Audio recorders are essential for many things, including professional audio recording to recording evidence and recording audio to generate subtitles for other tasks. Whatever might be the case, not all voice recorders are made equal, and while some are feature-packed, others are lightweight and open source for better privacy. Here are some of the best voice recorders you can download on Android.
If you bought a phone from a major manufacturer, chances are your phone came with a built-in voice recorder. Google Recorder and Samsung Recorder are both feature-rich and more than enough in most cases, but if you seek something else due to privacy concerns or better features, you should check out the apps mentioned below.
1. Google Recorder
The Google Recorder is hands down one of the most feature-rich recorders in existence. Besides the ability to record, it can also transcribe the audio. It also makes use of on-device language detection abilities to translate the transcripts into other languages. One of the standout features is when there are multiple speakers, the Recorder can differentiate between speakers and put the transcripts under different speakers’ labels. This makes remembering who was speaking during a particular transcript duration extremely easy.
Unfortunately for many Android users, you cannot use Google Recorder as it’s a Pixel-exclusive app which is a huge bummer. If you do have a Pixel, it’s one of THE best Voice Recorder apps you can use on Android. Oh, and did we tell you that it supports uploading recordings to the cloud and the ability to access them via recorder.google.com? Yes, you can do that as well.
Pros Cons Transcription capabilities in many languages Google Pixel-exclusive app Speaker labels Google’s privacy policy and data collection Good recording quality Cloud uploads Can crop audio
2. Dolby On
If you want to step into the professional audio scene but cannot spend for and use the equipment to begin your professional journey, you need to try Dolby On. It makes your recordings sound richer and there are a few tools such as noise reduction, styles, tone, and the ability to boost different frequencies of the recordings.
You can also directly Livestream to Twitch, record in a lossless format and connect to different platforms like Soundcloud to share your music directly on social media. The best part? The app is completely free to use. Overall, it’s easily one of the best voice recorder apps on Android.
Pros Cons Makes recordings sound professional Cloud uploads would’ve been nice Lossless recording, exceptional recording quality A fully-fledged editor would’ve made the app exceptional Different styles and ways to add more to the recordings Completely free and no ADs Ability to crop audio
3. Fossify Voice Recorder
If you’re looking for an open-source recorder that does the job, works offline, and stores all your recordings on the device, Fossify Voice Recorder is a great app. It doesn’t pack all the bells and whistles like the above two recorders because it doesn’t need to.
It’s meant to be a simple recorder that can record in high quality (although not lossless) and comes with a widget that you can place on the home screen to quickly start recording. It’s completely free and open-source and is only available on F-Droid and the repository’s releases page on GitHub.
Pros Cons Easy voice recording None Bitrate and file format selection Widget to quickly start recording Completely free and no ADs; Open source
4. Voice Recorder Pro
I usually do not recommend a voice recorder or any app that takes in your data in the form of audio or video because they’re usually not good at handling data and may sell it to third parties. However, this Voice Recorder app from Splend Apps looks decent and doesn’t collect any data. Sure it has ads, but they’re not intrusive and you can remove them with a one-time payment of $2.
You can change the audio source, format, sample rate, bitrate, and a few quick settings here and there to personalize the app. Besides, the recordings come out pretty good. The app doesn’t ask for any shady permissions except Mic and notifications, which is a win in our books; hence, we recommend it.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy voice recording | Ads in the free version |
| Bitrate and file format selection | No advanced features |
| Lightweight and easy to use | |
5. Audio Recorder
Audio Recorder is one of the best and most straightforward voice recorders on Android for two reasons. First, when you first launch the app it asks you to set the voice recording quality and extensions, and second, it immediately goes to the recording section with settings at the bottom left, recording history on the right, and the record button in the middle.
The audio goes in crisp and clear. The app allows you to choose the WAV format for lossless recordings, and MP3 and 3GP to record in various low-quality bitrates. Overall, it’s easily one of the best, no-fuss audio recorders you can use on Android.
Pros Cons Easy, straightforward voice recording Lacks the ability to trim audio Bitrate and file format selection No Advertisements Free to use
6. WaveEditor
One of the best features of the WaveEditor is the ability to monitor your voice. The app is meant for professionals who want to record their voice and then edit in the app, but it can also be used as a plain regular voice recorder. WaveEditor can record in WAV and has plenty of effects to master your recordings. Besides, it also allows you to delete parts and replace them on the spot when editing.
The app has advertisements, but they are not intrusive. Besides, you need to watch Ads to use effects. You can unlock all effects and stop the ads by purchasing the Pro version of the app which costs around $5. Overall, WaveEditor is one of the best voice recorders available on Android if you’re into singing and mastering the voice for your music tracks.
Pros Cons Easy voice recording The UI could use some work Bitrate and file format selection Editing and effects functionality Free to use with limitations
7 AudioLab Audio Editor
AudioLab is a full-blown audio editor app at its heart but it also has the ability to record audio. When you hit record, the app asks you to enter a file name and define a sampling rate with the audio format you want to record in. Besides, you can also choose between Stereo and Mono channels and enable features such as Noise suppressor, Gain Control, and Echo canceler.
Another great thing about the app is that it has a built-in teleprompter for when you’re creating content and want to have a script on your front. Once you’re done recording, you can go back and choose from a wide range of tools like Trim, Mix, Merge, Convert, SFC, and many more to add bling to your recordings. The app has ads and some of the features are locked but you can purchase it for life for just $5.
Pros Cons Easy voice recording The UI could use some work Bitrate and file format selection Collects your location and app activity data Editing and effects functionality Extensive editing options
8. Otter
Otter is more geared toward professionals who want to record and transcribe their meetings. However, you can also use it as a standalone voice recorder app. Otter can transcribe your voice when recording in real time and gather all keywords from the transcription to show you what the recording is about. It also has an AI chat assistant called Otter that can summarize your audio notes and recordings.
While Otter is great it’s quite limited in terms of the minutes of recordings you can store. The app allows you to store 300 minutes of recording every month, which you may exhaust quickly if you record a lot. The Pro version gives you 1200 minutes per month but costs $8 a month. Overall, Otter’s an excellent recording app that can also be used to record transcripts in meetings and summarize them later.
Pros Cons Easy voice recording The UI could use some work Bitrate and file format selection Collects your location and app activity data Editing and effects functionality Extensive editing options
9. Neutron Audio Recorder
Neutron is a pretty nifty and lightweight audio recorder for Android that packs lots of features. Although the app’s UI is nothing to write home about, features such as the loudness meter, gain control, built-in equalizer, compressor, AGP, and PreAmp more than makeup for the UI shortcomings.
You can adjust the recording format, channels, and frequency, and change the equalizer presents, including Resampling, 64-bit processing, and selecting the playback mode. Overall, Neutron is easily one of the best audio recording apps that should serve both beginners and advanced users, to get the most out of their recordings. The best part? It’s completely free with no Ads, making it one of the best voice recorders for Android.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy voice recording | The UI could use some work |
| Bitrate and file format selection | |
| Equalizer and Preamp controls | |
| 64-bit processing and Resampling | |
10. Voice Recorder
Voice Recorder is made by the folks over at Simple Apps who’ve made plenty of other highly-rated apps before. The best thing about their voice recorder is that it has profiles to record audio depending on where you are. For example, the standard mode could be used for voice notes. There’s Music and Raw Sound mode for, well, recording music, and the Meetings and Lectures mode is to boost voice for clear vocals.
You can, however, set the recording quality yourself in Settings alongside the audio source, sampling rate, and channel. Besides, there are auto gain control, noise suppression, and echo cancellation features as well. While the app does collect a suspiciously lot of data, it’s a nifty recorder option on this list of best voice recorders for Android.
Pros Cons Easy voice recording Ads in the UI Bitrate and file format selection Collects data Noise suppression and gain control
These were some of the best voice recorders for Android you can find on the Google Play Store. Google Recorder is the best one out of the bunch, but it’s limited to Pixels-only. Hence, you can use Dolby On, Fossify recorder, and WaveEditor. They’re not as extensive as Google’s offering but can get the job done with ease.
Do you know any applications that we missed that deserve to be on the list? Let us know in the comments.
