# GoldWave Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about GoldWave Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Audio Editing products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/234816/GoldWave --- # GoldWave Software Review 2026: Features, Reviews, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on November 8, 2025 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. Independent research methodology Capterra’s researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. 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[Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/) [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) GoldWave ## What is GoldWave? GoldWave is a professional digital audio editor software that allows users to record, edit, enhance, convert, and analyze audio. The software includes tools for recording, mixing, applying effects, mastering audio, converting between formats, and analyzing audio through visualizations. GoldWave supports editing large files, batch processing, plug-ins, and is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. ## What is GoldWave used for? [Audio Editing](https://www.capterra.com/audio-editing-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 6 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive \- Neutral \- Negative \- Contact vendor for pricing Free trial not available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for GoldWave?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=http://www.goldwave.com/&name=GoldWave) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### GoldWave 4.5 (6) VS. [4.8 (104)](https://www.capterra.com/p/10004414/Riverside/reviews/) Starting Price Contact vendor Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.5 (6) Ease Of Use 4.7 (464) Value For Money 4.8 (5) Value For Money 4.7 (329) Customer Service 3.8 (4) Customer Service 4.5 (236) ## GoldWave alternatives [Audacity](https://www.capterra.com/p/214605/Audacity/) [4.5 (464)](https://www.capterra.com/p/214605/Audacity/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/214605/Audacity/) Highest Rated [Logic Pro](https://www.capterra.com/p/214597/Logic-Pro/) [4.8 (149)](https://www.capterra.com/p/214597/Logic-Pro/reviews/) Starting price $199.99 Per User, Per Month [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/214597/Logic-Pro/) [Adobe Premiere Pro](https://www.capterra.com/p/233456/Adobe-Premiere-Pro/) [4.7 (566)](https://www.capterra.com/p/233456/Adobe-Premiere-Pro/reviews/) Starting price $20.99 Per User, Per Month [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/233456/Adobe-Premiere-Pro/) [Adobe Audition](https://www.capterra.com/p/214606/Adobe-Audition/) [4.7 (243)](https://www.capterra.com/p/214606/Adobe-Audition/reviews/) Starting price $33.99 Per User, Per Month [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/214606/Adobe-Audition/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/234816/GoldWave/alternatives/) ## Pricing Value for money 4.8 (5) ### Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Free trial not available Value for money 4.8 (5) 4.8 Based on 5 reviews ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 3.8 (4) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 3.8 (4) 3.8 Based on 4 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.5 Based on 6 reviews Filter by rating 5(4) 4(1) 3(1) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent Jeremy D. Owner Media Production ### "The Original Shareware God" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 17, 2023 I learned audio editing on GoldWave back in 1997, and I was so thankful for this shareware option. I may just buy a license to support the company! Pros GoldWave is still around after 30 years, and all beginners should take a look at this software. It's dirt-cheap (I believe it's still shareware, but can't test it out) and has all the features a basic editor, podcaster or content creator could need! You can get a one-year license for only $25, and a lifetime for just $69—so what are you waiting for? Cons The interface is not terribly beautiful (but neither is Audacity, the free-to-cheap industry standard!) Alternatives considered [SOUND FORGE](https://www.capterra.com/p/214599/SOUND-FORGE/) Reasons for choosing GoldWave Sound Forge costed a lot of money compared to GoldWave. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. TP Tim P. Regulatory Director Pharmaceuticals ### "Excellent sound editing and conversion tool" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 September 29, 2022 Pros Simple to use interface, quick to make changes and add digital effects, change to different formats, etc. Cons Some of the features are slightly hidden and not so intuitive, but just takes a little time to find your way around the tool. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Fernando Manoel B. CEO E-Learning ### "Excellent audio editor" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 5, 2022 GoldWave is my main audio processing tool. I'm pleased with her. Pros I've been using GoldWave for a long time to edit the audios of my courses and YouTube channel. In addition to a friendly interface, this program offers a lot of tools that make it possible to make your audios perfect. Cons So far, I haven't experienced any difficulties with using GoldWare for the work I've done and am currently doing, so I haven't noticed any points that require improvement. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. CP Carl P. Principal E-Learning ### "GoldWave - Good for Those Who Already Have some Sound-Savvy" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 May 5, 2022 I've been using GoldWave since I had it loaded on my Pentium. It was the first audio software that was sufficiently intuitive to work without extensive training. As a professional trainer and e-learning developer, that was surprisingly important Pros The software is effective if you already have a solid grip on the terms of art in the audiophile's universe, and the implications of using them. As a former radio news director, I fully grasp the implications of noise reduction (both automated and individually set), as well as the nuances of mixing and editing sound. That's the positive of GoldWave. If you have a grasp of the functions and the implications of using them....AND if you have a clear understanding of the basic functions of text editing (yes, text editing)...then you'll be able to use the tool well "out of the box." Cons The challenges with this software are that you cannot listen to the audio as you record new tracks, forcing the artist to use markers and other devices to try to hit the mark on matching up multiple tracks. Outside of that aspect of the tool, it's top of the line. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AB Andrew B. Station Owner Broadcast Media ### "An extremely handy audio editor, quick and easy to use" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 January 27, 2022 Goldwave has saved my audio many, many times. This compact audio editor is an old favourite, and it still gets the job done. Whilst it would be nice to have modernised versions of some effects and processing, the addition of fairly stable VST support has helped. Pros Goldwave has retained the same basic look and features over the last 20 years, which is mostly a good thing. For the kind of basic audio editing and processing jobs we need on a daily basis, it's very fast and obvious, taking up little CPU. More complex external processing can be added via VST support, which is less flakey than it used to be. Many years ago I paid for a lifetime licence, and it's been a sensible investment. Cons Goldwave's own effects, EQ filters, etc haven't really changed in all these years. Certain ones could really benefit from an overhaul. The reverbs are particularly bad, so I only use them as a last resort. Alternatives considered [Audacity](https://www.capterra.com/p/214605/Audacity/) Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Life coach / Shaman Professional Training & Coaching ### "Golden but gone" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 November 25, 2021 Greatest app with affordable part. Just the fact if you don't know what you are doing. Your session will be wasted, I lost audios and lost an opportunity. Just wish therr was lesson of how the format functions are. Pros I love the affordable part, ad well the concept of usage. It gives me options as well for certain amount of devices. Cons Lost many great recordings I did. Since there's not a place to give an understanding of how to use or what is good to help the session. I havent touch it since i felt discouraged and didnt want to risk it. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Independent research methodology Capterra's researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider's website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/)