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What is the best way to record audio on a Mac?

Tested on macOS 26.4.1 (Tahoe), Apple M3 Max, 3 Sept 2026. Updated 2026-09-03.

The best way to record audio on a Mac is the simplest tool that can see your source. A microphone: QuickTime Player, free, 24-bit at Maximum. What the Mac plays: OBS Studio (free, video file) or a driverless recorder from $29 to $69; AirCheck ($39) is the shortest route: one button, no length limit, stall recovery into the same file. Both sides of a call: the meeting tool's recorder. A DJ set: an interface into any of the above.

What are you actually recording?

Every Mac recording question reduces to one of five sources, and each has a simplest tool.

  1. A microphone or line input (your voice, a lecture in the room, an instrument): the input is a Core Audio device and any recorder sees it. Simplest: QuickTime Player.
  2. What the Mac plays (a stream, a website, a game, a player app): not an input. Needs ScreenCaptureKit-based capture (OBS, Piezo, AirCheck, Audio Hijack) or a virtual driver (BlackHole).
  3. Both sides of a call: the far side is system audio, your side is the mic, and a single system-audio take never contains your mic. Simplest: the meeting tool's own recorder, or Audio Hijack, which mixes both.
  4. A DJ set, turntable or mixer: analog, so it needs an interface; then it is case 1 with a specific channel pair.
  5. Screen plus sound: OBS or the built-in screenshot toolbar (mic only).

Pick your row in the table below, then follow the linked guide. If you are choosing between apps rather than sources, the ranking page does that.

What is the best way to record your voice on a Mac?

QuickTime Player, and it is not close. Tested on macOS 26.4.1 on 3 Sept 2026:

  1. Open QuickTime Player, choose File > New Audio Recording.
  2. Click the arrow beside the record button. Choose the microphone (any Core Audio input is listed) and the quality. Apple documents High as 44.1 kHz AAC and Maximum as 44.1 kHz uncompressed Linear PCM 24-bit AIFF-C.
  3. Click record, speak, click stop, then save the file.

Voice Memos is the alternative when you want one button and iCloud sync; its Settings offer Compressed or Lossless. Neither app captures system audio, so this is strictly for inputs.

Quality is decided before the software: a USB mic or an interface with a real preamp beats the built-in mic, and 24-bit gives headroom so you can record at a conservative level. No paid recorder improves a voice recording over QuickTime at Maximum, so spend the money on the microphone if anything. Recording yourself on a Mac covers video as well as audio.

What is the best way to record what your Mac is playing?

Two free routes and three paid, all producing a file of everything the Mac plays:

Two limits apply to all five: DRM-protected playback (Apple TV+, some Apple Music) may capture silent, and none of them includes your own microphone in a system-audio take. Legality of recording a stream or a call is yours to check; consent rules differ by country. Step-by-step: how to record system audio on a Mac.

What is the best way to record a call or a DJ set?

A call, both sides. Use the meeting tool's recorder when the host allows it; it is the only route that needs no extra software and captures both sides in sync. If that is blocked, Audio Hijack captures the app and your mic in one session. A one-source recorder such as AirCheck or Piezo gives you the far side only, or your mic only, per take. Details and the consent rules: recording both sides of a call.

A DJ set. If the set runs inside rekordbox, Serato DJ Pro or Traktor, use their recorder; Serato saves 24-bit by default and splits a 24-bit file at 1 h 50 min. If hardware bypasses the software or the set is longer, run the mixer's REC out into two line inputs of an interface and record that pair. AirCheck's channel-pair picker exists for this; the author records a DDJ-SZ through inputs 3-4 of a Scarlett 8i6, longest take 2 h 5 min at 24-bit 48 kHz, 2.07 GB. What DJs use compares all three routes.

When do you need more than one tool?

When the source list above gives you two rows. The common combinations:

What you never need two tools for: a microphone recording (QuickTime), or a plain system-audio recording (OBS, BlackHole route, or one paid app). If a setup guide for either of those has more than one app in it, the guide is out of date or selling something.

Simplest Mac recording route by source, prices checked 3 Sept 2026

What you are recordingSimplest toolPrice (USD)Setup before first takeOutputCatch
Your voice, a room, an instrumentQuickTime Player0noneAAC or 24-bit AIFF-Cinput only
Quick notes that sync to iPhoneVoice Memos0noneCompressed or Losslessinput only
Screen plus what the Mac playsOBS Studio (macOS 13+)0add one sourcevideo containerconvert to audio after
What the Mac plays, budget zeroBlackHole + QuickTime0, donation optionalinstall, restart, Multi-Output DeviceAAC or AIFF-Cspeakers silent without Multi-Output
One app onlyPiezo29pick the appaudio fileone app per session
Everything the Mac plays, long takesAirCheck39one permission promptWAV 16/24-bit or MP3 320one source per take, no mic mixed in
Mic plus app, or several appsAudio Hijack69build a sessionMP3, AAC, AIFF, WAV, ALAC, FLACmore to learn
Both sides of a callthe meeting tool's recorder0host permissiontool's formathost can disable it
DJ set from a mixerinterface + any recorder with channel selection39 to 69 plus interfacecable REC out to line in24-bit PCMneeds an interface

Where AirCheck fits

AirCheck is the best way for the row most people land on: everything the Mac plays, or one interface channel pair, recorded for as long as you like with nothing installed. One permission prompt, then one button and nothing to configure; 24-bit capture through ScreenCaptureKit or Core Audio, a watchdog that restarts capture into the same file after a 5-second stall, no length limit, export to WAV or MP3 320 kbps, universal for Apple silicon and Intel. $39 once against $69 for Audio Hijack, macOS 14 or newer, 14-day refund.

When you do not need it: For a microphone, QuickTime is free and equal. AirCheck records one source per take; both sides of a call in one file, or screen video with sound, are different categories of tool.

AirCheck records what your Mac plays, or any input, to one file. $39 once.

Buy AirCheck for $39

macOS 14 or newer. One-off payment. Fourteen-day refund, no questions asked.

Questions people ask

How to best record audio on a MacBook?

Same as any Mac: QuickTime Player for the microphone, a system-audio recorder for what the MacBook plays. On battery, plug in for long takes, and turn off display sleep if your recorder is not exempt from App Nap.

How do I record voice on my Mac?

Open QuickTime Player, choose File > New Audio Recording, click the arrow beside the record button to pick the microphone and Maximum quality (24-bit uncompressed), then press record. Or open Voice Memos and click Record; set Lossless under Voice Memos > Settings if you want the larger, higher-quality file.

How can I record internal audio on a Mac?

With OBS Studio (free, macOS 13 or newer, video output), with the BlackHole driver plus QuickTime, or with a driverless recorder such as Piezo ($29), AirCheck ($39) or Audio Hijack ($69). The built-in apps cannot.

Can a Mac screen record system audio?

Not with the built-in Cmd-Shift-5 recorder, whose Options menu lists microphones only. OBS Studio's macOS Screen Capture source records the screen and desktop audio together on macOS 13 or newer, and its macOS Audio Capture source records the audio alone into the same video file.

Sources

Hannes Hennerbichler builds AirCheck and records his own DJ sets with it through a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. Every step on this page was run on the macOS version stated above. Drafted with AI assistance, checked and edited by the author. About