Audacity 4 Is Here With a New Interface and Editing Workflow
Audacity 4.0 launched on September 3 and version 4.0.1 is already out. The update rebuilds much of the interface and clip editing while staying free and open source.
- Release
- SEP 3, 2026
- Current version
- 4.0.1
- New interface
- QT
- Price
- FREE
Audacity 4.0 launched on September 3, and version 4.0.1 is already available. It is one of the most visible overhauls in years: the interface has been rebuilt with Qt, and the changes reach clip editing and several workflows too. Audacity
A new clip-editing model
Audacity 4 changes how clips and several editing actions behave and reworks the recording workflow. If you have used Audacity for years, some familiar actions may have moved or behave differently, so keep that in mind before updating a work machine in the middle of an important project. Changelog
Effects and plugins
The new version includes redesigned effects and keeps support for VST3, LV2 and Audio Units plugins on compatible systems, which keeps Audacity useful for editing voice and audio without a subscription.
Still free and open source
Audacity remains under the GPL, with no basic edition that later asks you to pay for the full program, and it is available for Windows, macOS and Linux from the official project. It fits jobs where a full video editor is overkill: trimming voice, cleaning a recording, adjusting levels or preparing a file before it goes into the edit. If noise cleanup is what you need, we compare it with other tools in how to remove background noise from audio for free.
Sources
Last verified: October 6, 2026.