Audacity
Umami
| Feature | Audacity | Umami |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | podcasters, students, hobbyists, audio-editors | indie-developers, privacy-focused-sites, bloggers, small-businesses |
| Founded | 2000 | 2020 |
| Recording | ✓ | ✗ |
| Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Effects | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Reduction | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugin Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Page Views | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Events | ✗ | ✓ |
| Realtime Dashboard | ✗ | ✓ |
| Utm Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Site | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Teams | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Audacity Pros
- Completely free
- Cross-platform
- Good for editing
- Extensive effects
✗ Audacity Cons
- Dated interface
- Not for production
- Destructive editing
✓ Umami Pros
- Completely open-source and self-hostable for free
- Beautiful, clean dashboard interface
- No cookies required (GDPR/CCPA compliant by default)
- Lightweight script (under 2KB) does not slow sites
✗ Umami Cons
- Limited advanced analytics features
- No conversion funnel or cohort analysis
- Self-hosting requires database management
The Verdict
Audacity is built for podcasters and students, with a focus on recording and editing. Umami targets indie developers and privacy focused sites and leads with page-views and custom-events.
Audacity uses custom enterprise pricing, while Umami starts at $9/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Umami offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Audacity takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Umami has a slight overall edge — but if completely free matters most to you, Audacity may still be the right call.