Audacity Vs Garageband For Podcasting – Which One Is Better?

The podcast audience demographic has seen consistent growth recently. In 2020, according to podcast statistics, 32 percent of Americans subscribed monthly to a podcast.

The podcast has become an avenue for business owners to develop and grow intimate relationships with customers and prospective patrons. It is also a reputation-building strategy for individuals seeking to carve out a niche of expertise for themselves. Content makers are progressively going to podcasting as a new, modest, easy-to-understand circulation channel to reach a large audience.

Now, let’s talk about the uniqueness of Audacity and Garageband, the two most common sound-free sound production software for podcast creators. Both software has a broad scope of modules, support materials, and customary updates. At the same time, they are fundamentally unique to one another in various aspects.

Audacity

Audacity, unlike GarageBand, is mainly a digital audio editor with the sole aim of audio editing and manipulation. Audacity is a sound-editing program known to be free and open-source software. It is compatible with various operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and other Unix-like frameworks like Linux and BSD.

Audacity records live audio through the microphone and playback. This software comes with a wide variety of plug-ins and digital effects, using Nyquist and Lisp dialect. These features also allow Audacity to edit video by cutting, copying, and pasting various parts to achieve the perfect recording. Audacity is also built to import and exports formats such as MP3, WAV, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, and optional libraries that support formats such as AC3, WMA, AAC, and others.

One of the core advantages of Audacity is the noise-canceling feature. It is built with a noise removal feature on recordings and amplifies or reduces the volume accordingly by manipulating pitch, speed, and tempo.

Pros

1. Audacity is a free product.
2. It is a powerful audio production/manipulation software that allows for more flexibility and audio fine-tuning.
3. Audacity is compatible with most operating systems such as Windows, Linux, IOS, or Unix.
4. It has various audio tools that allow its effect to be applied to a specific audio portion.
5. Audacity software also allows sample editing, pitch and tempo changing, importation of raw data, and noise cancelation.

Cons 

1. Audacity is notorious for not being user-friendly. Its user interface has a learning curve before it can be effectively used.
2. It does not support MIDI recordings
3. The software does not offer any pre-recorded material.

Garageband

This is one of the most common free sound production software available for podcasters. Garageband, unlike Audacity, can be used to create music and is restricted to macOS and IOS operating systems. Like Audacity, Garageband also has a wide range of plug-ins, support materials, and regular updates. This software accommodates VSTs, unlike Audacity. Garageband outshines Audacity mainly in its music-making capacity, whereas the former outshines Garageband in audio editing and manipulation.

Pros

1. Garageband is a creator-friendly music creation software built with a fully functional sound library such as loops, samples, sounds, and a unique and fun drumming program.
2. Garageband has a user-friendly interface, which is easy for first-timers podcasters, and new music producers.
3. It is equipped with musical instruments and music lessons that are not available on Audacity.
4. Unlike Audacity, Garageband supports MIDI recordings.

Cons

1. Garageband is highly dependent on Apple for functionality. It is owned and coded by Apple, which means it is restricted to macOS and IOS devices, unlike Audacity, which works on various operating systems.
2. Garageband’s audio editing capabilities are limited compared to Audacity, which has many inbuilt audio editing/manipulation effects.
3. Audio editing is applied to the entire audio file, unlike Audacity that can perform edits on portions of a file.

Summary

As a podcaster, it is essential to know that while both platforms are free, Garageband is easier to use for first-timers and newbies than Audacity. It is also good to remember that the significant difference between Audacity and Garageband is that, while the former is an excellent audio editor and manipulator, the latter is better equipped for music creation. The type of content you want to create will guide you in choosing a platform to subscribe to for your podcast editing needs.

Audacity sound programming will be a decent decision if you only need a straightforward method to record your voice with simple effects and upload it for your audience. You can easily edit and manipulate your audio to improve the sound.

Suppose you prefer easily accessible features for your audio mix and the addition of image files to your audio. In that case, Garageband may be the ideal decision, as its setup can assist you with recording ear-satisfying MP3, WAV, or AAC podcasts.

Similarities

1.  Importing and exporting AIFF, ACC, FLAC, and MP3
2.  Saving user presets
3.  Punch and roll recording
4.  Cut, copy, paste, and undo functions
5.  Digital effects and plug-ins
6.  Adjusting speed while maintaining pitch and vice versa

Differences