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Music · head to head

Audacity vs Studio One

Audacity logo

Audacity

Music

Free and open-source multi-track audio editor and recorder

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Studio One logo

Studio One

Music

Single-window workstation with album mastering built into the same project, now owned by Fender

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Audacity has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Audacity no real-time multi-user collaboration; remote teams cannot edit the same project simultaneously; Studio One the bundled Melodyne is the Essential tier, which corrects monophonic pitch only; polyphonic editing and the tools most people actually want are a paid upgrade from Celemony on top of the workstation licence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Audacity and Studio One actually diverge.

Attributes where Audacity and Studio One differ
AttributeAudacityStudio One
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWindows, macOS

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Music).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Audacity

Nothing recorded that Studio One does not also cover.

Only in Studio One

  • Project page
  • Single window drag and drop
  • ARA2 with Melodyne
  • Scratch Pad
  • Chord Track
  • Show page
  • Impact XT and Sample One
  • Faderport integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Audacity

  • Podcast recording, editing, and production without subscriptionsnot Studio One
  • Audiobook narration and audio engineeringnot Studio One
  • Music production and remix creationnot Studio One
  • Audio restoration (removing clicks, hums, background noise)not Studio One
  • Interview recording and transcription supportnot Studio One
  • Educational audio labs and sound design coursesnot Studio One

Studio One

  • Delivering an album or EP where mastering must stay linked to the mixes, so a late vocal fix does not mean rebuilding the masternot Audacity
  • Project studios already on PreSonus interfaces and Faderport surfaces, where the control mapping is done for younot Audacity
  • Songwriters who want pitch editing in the timeline without buying Melodyne separatelynot Audacity
  • Running the same session live from the Show page rather than rebuilding the set in a separate performance toolnot Audacity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Audacity

  • No real-time multi-user collaboration; remote teams cannot edit the same project simultaneously
  • Limited MIDI support; not suitable for music composition or virtual instrument arrangement
  • No built-in content library; users must source background music, sound effects, and transitions externally
  • Version 4 GUI redesign not yet stable; production users should remain on 3.x branch, delaying access to new features

Studio One

  • The bundled Melodyne is the Essential tier, which corrects monophonic pitch only; polyphonic editing and the tools most people actually want are a paid upgrade from Celemony on top of the workstation licence.
  • PreSonus now sells a subscription alongside the perpetual licence and the two are easy to confuse at checkout; the subscription stops working when payment stops, which is a very different asset for a studio planning in decades.
  • Fender acquired PreSonus in 2022, so the roadmap sits inside a guitar hardware company, and long-term investment in the workstation is now a bet on that parent rather than on the original software team.
  • There is no Linux build, and the MIDI editing tool set is shallower than Cubase, so composers doing rule based MIDI transformation or serious notation work will hit limits quickly.
  • The plugin scanner has a long history of struggling with large third-party plugin collections, producing slow startup and occasional missing plugins when sessions move between machines.

Pricing, plan by plan

Audacity

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Audacity review.

Studio One

On request
  • Studio One Pro (perpetual licence)$undefined/one-time
    • Bought outright and keeps working indefinitely
    • Next major version is a separate paid upgrade
    • Melodyne Essential included
  • Studio One Pro+ (subscription)$undefined/month
    • Workstation plus sound content and cloud storage
    • Stops working when the subscription lapses
    • Billed monthly or annually

Which should you pick?

Choose Audacity if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Audacity review

Choose Studio One if

  • You need project page.
  • You work on Windows, macOS.
  • You also want single window drag and drop.
Studio One review

Questions people ask

Is Audacity or Studio One better?
Neither clearly leads. Audacity starts at Free and Studio One at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Audacity or Studio One?
Audacity has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Audacity and On request for Studio One.
Does Audacity or Studio One run on more platforms?
Audacity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Studio One runs on Windows, macOS.
Can I use Audacity for free?
Yes. Audacity has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Studio One starts at On request.
What is Audacity best used for?
Audacity is most often used for podcast recording, editing, and production without subscriptions, audiobook narration and audio engineering, music production and remix creation, audio restoration (removing clicks, hums, background noise). Of those, podcast recording, editing, and production without subscriptions and audiobook narration and audio engineering are not what Studio One is typically brought in for.
What can Audacity do that Studio One cannot?
Studio One covers Project page, Single window drag and drop, ARA2 with Melodyne, Scratch Pad.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Audacity: Is Audacity free?

Yes. Audacity is free and open-source under the GPLv3 licence. There are no licensing fees, subscriptions, or restrictions for commercial or educational use.

Source
Studio One: Who owns PreSonus?

Fender acquired PreSonus in 2022. Development continues, but the roadmap now sits inside a guitar hardware company rather than an independent software vendor.

Audacity: What audio formats can I export from Audacity?

Audacity supports WAV, MP3, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, and AIFF export. FLAC and Ogg are lossless and space-efficient for archival; MP3 is widely compatible for playback devices.

Source
Studio One: Is Studio One a subscription?

Both are sold. Studio One Pro is a perpetual licence you keep; Studio One Pro+ is a subscription bundling sound content and cloud storage that stops working when you stop paying.

Audacity: Can I use Audacity for podcast production?

Yes. Audacity provides multi-track recording, noise reduction, equalisation, and export to MP3. It lacks real-time collaboration, so team workflows require manual file exchange.

Source
Studio One: Why is no price listed here?

PreSonus publishes current pricing, but the tier structure has been restructured across recent versions, so this entry points at the vendor page rather than quoting a figure that may already be wrong.

Studio One: What does the Project page actually do?

It sequences and masters a whole album inside the same file as the songs and stays linked to them, so changing a mix updates the master without a manual export and reimport.

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