM64 ZIP32-bit ZIP |
| 3.7.8 | June 11, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)ARM64 ZIP32-bit ZIP |
| 3.7.7 | December 11, 2025 | — | ARM64 EXE (Inno Setup)32-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP |
| 3.7.6 | December 4, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)32-bit EXE (Inno Setup)ARM64 EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 3.7.5 | August 7, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)ARM64 EXE (Inno Setup)32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 3.7.4 | June 10, 2025 | — | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Audacity.Audacity -echoco install audacity -yscoop install extras/audacitymsiexec /i audacity-win-4.0.1-x86_64.msi /qn /norestartmsiexec /x {74683A1C-A26F-4CF8-9DF9-1B80B14A43D3} /qn /norestartRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask audacityflatpak install flathub org.audacityteam.AudacityInformation
- Publisher
- Audacity
- Developer
- Audacity Team and Muse Group
- Category
- Audio editors & DAW
- Licence
- GPL-3.0-or-later
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/audacity/audacity
- Written in
- C++ and C
- Interface languages
- multiple languages
- Content rating
- All ages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64
- Installer
- MSI
- Other platforms
- Linux, macOS, Unix-like operating system, ReactOS
- Version
- 4.0.1.262721353
- Released
- September 30, 2026
- First release
- 2000
- Added to the catalogue
- April 20, 2021
- Versions listed
- 40
- Updates / year
- 7.3
- Chocolatey downloads
- 2,791,170
- GitHub stars
- 18,812
- GitHub forks
- 2,691
- Website
- audacityteam.org
- winget ID
- Audacity.Audacity
- Chocolatey package
- audacity
- Scoop package
- extras/audacity
- MSI product code
- {74683A1C-A26F-4CF8-9DF9-1B80B14A43D3}
File types it opens (10)
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Audacity
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Frequently asked questions
Is Audacity free?
Yes. Audacity is open-source software under the GPL-3.0-or-later licence.
Is Audacity safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Audacity with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Audacity be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer, including msiexec for the MSI package.
Does Audacity run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of Audacity?
The versions page lists all 40 versions with links to their official installer files, back to April 20, 2021.
What are alternatives to Audacity?
MuseScore, LMMS, REAPER, Bespoke Synth and Bitwig Studio. The alternatives page compares them.
