Audacity is a powerful free audio editor that you install on a computer. Nova Audio is smaller. It opens in your browser, on a phone or a computer, and does the common jobs: cut a song, turn a video into an MP3, make a ringtone, or record your voice and take out the noise.
Pick Nova Audio if you want a quick job on any device: trim a song, make a ringtone, get an MP3 from a video or record your voice.
Pick Audacity if you need multi-track editing and finer control on a computer.
What we say about Audacity comes from its own pages (see Sources), read on 12 October 2026.
| Topic | Nova Audio | Audacity |
|---|---|---|
| Install | Nothing to install. It works on phones and computers. | A desktop program for Windows, macOS and Linux.12 |
| Price | Free, with no watermark and no account. | Free and open source. Its FAQ says it will always remain free.1 |
| Kind of editor | One file at a time: pick a part, add a fade, set the loudness, take out noise. | Multi-track recording and editing.2 |
| Best for (our view) | Quick jobs on any device. | Longer editing sessions on a computer, with several tracks. |
Nova Audio cannot open Audacity projects. In Audacity, export your audio as MP3 or WAV and open that file in Nova Audio.
In Nova Audio, pick an audio file or a video, or tap the red button to record your voice.
Drag the two handles on the sound wave, play just that part, then add a fade, make it louder or take out the noise.
Save as MP3, M4A or WAV, or as an M4R ringtone for iPhone. Listen first, then tap Save file.
Drag two handles on the sound wave, play just that part, zoom in for an exact cut, and save it as MP3, M4A or WAV.
Save the sound of any video as an MP3, or just the part you want.
Make a ringtone for Android, or an M4R ringtone for iPhone, starting on the loudest part of the song.
Record from the microphone with a level meter, then take out steady noise such as hiss, a fan or a hum, in three strengths.
Add a fade in or out and make the sound louder, with a choice of three qualities for MP3 and M4A.
Open MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV, OGG and FLAC, and the sound of MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV videos, as long as your browser can read them.
After the first visit the page can open without a connection. The MP3 encoder is saved the first time you save an MP3.
Files are read, cut and saved in your browser, on your device. Nothing is sent to a server.
What we say about Nova Audio comes from the app itself. What we say about Audacity comes from its own pages, listed here and read on 12 October 2026. Plans, prices and features change, so check Audacity's own website before you decide. Where Audacity is the better choice, we say so. The “Best for” row and the notes on the better choice are our own view.
Sources
Audacity is a trademark of its owner. Nova Clip and its apps are not made by, affiliated with or endorsed by the owner of Audacity. The name is used only to say what we compare with.