Guides / Screen recording with audio
How to record audio only on a Mac, without making a screen recording
Tested on macOS 26.4.1 (Tahoe), Apple M3 Max, 3 Sept 2026. Updated 2026-09-03.
You can record audio only on a Mac without a screen recording. For your microphone, QuickTime Player's File > New Audio Recording or Voice Memos writes an audio file for free. For the computer's own sound, a system audio recorder built on ScreenCaptureKit writes WAV or MP3 directly. A 97.5 second screen recording on this Mac was 171 MB; the audio inside it was 1.28 MB, so skipping video saves more than 99 percent of the space.
How do I screen record just the audio on a Mac?
You do not. People search this because the Screenshot toolbar is the recorder they know, and they assume audio must come out of it. Two things are wrong with that plan. First, Shift-Command-5 records a microphone, not the computer's sound, so a screen recording made to capture a stream or a call comes back silent (see why does my Mac screen recording have no sound). Second, even when the audio is what you wanted, it is wrapped in a video file that is a hundred times larger than the sound.
The right move is to pick a recorder that writes an audio file from the start. There are two cases, and they use different tools:
- You want your own voice (dictation, a memo, a lecture you attend in person): a microphone recorder, free and built in.
- You want what the Mac is playing (a webinar, a stream, a call, music from a DJ app): a system audio recorder, which has to use ScreenCaptureKit or a virtual driver.
What is the free way to record only my microphone on a Mac?
Two built-in options, both tested on macOS 26.4.1.
- QuickTime Player. File > New Audio Recording. Click the arrow beside the record button, choose your microphone and a quality. Apple's guide lists High as "44100 Hz AAC audio" and Maximum as "44100 Hz, uncompressed Linear PCM 24-bit AIFF-C audio". Record, stop, then File > Save; it does not save on its own.
- Voice Memos. One click, saves automatically, syncs through iCloud. Compressed by default; Settings offers Lossless.
Both need Microphone permission, which macOS asks for on first use. Both take one input device. If your microphone is a USB interface with several inputs, they record the first channel pair only. For anything beyond a quick take, a dedicated recorder that shows levels and lets you choose a channel pair is worth it; see how to record yourself on Mac.
How do I record the computer's sound as an audio file?
The built-in tools cannot, so choose one of these.
- AirCheck ($39, macOS 14 or newer): select System Audio, press Record, stop, and a WAV or 320 kbps MP3 appears in ~/Music/AirCheck. Uses ScreenCaptureKit, no driver.
- Audio Hijack ($69): a System Audio source block into a Recorder block. More setup, far more routing power, can add a mic in the same session.
- Piezo ($29): one application at a time, very simple.
- BlackHole + QuickTime (free): install the driver, build a Multi-Output Device, choose BlackHole as QuickTime's microphone. Works, but you reroute the system output every time and lose the volume keys while it is on. Steps are in does QuickTime record system audio on Mac.
- OBS Studio (free): captures desktop audio without a driver but always writes a video container, even with no video source. You then extract the audio, which defeats the purpose.
All of them capture standard streams (YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, Zoom, Teams, Meet). DRM-protected playback such as Apple TV+ may come through silent under ScreenCaptureKit; that is a limit of the platform, not of one app.
How much smaller is an audio-only recording?
Measured on this Mac. A Shift-Command-5 screen recording of 97.5 seconds was 171 MB (3840 x 2160, H.264, 30 fps). Its audio track, extracted with a stream copy, was 1.28 MB at about 100 kbps AAC. A 52 minute screen recording of mostly static content was 1.59 GB.
Audio-only files, from 45 real AirCheck recordings:
- 24-bit stereo 48 kHz WAV: 16.5 MB per minute, 0.97 GB per hour.
- 16-bit stereo 48 kHz WAV: 11.0 MB per minute, 0.64 GB per hour.
- MP3 320 kbps: 2.4 MB per minute, 0.14 GB per hour.
So even uncompressed 24-bit audio for an hour is smaller than that 52 minute screen recording, and an MP3 of the same hour is about a tenth of it. If you have already recorded video and just want the sound out of it, the sizes and commands are in how to extract audio from a Mac screen recording.
Choose File > Save to save and name the recording. You can also choose a location where you want to save it.
Apple, Record audio in QuickTime Player on Mac
Ways to get an audio-only file on a Mac
| Tool | Microphone | Computer sound | Output | Size per hour | Needs a driver | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shift-Command-5 screen recording | yes | no | .mov video | 1.59 GB measured (52 min, static screen) | no | free |
| QuickTime New Audio Recording | yes | no | AAC or 24-bit AIFF-C | about 0.89 GB at 24-bit 44.1 kHz | no | free |
| Voice Memos | yes | no | M4A | small (compressed) | no | free |
| BlackHole + QuickTime | no | yes | AAC or 24-bit AIFF-C | about 0.89 GB at 24-bit 44.1 kHz | yes | free |
| Piezo | yes | one app | audio file | depends on format | no | $29 |
| AirCheck | yes (separate take) | yes | WAV or MP3 320 | 0.97 GB (24-bit 48 kHz) or 0.14 GB (MP3) | no | $39 |
Per-hour audio sizes from measured AirCheck recordings; 24-bit 44.1 kHz is the same PCM math for QuickTime's Maximum setting. Voice Memos size not measured.
Where AirCheck fits
AirCheck exists for the second case: you want what the Mac plays, as an audio file, with nothing to install. It records System Audio through ScreenCaptureKit into a 24-bit AIFF master, converts once when you stop, and drops a WAV or 320 kbps MP3 into ~/Music/AirCheck with the date in the name. A watchdog restarts capture into the same file if audio stalls for 5 seconds. It costs $39 once and needs macOS 14 Sonoma or newer.
When you do not need it: If you only need your voice, QuickTime Player or Voice Memos does it free. If you need one specific app's audio while others play, that is per-app capture (Piezo, $29); AirCheck captures the whole system.
AirCheck records what your Mac plays, or any input, to one file. $39 once.
macOS 14 or newer. One-off payment. Fourteen-day refund, no questions asked.
Questions people ask
Can you screen record just audio on Mac?
No. The Screenshot toolbar always produces a .mov, and its only audio input is a microphone. Use QuickTime's New Audio Recording for your voice, or a system audio recorder for the computer's sound, and you get an audio file directly.
How to screen record on Mac with internal audio only?
Skip the screen part. A system audio recorder such as AirCheck, Audio Hijack or Piezo records internal audio straight to WAV, MP3 or M4A. If you must use QuickTime, add BlackHole and select it as the microphone.
Where is the voice recorder on Mac?
Voice Memos is in the Applications folder and in Launchpad. QuickTime Player also records audio under File > New Audio Recording, at 44.1 kHz AAC or 24-bit AIFF-C. Both record one microphone only, never the sound the Mac plays.
Does recording audio only use less CPU than screen recording?
Not measured here, so no number. Screen recording encodes 4K H.264 video continuously; audio-only capture writes PCM samples. The disk difference is measured: 171 MB versus 1.28 MB for the same 97.5 seconds.
Sources
- Apple: Record audio in QuickTime Player on Mac
- Apple: Take a screenshot or screen recording on Mac
- Existential Audio: BlackHole
- Rogue Amoeba: Purchase Piezo
- Rogue Amoeba: Purchase Audio Hijack
Related guides
- Why does my Mac screen recording have no sound?
- Does QuickTime Player record system audio on a Mac?
- How to extract the audio from a Mac screen recording
- How big is an audio recording per minute on a Mac?
- How to record yourself on a Mac
- How to screen record with internal audio on a Mac
- Screen recording with audio: all guides
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