By Harpal Singh · · 5 min read
Recording sound on a Mac is easier than the amount of software for it suggests. There are two apps already on your machine that record a microphone, and a third route for the sound the Mac itself plays. Most of the time one of the three is enough, and the question is only which.
How do you record your voice on a Mac with Voice Memos?
Voice Memos is the simplest route. Open it, click Record, talk, click it again to stop. The recording appears in the list, where you can play it, rename it, trim it and share it. Apple's Voice Memos guide describes it as the way to record meetings, lectures and song ideas, and that is a fair summary: it is built for a voice and a quick save, not for production work.
It suits notes, dictation, interviews you will transcribe later and anything you want available on your other Apple devices. It is not suited to choosing a specific interface or controlling the recording format.
How do you record audio with QuickTime Player?
QuickTime Player has an audio recorder that gives you more control:
- Open QuickTime Player and choose File > New Audio Recording.
- Click the arrow beside the Record button to choose a microphone and a quality.
- Check the volume meter moves when you speak.
- Click Record, then click Stop when you are done. To pause, Option-click Record and click again to resume.
- Choose File > Save, name the recording and pick a location.
There are two quality settings. High is 44100 Hz AAC audio, which makes a small file that is fine for speech. Maximum is 44100 Hz uncompressed 24-bit AIFF-C, which Apple warns can use large amounts of storage space and suits material you plan to edit.
What about recording an MP3?
Neither app writes MP3 directly. AAC is the compressed format you get from High quality, and it plays almost everywhere. If a podcast host, a form or an older device insists on MP3, record in either app and convert afterwards with the Music app or a dedicated converter. Keeping the original recording and converting a copy is the safe order.
How do you record the sound the Mac plays?
This is the case neither app handles. Voice Memos and QuickTime's audio recorder capture a microphone. They do not capture what the Mac is playing, so streaming audio, a video's soundtrack or an app's sound effects never reach the file.
There are two ways around it. A virtual audio device, also called a loopback driver, receives the Mac's output and presents it to a recorder as though it were a microphone. It works and it needs setup you must remember to undo. The other is a recorder that captures system audio directly. Apple documents an Include System Audio option for screen recordings from macOS 27, and ReScreen captures it on macOS 13 and later with no driver. How to record system audio on a Mac explains each route.
One note of caution on the thing most people are actually trying to do: recording streamed music or a paid service to keep is governed by the terms of that service and by copyright law, whatever tool does the capturing. Recording a meeting, a lesson or your own demo is the ordinary case this is meant for.
Should you use a screen recorder to record audio?
Only when the picture is part of the point. A screen recorder gives you the voice, the app's sound and a recording of what was on screen, with the tracks separate so you can balance them. That is the right tool for a tutorial, a demo or a walkthrough, and the wrong one for an interview.
ReScreen is the first kind. It records the screen with a microphone and system audio as independent tracks, and its audio cleanup features can quiet steady room noise. It exports MP4 or MOV video, not a standalone audio file, so if you want only sound, use the lighter tool. How to screen record on a Mac with audio compares the routes when video is involved.
How do you get a clean recording?
Most bad audio is decided before you press record.
- Move closer. A microphone a hand's width from your mouth rejects far more of the room than any filter can.
- Pick the right input. In the recorder's microphone menu, confirm which device is selected. A laptop's built-in microphone is not the headset you plugged in.
- Listen for the steady noise. A fan, an air conditioner and a laptop's own fans are all things a gate can quiet afterwards. A conversation in the next room is not.
- Record a few seconds of silence. It gives you a sample of the room to listen to before you commit, so you hear the fan before the interview, not after.
If a recording is already made and the room is loud, how to remove background noise from a video explains what can be fixed and what cannot, and how to fix bad audio in screen recordings covers the rest.
Which audio recording app is best for a Mac?
It depends on what you record. For your own voice, Voice Memos and QuickTime Player are good recording software for a Mac that costs nothing, and on an older machine running Mac OS X, often written OSX, QuickTime Player is the same route. For multitrack music or podcast work, third-party audio recording apps add editing, effects and format choices, and which fits depends on the job. To record internal audio on a Mac, the sound the computer itself plays, the best audio capture software for Mac is a recorder that captures system audio, or a virtual audio device with the recorder of your choice: Voice Memos and QuickTime capture a microphone only. Any sound recording program for a Mac makes the same split between a microphone and the computer's own sound.
The honest answer for someone who only needs a voice captured is that the built-in options are enough. If your need is the screen and the sound together, see the screen recording feature and download ReScreen for macOS.
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