The Best Podcast Recording Software for Beginners: Audacity vs Descript vs Zencastr

The best podcast recording software for beginners is almost never the one you spend three weeks choosing. I watched a friend take forty-one days to pick one. Forty-one days, zero episodes.

Podcast recording software is just a program that captures your voice and lets you cut out the parts you do not want. That is the whole job. Some of them also host your guest.

One of them lets you edit by deleting words from a transcript. And one of them is free forever.

Here is what nobody tells you at the start. The three names you will keep running into, which are Audacity, Descript and Zencastr, are not really competing with each other.

They solve three different problems. Once you see which problem you actually have, the choice takes about four minutes.

Why I Am the Wrong Person to Sell You Expensive Software

I am a marketer. Seventeen years of it. I did not come to podcasting from a radio studio or a recording booth, and I have never called myself an audio person.

I came to it the way you probably are. I had something to say, a laptop, and no idea what any of the buttons did.

When my wife started her Hindi recipe podcast, we recorded her first episodes on free software and a cheap microphone. That show went on to cross 3.1 million downloads and hit the Apple Podcasts Top 10 in its category. Not one listener ever emailed to ask which program we used.

I have used all three of the tools in this guide for months at a time. That is across my own shows and the roughly 300 episodes I have produced for clients.

I still use two of them every week. One of them I quietly stopped opening, and I will tell you exactly why.

What Podcast Recording Software Actually Does

Recording software does two separate jobs, and beginners get stuck because they assume it is one job. Job one is capture, which means turning your voice into a file on your computer. Job two is editing, which means removing the coughs, the long silences and the bit where your dog barked.

Some programs do both. Some do one brilliantly and the other badly.

There is also a third job that only matters if you interview people, which is recording a guest who is sitting somewhere else. That one has its own tools, because recording a guest properly is harder than it sounds.

The one thing that separates good audio from bad audio

It is not the software. It is the room.

A quiet room with soft things in it will beat an expensive program in a kitchen with tiles every single time. Curtains, a bed, a wardrobe full of clothes. That is your studio.

I have heard episodes recorded in a car parked outside an office that sounded better than episodes recorded in a spare bedroom with hard walls. The software cannot undo a bad room. It can only tidy up what it was given.

The Best Podcast Recording Software for Beginners, Compared

Here is the short version before the detail. If you are talking on your own and you have no budget, open Audacity.

If you hate the idea of dragging little blocks of sound around, look at Descript. If you are interviewing guests over the internet, you want Zencastr.

That is the whole decision. Everything below is me showing my working.

Audacity: the best podcast recording software if your budget is zero

Audacity is the free podcast recording software everybody eventually lands on. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.

No account, no trial, no card details. You download it and it works.

It looks dated. That is the first thing everybody says.

The buttons look like software from 2009, because in some ways it is. I think that is a feature rather than a fault.

What it does well is the basic work you will do every week. You record, you cut, you fade the start and the end, you export an MP3. I have edited hundreds of episodes in it.

What it does badly is anything clever. There is no transcript, no automatic removal of filler words, no polish button.

Here is the honest tradeoff. Audacity asks you to learn about five things properly, and then it never asks you for anything again. No monthly fee, no feature that vanishes when a plan changes.

The five things worth learning first:

1. Setting your input device so it records the right microphone
2. The selection tool, for highlighting a chunk of audio
3. Delete, for removing that chunk
4. Fade in and fade out, from the Effect menu
5. Export as MP3, at 128 kbps mono for a talking show

That is it. That list is a Saturday morning, not a course. If you want to go deeper on the free side, I covered it in this guide to the best free podcast editing software.

Descript: editing your voice by deleting words

Descript does something that sounds impossible until you watch it happen. It writes out everything you said as text, and when you delete a word from that text, the audio disappears too.

Delete the sentence you fumbled, and it is gone from the recording. No waveforms, no dragging.

For people who write, this is the thing that finally makes editing feel normal. You already know how to delete a sentence from a document. Now that skill edits audio.

It also removes filler words in bulk. Every "um" and "uh" in a 30 minute episode, gone in one click. The first time I did that on a client episode I sat there staring at the screen.

Descript has a free plan you can test with, and paid plans above it. The paid tier is a monthly cost, so take it on once you know you are actually going to publish. Not while you are still deciding on a show name.

There are real downsides and I want you to hear them before you sign up:

• It is heavier than Audacity and needs a reasonably modern computer
• The transcript is very good but not perfect, so names and accents need checking
• The automatic filler removal can clip the breath around a word and make you sound slightly clipped
• If you stop paying, the convenience stops, while an Audacity project is still just files on your disk

I use it, I like it, and I would not have started with it. That distinction matters more than the feature list.

Zencastr review: the one that solves a different problem entirely

If you are ever going to interview someone, this is the part to read twice.

When you record an interview over a normal video call, you are recording what survived the internet. Every dropout, every robot voice moment, every frozen half second is baked into your file forever. There is no fixing it afterwards.

Zencastr records each person locally, on their own machine, and uploads those clean files afterwards. Your guest could have a terrible connection during the call and the recording still comes out clean.

That single thing is why interview podcasters pay for it. Not the interface, not the extras. The clean guest audio.

Here is my short Zencastr review after using it for client interviews. The free tier is genuinely usable for audio. Your guest installs nothing, because it runs on a browser link.

And the upload wait at the end of a long interview tests your patience. The code thepodu gets you 30% off the Zencastr Pro plan. I mention that because I use it myself, not because you should buy it in week one.

If your show is just you talking, you do not need this. Skip it entirely and come back when you book your first guest.

Podcast Recording Software Comparison, Side by Side

Here is the same information in one place, so you can stop opening tabs.

Read the bottom row again. It is the one people never think about until month fourteen.

Anything you make in Audacity is a file sitting on your own computer, and it will still open in five years. Subscription tools hold some of your work inside their account. That is not a scandal, it is just how they work, and you should know it going in.

Audacity vs Descript: Which Should You Open First

The honest answer is Audacity, for your first ten episodes, and I say that as someone who pays for Descript.

Here is the reasoning. In your first ten episodes the thing that will stop you is not slow editing. It is the feeling that this is complicated and expensive and probably not for you.

A free program you downloaded in two minutes does not feed that feeling. A monthly bill for software you have used twice does.

There is also a quieter reason. Learning to cut audio by looking at the waveform teaches you what your own speech looks like. You start to see your pauses, your restarts, the way you trail off at the end of a thought.

That awareness makes you a better speaker, which reduces how much editing you need at all. Descript is so smooth that it can hide the habit from you.

When you should switch

Switch to Descript when editing has become the reason you skip a week. Not before.

For me that moment came when I was producing multiple shows and my editing time per episode had crept past an hour. The monthly cost was obviously worth it against the hours. Before that point it would have been a subscription I resented.

Here is one clear signal. You are publishing weekly, editing takes you over 90 minutes an episode, and that is the part you dread.

Go and pay for the transcript editing. You have earned it.

The Three Problems Every Beginner Hits in Week One

This is the troubleshooting section, and these three cover most of the emails I get.

Problem one: the recording is far too quiet. Almost always the program is recording the wrong microphone. Usually the built-in laptop one instead of your USB mic.

Fix it in the input device dropdown before you record anything, and record ten seconds as a test every single time. Every single time, yes, even on episode 90.

Problem two: there is a hiss underneath everything. That is your gain set too high, which means the microphone is straining to hear you. Bring the input level down and move about a hand span closer to the mic.

Louder and closer beats quiet and far, always.

Problem three: you sound like you are in a swimming pool. That is room echo, and no software fixes it properly. Put soft things around you and record in a smaller space.

If you can, sit with the microphone between you and the softest wall.

That third one is the reason I tell people not to spend $200 (₹17,000) on a microphone before they have solved their room. A $60 (₹5,000) microphone in a good room will beat an expensive one in a bad room. I go through the actual models in this guide to the best podcast microphone for beginners.

What If You Do Not Want to Use a Computer at All

You do not have to. Plenty of people record their first episodes on a phone and only use a computer for the editing.

The voice recorder app already on your phone records at a quality that is fine for a talking show. Put the phone on airplane mode, hold it slightly below your chin and off to one side, and speak across it rather than into it.

There is a full walkthrough of that setup in how to record a podcast on your phone. It includes the trick that stops the mic picking up your hand moving.

The point is that the software question is smaller than it feels. You can get episode one recorded today with things you already own.

Stop Comparing and Start Recording

Here is what my friend's forty-one days of research actually produced. A spreadsheet with nine tools on it, colour coded, and no podcast.

He eventually recorded episode one in Audacity, which had been the obvious answer on day one. He did it in an afternoon.

If you recognise yourself in that, the problem is not information. You have plenty of information.

What is missing is a sequence. Something that tells you what to do today, and then what to do tomorrow, so you never open a comparison table again.

That is exactly what my 7-Day Podcast Launch Challenge does. Seven days, each one gated behind you actually doing the work, from idea to a live show. Day 5 is the recording day.

It hands you the exact setup to use rather than a menu of options. The tool question gets settled in about ten minutes.

You cannot skip ahead in it, which sounds annoying and is the entire reason it works.

Listen to the Podcast Episode

I spent a fair bit of this week's episode being honest about the recording tool I gave up on. The abandoning is more useful to hear about than the recommending.

In this episode I talk through the best podcast recording app for someone who has never recorded anything. That is a slightly different question from the best software overall.

The best app is the one that gets episode one out of your head and onto a file. I also tell the story of the forty-one day spreadsheet, and what happened when we finally just opened the free one.

There is a bit in the middle about a mistake I made for months. I kept switching tools between episodes, then wondered why they all sounded slightly different. Consistency is worth more than quality here, and I explain why.

What I cover in this episode:

• Why the best podcast recording app is a different question from the best software
• The two tools I stopped using, and the one I still open every week
• Why your room matters more than anything you download
• The ten second test recording that saves entire episodes
• When it is actually worth paying for editing software

Three tools I recommend and use myself, whether or not they came up in the episode:

• Buzzsprout for hosting your show once it is recorded
• Zencastr for recording guests, with the code thepodu for 30% off Pro
• Descript for the day editing becomes your bottleneck

Been circling this decision for weeks? The 7-Day Podcast Launch Challenge takes the choosing away from you completely. It hands you a day by day sequence instead.

[ACAST EMBED — after uploading this episode to Acast, paste the Acast player embed code here]

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best podcast recording software for a complete beginner?

Audacity, for almost everybody. It is free, it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and it does the five things you will actually do every week.

You can download it and be recording inside five minutes with no account and no card details. Move to something paid only when editing time becomes the reason you skip a week.

Is free podcast recording software good enough to publish with?

Yes. My wife's podcast crossed 3.1 million downloads and hit the Apple Podcasts Top 10 in its category. The early episodes were recorded on free software.

Listeners judge whether you are easy to listen to, not which program made the file. Spend your money on a quiet room and a decent microphone before you spend it on software.

Audacity vs Descript, which is better for editing?

Descript is faster once you know what you are doing, because you edit by deleting words from a transcript instead of dragging audio. Audacity is better for learning, because seeing the waveform teaches you what your own speaking habits look like. I suggest Audacity for your first ten episodes and Descript when editing takes you more than 90 minutes per episode.

Do I need Zencastr if I am recording alone?

No. Zencastr exists to solve one specific problem, which is recording a guest who is somewhere else without the internet ruining their audio.

If your show is you talking on your own, it adds nothing you need. Bookmark it and come back on the day you book your first interview.

Can I record a podcast on my phone instead?

Absolutely, and many people do for their first few episodes. The voice recorder app already on your phone is good enough for a talking show.

Put the phone on airplane mode first. Keep it slightly below your chin and off to one side, and record in a room with soft furnishings.

How much should I expect to spend in my first month?

You can spend nothing at all on software. A usable USB microphone starts around $60 (₹5,000), and that is the single purchase I would make first. Podcast hosting is the only recurring cost you genuinely cannot avoid, and free tiers exist for that too.

Will Audacity work if my computer is old?

Usually yes, and that is one of its real advantages. It is light on memory compared to transcript based editors, which need a reasonably modern machine to run smoothly. If your laptop struggles with video calls, Audacity is the safer choice.

What file settings should I export with?

For a talking show, MP3 at 128 kbps in mono is plenty and keeps file sizes sensible. Mono matters more than people expect, because a single voice in stereo just doubles the file for no benefit. Most podcast hosts will accept the file happily at those settings.

What happens to my episodes if I stop paying for a subscription tool?

The exported MP3 files you already downloaded are yours to keep, wherever you made them. What you can lose is access to the editable project inside the tool.

That matters if you ever want to re-cut an old episode. Export and save a copy of every finished episode to your own drive, regardless of which program you use.

How long should editing take when I am starting out?

Expect roughly two to three times the length of the recording for your first few episodes, so about 90 minutes for a 30 minute episode. That drops fast, usually within five or six episodes, once you stop trying to make it perfect. Cutting only the genuine mistakes and the longest silences is enough.

Do I need to edit out every "um"?

No, and chasing every one of them is how people burn out on editing. A few filler words make you sound human, and listeners stop noticing them within two minutes. Cut the ones that come in clusters and leave the rest alone.

Can I switch software later without losing anything?

Yes, as long as you keep the exported audio files. Your published episodes live on your podcast host, not inside your editing software, so changing tools changes nothing for your listeners. Just avoid switching every few episodes, because each tool colours your sound slightly differently and the inconsistency is audible.

Forty-One Days, or One Afternoon

My friend's spreadsheet is still sitting in a folder somewhere. Nine tools, colour coded, beautifully organised, completely useless.

His podcast is now on episode 34. Every one of them was recorded in the free tool that was available to him on day one.

The gap between those two facts is the whole point of this article. The tool was never the thing standing in the way.

So which one are you going to open this week, and what is the ten minute test recording going to be about?

Resources that I recommend

Here are some of the resources that I recommended in this episode and the ones that I recommend in Podcasting.

• Ubersuggest – The Keyword research tool that I recommend

Below are the tools that I recommend for podcasting —

• Buzzsprout – Podcast hosting
• Behringer Audio Interface – You will need an audio interface if you are using an XLR microphone. This is my recommended audio interface.
• Behringer Audio Interface (budget option) – A lower-cost alternative if you're just starting out and want to keep costs down.
• Zencastr – Zencastr is the easiest option to record interviews, both audio-only and audio+video. This is a must for an interview podcast.
• Audacity – This is the best and most feature-rich free audio editing software. It gives you a lot of options while editing your interviews.
• Samson Q2U – My recommended microphone
• Audio Technica ATR-2110x – My recommended alternative microphone
• TidyCal – My recommended calendar and booking solutions

Thank you for joining in

I hope you enjoyed the information that I shared in this episode.

Do subscribe to the show on your favorite podcasting platform in order to stay updated with the latest episodes that I release.

The Podcasting University is available on almost all podcasting platforms. The link to the prominent ones are mentioned below –

• Apple Podcasts
• Amazon Music
• Spotify
• Castbox
• GoodPods
• Gaana
• JioSaavn
• PlayerFM

Planning to start a podcast?

Then you might want to join my "7-Day Podcast Launch Challenge".

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