Audacity
Continue
| Feature | Audacity | Continue |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | podcasters, students, hobbyists, audio-editors | developers, open-source-advocates, privacy-focused-devs, self-hosters |
| Founded | 2000 | 2023 |
| Recording | ✓ | ✗ |
| Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Effects | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Reduction | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugin Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Autocomplete | ✗ | ✓ |
| Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Inline Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Model Support | ✗ | ✓ |
| Context Providers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Commands | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Audacity Pros
- Completely free
- Cross-platform
- Good for editing
- Extensive effects
✗ Audacity Cons
- Dated interface
- Not for production
- Destructive editing
✓ Continue Pros
- Fully open-source (Apache 2.0)
- Works with any LLM provider
- VS Code and JetBrains support
- Local model support
✗ Continue Cons
- Requires self-configuration of LLM
- Less polished than Copilot
- Setup can be complex for beginners
The Verdict
Audacity is built for podcasters and students, with a focus on recording and editing. Continue targets developers and open source advocates and leads with autocomplete and chat.
Both tools use custom enterprise pricing — you'll need to contact sales for a quote, which makes direct cost comparison difficult.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.