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 audio recorder online, we complied a list of top 5 most popular free audio recording software that can record streaming music, radios, in-game sound, music in videos, and any other sound play on Mac and Windows with high quality.

How to Record Streaming Audio with iMusic iMusic is compatible with macOS 10.5 or later, including macOS 10.13 High Sierra, 10.12 Sierra, 10.11 EL Capitan and 10.10 Yosemite, and Windows 10. The initial thing is to download and install this streaming audio recorder software. Then you can follow the tutorial below to finish streaming audio recording. With so much live video on the web, a streaming video recorder is becoming an essential tool. Whether you’re looking to capture your own YouTube live streams, record Skype for Business meetings or something else, this guide is going to walk you through recording any streaming video.

Top 1. Audacity (Mac & Windows)

As a well known open source 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 desktop audio recording tools, 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.

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 options. 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.

More Professional Audio Recorder for Low Budget

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 quick alternative solution 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.

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 18,2019 • Filed to: Record Audio • Proven solutions

Nowadays, internet provides people with convenience to share music, audio, videos, live streaming and radio stations for others to access and enjoy. And there are a number of free streaming audio recorder online software that allows you to record the streaming music directly on the website. But there might be this or that limitation for these audio recorder. So how to choose the best audio recorder? Here we will share with you the top 7 best free streaming audio recorder for Mac and Windows PC. Just choose any one to start recording music for free.

Part 1. Top 3 Free Streaming Audio Recorder for Mac

With iMusic, you will be able to record any audio played on your Mac and Windows PC. This software records audio without losing quality and saves recorded audio in MP3 and M4A format, which is widely used and supported by many kinds of portable devices. iMusic offers all the features you need to discover, download, record and even transfer music:

iMusic - Best Audio Recorder on Windows/Mac You Deserve to Own

• Built-in music library allows you search for music by genre, artist, top lists, etc.
• Allow users to download music from the built-in music library for totally free.
• Support downloading music from over 3000 music sites by copying and pasting.
• Record any song you need, if you can play the song, then you can record it.
• Get the information for downloaded and recorded songs automatically, including album, artist, genre, and cover.
• Transfer music between iTunes, Android phones, iPhone, iPod and iPad without any hassle.

How to Record Streaming Audio with iMusic

iMusic is compatible with macOS 10.5 or later, including macOS 10.13 High Sierra, 10.12 Sierra, 10.11 EL Capitan and 10.10 Yosemite, and Windows 10. The initial thing is to download and install this streaming audio recorder software. Then you can follow the tutorial below to finish streaming audio recording.

To begin to download music, simply download and install iMusic on your computer. Lauch it and click the 'GET MUSIC tab'. From there, clickc the third tab 'RECORD'.

Why Choose iMusic Audio Recorder

What You Will Need:

A Computer; iMusic

Time Required:

Variable depending on the file size.

Difficulty:

Easy

Steps to Record Streaming Audio by iMusic

Step 1. Start Recording Audio Stream

Download and install the program on your computer. Launch it, click 'GET MUSIC' and navigate to 'RECORD'. Click the red Record button to start recording. Navigate to the stream audio that you want to download and play it. Audio Recorder will detect the sound and begin to recording it for you.

Step 2. Check the Recorded Songs

When the recording is finished, you can click the LIBRARY tab to access the files. The program will automatically tag songs with the information the software has detected, including album, artist, and cover. Double click on the music then you can play it with the inbuilt music player.

This free audio recorder for Mac can record any sound your computer produces. It has both Mac and Windows version. Apowersoft Audio Recorder can also produce output files in several formats such as AAC, MP3, etc. This tool not only works as an exceptional audio recorder, but also serves the purpose of free audio editing software, CD burner/ripper and audio converter. Just get this audio recorder for free to enjoy your lovely music.

However, it limits its users to 128 kbps recordings, which is on the low end of acceptable audio quality. And it only allows its users record audio in a maximum of 3 minutes and it can only download one track at a time.

As the name indicates, this free computer audio recorder is a completely free to use streaming audio recorder. Without spending a dime you will be able to record music from your sound card. This software only has a Windows version and is not available for Linux and Mac. This Free Sound Recorder produces output audio files in several different formats, like OGG, MP3, etc.

Part 2. Top 4 Free Streaming Audio Recorder for Windows 10

If you want to record audio on Windows PC, we recommend you to use iMuisc. This audio recorder is easy-to-use and allows you to record music from any sites and audio applications. It can detect the music you are playing and enables you to record the music in only 1 click. It works with a virtual sound card so you will get the audio file in 100% original quality.

What's more, you can customize the output audio and set the format as MP3 or M4A. You can also make ringtones with the recorded music. The recorded music will be saved to iTunes library, letting you transfer them to your iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android phones, creating car playlists and burning to CDs, etc.

Audacity by the Audacity Developers Inc sits on the top echelon of audio recorders. A position it has earned itself over the years as a result of the multi-featured, easy-to-use interface that it spots. Being one of the most responsive software available today, Audacity has the capability of recording from directly from your laptop's microphone, line input or even via a USB/firewire. The developer also made it sensitive enough to be able to pick up sound from the general computer playback.

Even better, you could edit, enhance and convert clips recorded using this software to various other formats such MP3, WAV, FLAC etc.

Pros:

Streaming Media Recorder For Macbook

• One of the most feature-rich audio-recorder programs available today.
• Has a built in easy to use, simplified platform.

Cons:

• Doesn't support VST plugins. However, you can always download them separately.
• Some users have reported experiencing difficulty in installing the program on their machines especially after the latest Windows 8 update by Microsoft.

At just 283.3KB, Wavosaur is perhaps one of the most easily portable Windows streaming audio recorder software today. In spite of its small size, the program still manages to trump other mainstream application in terms of overall quality delivery. The platform is additionally easy to use, especially if you have some prior background in media recording. The feature-set might not be as rich as Audacity's, but you will still have everything you might expect from any decent audio recorder program.

Free Download Streaming Video Recorder

Pros:

• Very portable and easy to download or install.
• Reasonably feature-rich given its size and relatively easy user-interface.

Cons:

Stream Recorder For Mac

• Don't expect premium applications' level of functionality here, but this is expected considering that it's a freeware.
• The developer is not known for being timely in releasing new updates for this program. You could be stuck with one dashboard for months.

If you need a decent multi-track recorder, mixer, and audio sequencer, then this free streaming audio recorder for Windows could easily fit your bill. Unlike the above two applications, Kristal Audio is designed as a modular system. The developer, however, has done a remarkable job in packing it with the majority of essential features such as VST effects, metronome control, and a performance meter.

Pros:

Screen Video Recorder Mac

• The mixer window has 16 'wavers' meaning it has the capacity to recording 16 tracks and manipulating them at-a-go.

Recorder For Streaming Video

Cons:

Streaming Media Recorder For Mac Windows 7

• Being a modular system, some users have complained in it being comparatively difficult to use.
• Does not support saving of the recordings to traditional or popular formats such as MP3.