If you need to record audio playing on your computer, a voice memo, a streaming radio session, or a system sound for a project, there are several free methods that work on Windows, Mac, and Linux. This guide covers four approaches in plain language, from a quick browser extension for single-tab audio to a full desktop setup with Audacity or OBS.
What You Actually Need Depends on the Source
Before picking a method, it helps to be clear about what audio you want to capture:
- Microphone only (voice memos, podcasts, narration) – any online recorder or Audacity will work immediately
- System audio (music, streaming video, app sounds) – requires WASAPI on Windows, or a virtual driver on Mac/Linux
- Both at once (commentary over video, game audio with voice) – OBS Studio or Audacity with overdub
- A single browser tab (a lecture, a radio stream, a YouTube video) – a browser extension is the cleanest option
The method you choose depends on your OS and what is playing. All four methods below are free.
Method 1: Audacity – Best for Windows, Works on Mac and Linux
Audacity is free, open-source, and the most capable audio recording tool available without spending anything. It supports multi-track recording, extensive editing, and exports to MP3, WAV, FLAC, and OGG.
Recording System Audio on Windows with Audacity (WASAPI Loopback)
Windows has a built-in audio capture mechanism called WASAPI loopback that Audacity can use directly – no additional software needed.
Step 1 – Download and install Audacity from audacityteam.org. It is free and installs in under two minutes.
Step 2 – Change the audio host. In the toolbar at the top of Audacity, find the dropdown that says “MME” and change it to Windows WASAPI.
Step 3 – Select the loopback device. In the input (microphone) dropdown next to it, select your current playback device followed by “(loopback)”. For example: Speakers (Realtek Audio) (loopback) or Headphones (loopback). This tells Audacity to record whatever is playing through that output.
Step 4 – Disable software playthrough. Go to Transport > Transport Options and make sure Software Playthrough is turned off. Leaving it on creates an echo.
Step 5 – Start playback, then press Record. WASAPI is digital and will pause the recording counter if no audio is actively playing. Start your music or stream first, then click the red Record button.
Step 6 – Stop and export. Click Stop when done. Go to File > Export and choose MP3 or WAV. Audacity will prompt you to install the LAME encoder the first time you export to MP3 – follow the on-screen prompt.
Recording System Audio on Mac with Audacity
macOS does not expose system audio to third-party apps by default. You need to install a free virtual audio driver first.
Step 1 – Install BlackHole. Download BlackHole (free, open-source). It creates a virtual audio device that routes system audio through a loopback channel. It works on both Intel Macs and Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4).
Step 2 – Create a Multi-Output Device. Open Audio MIDI Setup (in Applications > Utilities). Click the + button at the bottom left and select Create Multi-Output Device. Check both Built-in Output (your speakers or headphones) and BlackHole 2ch. Click the gear icon and choose Use This Device for Sound Output.
Step 3 – Set Audacity input to BlackHole. In Audacity’s Audio Setup, set the recording device to BlackHole 2ch.
Step 4 – Record. Start your audio source, then click Record in Audacity. You will hear audio through your speakers and Audacity will capture it simultaneously.
Recording System Audio on Linux with Audacity
Linux uses PulseAudio, which has a built-in monitor source.
Step 1 – Install Audacity via your package manager (e.g., sudo apt install audacity).
Step 2 – Install PulseAudio Volume Control: sudo apt install pavucontrol
Step 3 – Set Audacity host to ALSA and input device to pulse.
Step 4 – In pavucontrol, go to the Recording tab, find the Audacity entry, and change the input to Monitor of [your output device].
Step 5 – Record as normal.
Method 2: OBS Studio – Best for Simultaneous System Audio + Microphone
OBS Studio is primarily known as a live streaming tool, but it is also an excellent free audio recorder, especially for capturing system audio and microphone on separate tracks simultaneously. It is free and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Step 1 – Download OBS Studio from obsproject.com. It is free and open-source.
Step 2 – Configure audio sources. Go to Settings > Audio. Under Global Audio Devices, set:
– Desktop Audio → your default output device (captures all system sound)
– Mic/Auxiliary Audio → your microphone
Step 3 – Set output to audio-only (optional). If you only want audio without a video file, go to Settings > Output, switch Output Mode to Advanced, click the Recording tab, and set the Recording Format to mp3 or wav with no video encoder selected.
Step 4 – Record. Click Start Recording in the main OBS window. Both your system audio and microphone will be captured.
Step 5 – Separate tracks. In Settings > Output > Recording (Advanced), you can assign Desktop Audio to Track 1 and Microphone to Track 2. This gives you two separate audio files you can mix independently in editing software.
OBS on Mac also requires BlackHole for system audio capture – the same setup as Audacity above.
Method 3: Browser Extension – Best for Recording a Single Tab
If you only need to capture audio from one browser tab (a lecture, a podcast stream, a YouTube video), a browser extension is the simplest option. No setup required beyond a one-time install.
Web Audio Recorder (Chrome and Edge) captures audio from a specific tab and saves it as MP3 or WAV. It does not require an account, uploads nothing to a server, and processes everything locally in your browser.
How to use it:
1. Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store
2. Open the tab playing the audio you want to record
3. Click the extension icon and select that tab
4. Click Record, play your audio, click Stop
5. Download the file as MP3 or WAV
This method only captures the tab’s audio output, not your microphone or other app sounds.
Method 4: Online Audio Recorder – Best for Quick Microphone Recordings
For fast voice memos, short narrations, or any recording that only needs your microphone, an online recorder requires no installation and works from any device.
Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder is browser-based, free, and records from system sound or microphone with no time limit. It saves recordings locally to your computer and offers 2GB of free cloud storage.
Online Voice Recorder is the most minimal option – open the page, click record, click stop, download MP3. No account, no software.
Important limitation: Most browser-based recorders can only capture your microphone, not system audio from other apps. For recording music or streaming audio, Methods 1 or 2 are necessary.
Comparison: Which Method Should You Use?
| Method | System Audio | Microphone | Both at Once | No Install | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audacity | Yes (with setup) | Yes | Yes | No | Long recordings, editing needed |
| OBS Studio | Yes (with setup) | Yes | Yes (separate tracks) | No | Streaming audio + voice commentary |
| Browser Extension | Tab audio only | No | No | Yes (extension) | Single-tab capture |
| Online Recorder | No | Yes | No | Yes | Quick voice memos |
For most users on Windows who want to record streaming audio, Audacity with WASAPI loopback is the easiest path. For Mac users, BlackHole + Audacity or OBS is the standard workflow. For quick mic-only recordings, an online recorder is faster than any desktop tool.
Recording Quality: What to Expect
The quality of your recording depends on the source, not just the tool:
- Streaming music at 320 kbps MP3 → recording via WASAPI loopback preserves that quality exactly
- YouTube at standard quality → recording captures whatever quality YouTube is streaming at your connection
- Microphone recordings → quality depends on the microphone, not the software
For spoken-word recordings (podcasts, voice memos), export to MP3 at 128 kbps – the file is small and the quality difference from higher bitrates is negligible for voice. For music or sound design work, use WAV to preserve the full original quality.
A Note on Recording Streaming Audio
Recording audio from streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music is a legally grey area that varies by country. Most platforms explicitly prohibit circumventing their playback systems in their terms of service. Personal, private recordings for offline listening are tolerated in some jurisdictions under private-copy exceptions, but distributing or sharing those recordings is copyright infringement in virtually every country.
For offline listening without legal concern, Spotify Premium and Apple Music both offer official download features that work within their apps. For creating content that includes music, royalty-free libraries like Pixabay Music, Free Music Archive, and ccMixter offer high-quality tracks with clear usage rights. If you also need to capture video alongside audio, our guide to free online video recording and screen capture software covers the best screen recorder options that handle both audio and video simultaneously.
Summary
Four free methods exist for recording computer audio, each suited to a different use case:
- Audacity is the most versatile and capable option for recording and editing any audio source on Windows, Mac, and Linux
- OBS Studio is the best choice when you need system audio and microphone on separate tracks simultaneously
- Browser extensions give you the cleanest way to capture audio from a single tab without affecting anything else
- Online recorders are the fastest option for quick microphone recordings with zero setup
For recording streaming audio at original quality on Windows, Audacity with WASAPI loopback remains the standard approach in 2026 – free, lossless, and requires no additional drivers.
- Audacity is completely free, open-source, and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux
- OBS Studio records system audio and microphone simultaneously to separate tracks
- Browser extensions capture audio from any tab without affecting other apps
- Online recorders require zero installation and work from any device
- All methods support MP3 and WAV output
- WASAPI loopback on Windows records at original quality with no re-encoding
- macOS blocks system audio capture by default — requires installing a virtual audio driver first
- Online recorders typically only capture microphone, not system sound
- Audacity has a steeper setup curve on Mac and Linux than on Windows
- OBS is overkill if you only need occasional short recordings
- Recording DRM-protected streaming content may violate platform terms of service
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I record audio from any website for free?
The easiest method depends on what you want to capture. For audio playing in a browser tab, install the Web Audio Recorder extension for Chrome or Edge — it captures that specific tab’s audio and saves it as MP3 or WAV with no account required. For system-wide audio including streaming apps, use Audacity on Windows (WASAPI loopback) or OBS Studio on any platform. On Mac, you first need to install the free BlackHole virtual audio driver before either tool can access system sound.
What is the best free audio recorder for Windows, Mac, and Linux?
Audacity is the most capable free audio recorder across all three platforms. On Windows it uses WASAPI loopback to capture system audio natively. On Mac and Linux it requires a virtual audio driver (BlackHole on Mac, PulseAudio on Linux) but is otherwise fully featured. OBS Studio is the better choice if you also need simultaneous screen recording or want to separate system audio and microphone onto different tracks.
Can I record system audio and microphone at the same time for free?
Yes. Both Audacity and OBS Studio can record system audio and microphone simultaneously at no cost. In Audacity, set the input to your WASAPI loopback device and enable overdub recording. In OBS, add both Desktop Audio and Mic/Auxiliary Audio under Settings > Audio, then assign them to separate tracks in the advanced output settings — this keeps your voice and the system audio as separate editable files.
Is it legal to record audio from streaming platforms?
Recording for personal, private listening is generally tolerated in many jurisdictions under private-copy exceptions, but sharing or distributing recorded content almost always violates copyright law and platform terms of service. Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music explicitly prohibit circumventing their DRM systems. Always check the terms of the platform and your local copyright law before recording streaming content.
What is the difference between an online audio recorder and desktop software?
Online audio recorders run in your browser with no installation and are ideal for quick microphone recordings — voice memos, short narrations, or podcast clips. However, most browser-based recorders can only access your microphone, not the audio playing from other apps or the system. Desktop software like Audacity and OBS can capture any audio source on your computer, including streaming music, video calls, and game sound, making them far more versatile for recording computer playback.
How do I record streaming audio in original quality?
Original quality capture requires recording the audio signal before it goes through any compression or re-encoding. On Windows, use Audacity with WASAPI loopback — this taps into the digital audio stream directly and records at whatever quality the source is playing. If the streaming service delivers 320 kbps MP3, that is the quality you will record. Avoid recording through a microphone pointed at speakers, as this adds ambient noise and degrades quality significantly.
