Although there are a lot of audio recording programs out there claiming to record almost any sound play on computer, the fact you should always keep in mind is that only a few of them promise capturing high quality audio. Therefore, if you care much about the quality of your recordings, choosing a proper high-powered audio recorder could really matter. Are you just looking for such recording tool but with a low budget? Luckily, among the numerous audio recording software available on internet, we are glad to see most of them are offered for free. To help you quickly pick up the best free streaming audio recorder online, we complied a list of top 5 most popular free audio recording programs that can record streaming music, radios, in-game sound, music in videos, and any other sound play on Mac and Windows with high quality.
With this powerful video and audio recorder, you can record computer screen, exciting gameplay, webcam videos, online lectures, favorite music, or just save a screenshot on your Mac. This screen and audio recording software for Mac is able to capture different audio sources to meet your needs, like system sounds, microphone voice or both. The following tutorial will show you how to use AudFree Audio Capture to record YouTube audios and save the music tracks as MP3 step by step. Step 1 Launch AudFree Audio Capture and Set Up Recordings Once you launch AudFree Audio Capture on your Mac or Windows, you'll see the main window with mainstream media player apps listed, such as Chrome, iTunes, Safari, QuickTime, Spotify, etc.
Free Sound Recorder is an excellent audio recorder that can help you capture sound with ease. It allows you to record music from any online music sites like Grooveshark/YouTube. Most importantly, you need to pay nothing for tons of newly released songs and classic albums. Free Sound Recorder has many useful features that can help you record high-quality sound. You can also use the program to crop songs, and you can also add a wide range of effects. MediaHuman YouTube to MP3 Converter. The MediaHuman converter is a small program you can use to convert YouTube videos to MP3 files, and it works on Windows, Mac,.
- Top 1. Audacity (Mac & Windows)
- Top 2. Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder
- Top 3. Ardour (Mac & Windows)
- Top 4. Aktiv MP3 Recorder (Windows)
- Top 5. Traverso DAW (Mac & Windows)
- Alternative - TunesKit Audio Capture [Best]
Top 1. Audacity (Mac & Windows)
As a well-known open source free audio recorder, Audacity is capable of recording and editing anything you throw at it, including audio through microphone and sound card all in a few clicks thanks to the clean interface. It also allows users adjust pitch, bass, and treble, or normalize noise and add effects like reverb and phasing to the recordings. In addition, it supports multi-track capturing to save a lot of time for you. And unlike most other free audio recorders which are free for a limited time or free with locked features, Audacity is a real free of charge audio recording application offered in full free version. Overall, Audacity offers one of the most robust packages available among free recording programs.
Pros:
1. Totally free and extremely easy to use;
2. Support recording any sound on computer;
3. Edit recorded audio's quality with many effects;
4. Support multi-track recording.
Cons:
1. Require plugins to accomplish optimal functionality;
2. Can't export audio recordings to MP3;
3. Effect editing is destructive to original audio track.
Top 2. Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder
Differing from Audacity or other free audio streaming recorder, Apowersoft Audio Recorder is a free online recording solution that needs no plug-in on Windows or Mac. It allows you record any sound from system sound card and microphone in high quality within 3 steps only. It fully supports capturing streaming music, radio stations, music in games, voice chats, etc. playing via devices like Windows Media Player, QuickTime, iTunes, Tablets, Chromebook, Android smartphones, iPhone, Windows Phone and more. Besides, it offers additional recording functions like converting audio records to MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, WAV, M4A, OGG, adding ID3 tags, sharing recorded audios online, playing recordings in real time, etc.
Pros:
1. Free and no need to install setup file on computer;
2. Support any sound sources;
3. Save recordings in multiple popular formats;
4. Support extensional functions for recording.
Cons:
1. Can't edit output audio quality;
2. Multi-track recording not supported.
Top 3. Ardour (Mac & Windows)
Ardour DAW is another great open-source audio recorder with professional music recording features and no cost. Developed by Paul Davis, Ardour is aiming at providing powerful recorder for studios who are at low budgets. Featuring highly versatile multi-track audio recording, Ardour can record and edit audios non-destructively or destructively. Its use of Jack, an underlying sound server, makes it compatible with a number of outside applications as well. With the release of third edition, Ardour is supposed to import video for film scoring purpose and record, edit MIDI without a hassle. However, unlike most of other free DAWs, Ardour comes with a confusing graphical user interface which is inaccessible for beginners. It's more like a professional tool developed for musicians or audio engineers.
Pros:
1. Free and professional;
2. Support multi-track recording;
3. Edit recorded tracks non-destructively.
Cons:
1. It's complex and difficult for newbie;
2. No built-in effects or instruments.
Top 4. Aktiv MP3 Recorder (Windows)
If you are looking for a free streaming music recorder that can convey CD, tape, DVD, live performance, TV, Internet radio, streaming music, video games and any other sound source into popular audio formats like MP3, WMA, OGG, VOX, AU, AIFF, then you can't miss Aktiv MP3 Recorder. As a full-featured audio recorder, the big difference between Aktiv and other free recording tools is that it comes with recording scheduler which provides you the ability to record streaming audio at certain times according to your requirements.
Pros:
1. Free streaming audio recorder;
2. Support most popular output formats;
3. Provide schedule recording tasks.
Cons:
1. Available for Windows only;
2. Installer contains some extra software.
Top 5. Traverso DAW (Mac & Windows)
Traverso DAW is another cross-platform free multitrack audio recording and audio editing suite with support for CD mastering and non-linear processing. Traverso is different with other in UI as it offers a unique user interface using both the mouse and the keyboard together for precision and speed. In addition, Traverso includes non-destructive editing, the ability to use plugins and make edits without changing the actual recorded sample. Also it is offering full support for ALSA, Jack and PortAudio, and lockless real-time audio processing.
Pros:
1. Fullfeatured free recording app;
2. Innovative keyboard and mouse shortcuts;
3. Support non-destructive audio editing.
Cons:
1. Take some time for users to get used to the shortcuts;
2. Need plugins to edit audio non-destructively.
More Professional Audio Recorder for Low Budget - TunesKit
Of course, no piece of free software is without its shortcomings. So do those free audio recorders. They are not as advanced as other paid software in functionality. In case you are searching for such paid recording products with reasonable price, we highly recommend a best free sound recorder to you. The renowned program is called TunesKit Audio Capture. It's available for both Mac and Windows platforms. It costs $19.95 but with more powerful features, including multi-track lossless recording, automatically fulfilling ID3 tags, editing output quality, splitting or merging recorded tracks, etc. You can download the free trial versions as below to test it out by yourself. For complete tutorial, visit this user guide.
Conclusion & Suggestion
As you can see, all the above recording tools are free of charge to meet most of your recording needs with options of recording audio, adding effects, and cutting waveforms, as well as other basic recording tasks. To conclude, if you are referring an all-in-one application that combines easy operation and high performance, Audacity and Aktiv MP3 Recorder could be the best audio recording software. But if you concern more about the professionalism and quality, you are suggested to go for Ardour or Traverso DAW that are more professional oriented. Or alternatively, Apowersoft Audio Recorder could be a great choice if you don't want to install any software on your computer. If you still have no idea which one to choose, simply try them out one by one and decide which works best for you.
Nick Orin is a review writer, software geek and Mac OS enthusiast. He spends all his free time in searching useful software and gadgets to share with others.
Jul 30,2019 • Filed to: Record Videos • Proven solutions
Want to know how to record audio from YouTube on Mac (macOS Mojave, High Sierra included) or Windows PC with the best video recorder for YouTube to make your own music collection? Look no further! Here are the easiest way to record YouTube audio on Mac and Windows 10, or extract YouTube audio on iPhone or Android devices. Have a look and choose the best way to record audio from YouTube for yourself.
Part 1. Record Audio from YouTube with YouTube Downloader
If you want to download and extract audio from YouTube, iTube HD Video Downloader is the best YouTube recorder for you. This YouTube video downloader and recorder is capable of offering you the facility to download YouTube to MP3 or grab background music from your favorite YouTube video on Mac (macOS High Sierra, Sierra included) within one single click. With it, you can instantly enjoy the music of your interest on the internet. This YouTube audio downloader also lets you download videos from a variety of video sharing sites and then convert the files to other media formats to fit for your devices.
iTube HD Video Downloader - Record Audio/Video from YouTube in 1 Click
- Easily record audio from YouTube into MP3 or MP4 format in high quality.
- Download videos or music audio from YouTube and 10,000+ more sites.
- Support to download YouTube playlist, channel and category in batch.
- Convert videos to any formats and extract audio from videos.
- Optimize preset video download to iPhone, iPad, Android and other devices.
- Private Mode to download secret videos/audio with a password set.
How to Record Audio from YouTube in Steps
After downloading the YouTube recorder application, you can install it by utilizing a wizard that guides you for setting up the program on Mac. When you're done, the download extension will be launched in an automatic way along with your browser so that you can download any YouTube video. The detailed information below will show you how it works on recording from YouTube.
Step 1. Download and install the YouTube downloader
How To Record Audio Mac
First of all download the YouTube downloader program file and then install the program in your Mac or Windows PC. After that, launch this YouTube audio recorder to its main interface.
Step 2. Record audio from YouTube
Turn to the Record category on the left panel, then open your YouTube video. When you get it ready, go back to the video recorder for YouTube and click the Record button on the left top corner. Then hit the REC icon by side of the player. You will get the YouTube video recorded when it finishes playing. Of course you can choose the starting time, finishing time, or adjust the screen recording area according to your need.
Optional. How to Download Video/Audio from YouTube
1- Download YouTube to MP3: You can copy the YouTube video URL and then go to the program interface. Click the 'Download MP3' button on the top left corner to add the file to the download queue. Then the program will download YouTube into MP3 automatically.
2- Extract YouTube audio with Download extension: Alternatively, open your web browser and navigate to YouTube to find your favorite video. Any time when you play YouTube music video, a 'Download' button will be provided. Just click the button and select MP3 to download the YouTube video.
3- Download then extract YouTube audio: Once you finish the downloading YouTube music videos, go to 'Downloaded' and click 'Add to Convert List' to import the video to 'Convert' menu. In 'Convert' menu, you can click 'Convert' icon for each video to enter conversion window and select MP3 or other audio format from the 'Audio' tab to extract audio from YouTube.
Step 3. Export downloaded YouTube audio to iPhone or Android
After downloading the YouTube audio, you can use the 'Transfer' function of this software to sync YouTube audio to your iPhone, iPad or iPod. To do so, in the above conversion window, click the icon of 'Add to Transfer List' to send the YouTube audio to 'Transfer' menu. Then go to 'Transfer' menu and click 'Transfer' to start the transferring.
Part 2. Record Audio from YouTube on Android and iPhone
1. How to Record Music from YouTube for Android:
To record music from YouTube on android device you will need to download the App TubeMate which is a free App you can get online. Your Android device however needs to be version 2.1 and above. And follow the below steps to record YouTube audio on Android.
Step 1: First, enable your device to install TubeMate YouTube music recorder for Android.<
Step 2: Once the download is complete follow the prompts to install the TubeMate onto your Android device.
Step 3: Launch TubeMate YouTube recorder on your Android device.
Step 4: Search for the music you would like to record onto your Android device.
Step 5: Click download. It should not take too long to download the music and you will be good to go.
2. How to Capture Audio from YouTube on iPhone:
To record music from YouTube on iPhone, you will need to download Musi. This YouTube audio recorder app is available free online and it is hyped as one of the best music Apps for iPhones. And then start recording music from YouTube by following the below steps.
Step 1: Download Musi YouTube recorder in your iphone. Follow the prompts to download. Once done, install and launch the YouTube audio recorder.
Step 2: On the search box just above the screen, type the name of the song or artists you would want to record into your phone and click search.
Step 3: From the search results you can pick the most appropriate one you want and then click add.
Step 4: The song you have chosen will be ticked and then at the top right corner you can click import and the song will be imported onto your iphone. You can also choose to edit the song after recording it, trim it if you like and then save.
To make things simple, you can also directly record YouTube audio online without downloading any apps. One of the most recommended apps to use for recording music from YouTube without requiring a download is Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder. It comes with an easy to use interface and can record just about anything for as long as you want. Apowersoft also works on just about any internet enable device.
Step 1: Go to the Apowersoft website to find the Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder.
Step 2: Open YouTube on a separate tab in your browser and find the music you would like to record.
Step 3: Go back to the Apowersoft page and click on the start recording button. A screen will pop. Click on the record tab and choose audio only then click record.
Step 4: The recording will start after a countdown, meanwhile go back to YouTube and start playing the music you want to record. When the recording is done you can convert it to whatever format you would like to save it as, and then save.
Part 4. Extract Audio from YouTube with YouTube Audio Recorder
To make things simple and record a song from YouTube video in one click, you can use iMusic This smart YouTube music recorder tool allows you to copy and paste the YouTube URL to download YouTube to MP3 or MP4 format with 100% original quality. All the songs will be saved into Library, letting you do further management or transfer to iPhone, iPad, iPod and Android devices for enjoyment.
- Copy and paste the link of a YouTube video to download it as MP3 format.
- Record music or audio from YouTube, Facebook, Dailymotion and other video sites.
- Automatically filter ads and add cover, album and other music identification.
- Save music to iTunes Library for further management and transferring.
Easy Steps to Record Music from YouTube
Below is a step-by-step tutorial that shows you how to record audio from YouTube videos on Mac (High Sierra, Sierra and EL Capitan included), the steps for Windows goes the same actually so we won't repeat here.
Step 1. Launch iMusic YouTube music recorder
Before getting started, get the installation package and then double-click the file to open the installation menu. Follow the instruction to finish installing the tool on your Mac. Then launch iMusic and click 'GET MUSIC'
Step 2. Download YouTube Music to MP3
Use your web browser to open YouTube and find the music you're going to record. Click 'DOWNLOAD' button on iMusic. Copy and paste the webpage link of the YouTube song to the download box, click 'DOWNLOAD'.
Capture Audio From Youtube Mac Free Download
Step 3. Play/Transfer YouTube Music
During the download process, a window will tell you how it goes on with the download. After that, you can click 'LIBRARY', navigate to the download music mangement window to preview all YouTube music.
Extra Tips: How to Record from YouTube Using QuickTime
How To Capture Audio From Youtube
If you’re familiar with the latest gadgets and tech trends and you’ve been using your Mac for some time, then you’ve probably already heard of QuickTime Player. Amongst many of its other uses, this program allows you do to high-quality screen recordings. This reliable, completely free application is easy to navigate and is a surefire and simple way to create unique content. Although it doesn’t offer a varied set of editing tools, it’s perfect for basic tasks and high-performance recordings. So how do you actually record videos from a webcam on your MacBook using QuickTime Player?
Step 1: First thing you have to do is open QuickTime Player from your Applications folder, as seen below:
Capture Audio From Youtube Mac Free Download
Step 2: Look for “File Menu” and click “New Movie Recording”.
If you only want to record audio, then click on “File” and choose “New Audio Recording”, as seen bellow:
Audio Capture Software Mac
Step 3: The QuickTime Screen Recording window will open. In order to start your video, click on the Record button. This will automatically use your built-in microphone to register any audio activity. If you want to select a specific audio input, then click the downward arrow and choose your audio file.
Step 4: Click the “Record” button to begin recording your video. This will activate your built-in camera.
Step 5: Finally, choose the “Stop recording” option to end recording.
Capture Audio From Youtube Mac Free Full
Remember, if your Mac doesn’t include a webcam, you can always try connecting a USB camera or a FireWire. A lot of the camera models recognized by iMovie are also recognized by QuickTime Player. If the application doesn’t see your camera, make sure to check that it’s connected to your MacBook and that it’s turned on.