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 can be removed 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 | |
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.
