Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
10 best audio editing apps and DAWs for Android
Audio editing requires something a bit different from any other form of editing. People generally use multiple tracks and require sound balancing and other stuff. Bands need it to cut albums, and podcasters need it to prepare shows. It’s a wide industry with many solutions that work pretty well. A good DAW should let you edit multiple channels and various sound effects; the most versatile ones have things like MIDI support and other such things. There aren’t many options, but we think we found the good ones. Here are the best audio editing apps and DAWs for Android.
We’d also like to mention Caustic 3 (Google Play) and KORG Kaossilator (Google Play). They are both exceptional apps in this space but haven’t been updated in six or three years, respectively.
The best audio editing apps and DAWs for Android
What to look for in a mobile DAW
Mobile DAWs, or “digital audio workstations,” exist in the same capacity as video editing. The point is to put together songs, podcasts, or other audio productions. A good DAW generally has a few different features. They include:
- The ability to edit audio – There are a lot of apps that record, clip, crop and do other minor things to audio. However, a good DAW usually lets you go further with various modulations, EQ, and other more powerful features.
- A UI to edit audio – Most good mobile DAWs have a timeline-style editor similar to video editing. It’ll support multiple audio tracks so you can mix and master songs. They usually also include effects, pitch shifting, high-resolution support to hear every detail, and more.
- A way to record audio in multiple ways – Any audio recorder app can turn on the mic on your phone and record audio. A DAW should do that too, but should also generally have support for things like MIDI keyboards, plug-in microphones, virtual instruments, DJ equipment, and more. You should be able to record or recreate an entire band for the most part.
Of course, you may be looking for other features as well. Most have their flavor of special and unique features that help them stand apart from the rest. However, we think the three things listed above should be the minimum for making a DAW good.
Audio Evolution Mobile Studio
Price: $9.99 with in-app purchases
Audio Evolution Mobile Studio is a fairly popular DAW on Android. It features multi-track audio, MIDI recording, various samples, drum editors, and more editing tools. There are also some recording tools, like a metronome. Some tertiary features include Google Drive backup and full support to move the project to the iOS version, in case you have an iPad. It’s reasonably decent and cheaper than most. The in-app purchases include some plug-ins that add extra effects.
BandLab
Price: Free
BandLab is one of the better free audio editor apps on mobile. The app features a 16-track editor, a sampler to create custom instruments and a looper function to create beat loops. It also boasts over 300 virtual MIDI instruments, 180 effects, a looper, and even a video clip editor. It’s not quite as powerful as some others, but the price is right, and you can even publish stuff on BandLab’s social media service after you’re done.
AudioLab
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Cubasis 3
Price: Free trial / $19.99
Cubasis 3 is the mobile version of Cubase, the popular PC DAW from Steinberg. The mobile version isn’t quite as powerful but can do the job. It features unlimited audio and MIDI tracks (the trial has four of each), time-stretching, pitch-shifting, over a dozen effect processors, 550 audio loops, and more. Projects made here also work with the desktop version of Cubase. Steinberg is also very loose with the trial. It doesn’t last forever, but you can restart it as often as you want.
FL Studio Mobile
Price: $14.99
FL Studio Mobile is one of Android’s most popular audio editing apps. It features a full editor setup, plenty of effects, and many other features. It also supports Chromebooks. Some other features include hardware MIDI support, the ability to save in various file formats, and extras like drum pads in case you need to make your beat. There are in-app purchases for extra plugins if you want them, but they are optional. It’s a bit pricy, but it’s pretty effective.
Koala Sampler
Price: $4.99
Koala Sampler is a music sampler app that lets you record up to 64 samples and then use them to make beats. It also supports vocals, allows you to merge sequences, and has looping functions. It’s powerful, supports MIDI controllers, and can even import samples you’ve already made. It’s not a full-featured DAW, but this app can create a whole music track. There isn’t much wrong with it, and it works as advertised.
Lexis Audio Editor
Price: Free / $6.49
Lexis Audio Editor is one of the simpler audio editing apps on Android. It omits many of the bells and whistles of its more expensive counterparts and relies on an easier overall experience. The app includes a 10-band equalizer, smaller tools like tempo, speed, and pitch changes, and even noise reduction. You probably won’t make studio-level stuff with this. It’s good enough for some TikTok meme sounds or similar use cases.
N-Track Studio
Price: Free / $1.49-$5.99 per month / $29.99 once
N-Track Studio is a decent mobile DAW. It offers unlimited audio, MIDI, drum tracks, effects, reverb, and other basic stuff like that. The UI is clean and simple to use. It even has an integrated metronome if you’re recording your stuff. Some other features include the ability to share your recordings online, a 2D and 3D spectrum analyzer, a loop browser and sample pack, and more. It’s a bit buggy occasionally, but it tends to work well otherwise.
WaveEditor
Price: Free with in-app purchases
SunVox
Price: $5.99
SunVox is right up there with Kaossilator and Caustic 3 regarding sound creation. It’s a modular synthesizer with a lot of customization. You put down the sounds you want and then play them. From there, you can record, import into another app, and edit as needed. Some features include support for up to 32-bit WAV files, multi-track WAV exporting, and many effects. It’s also reasonably cheap, with no extra in-app purchases.
Tell us about it in the comments if we missed any great audio editing apps and DAWs. You can also click here to check out our latest Android app and game lists.