Adobe Audition vs. Pro Tools: Which Is Better for Recording?

Whether it’s for music, podcasts, or just having fun, audio programs are quite important. Depending on the quality we wish to achieve, there are different audio programs that people use. The free/cheaper programs will typically be more challenging to work with and have more flaws, while the more expensive programs will be a bit easier to use and have more interesting features. Two of the higher-end programs are Adobe Audition and Pro Tools.

Adobe Audition and Pro Tools are great programs. Both have some basic features in common, such as regular updates and 32-bit files, but they’re both unique. Adobe Audition has auto-ducking, customization, and more. Pro Tools has MIDI, time stretch, and other features. Both are great options.

If you’re ready to start or improve your audio recording journey, read on. You might find the best program for you and your recording projects. 

Similarities of Adobe Audition and Pro Tools

Right off the bat, Adobe Audition and Pro Tools are already pretty similar. Here are some of the features that they both have in common: surround mixing, modern GUI, good equalization, a high-quality compressor, good automation, 32-bit files, a full set of plugins for post, and regular updates.

While both have an outstanding amount of similarities, they are still very unique programs. Each has its own exciting features that the other program might not have as good of quality or might not even have.

Check out my picks for the Best Laptop for Pro Tools.

The Pros and Cons of Adobe Audition 

In this section, we will analyze both the pros and cons of Adobe Audition.

Pros

Some of the pros of Adobe Audition are as follows:

• Price: In comparison to Pro Tools, Adobe Audition is a bit cheaper. Adobe Audition is $60 per month, coming out to $720 per year. While this may sound a little costly, it is certainly worth it considering the features.
• Easy general import from video: This is a great feature to have as you can add in a video and use the audio with no issues or difficulty.
• Good support: Thankfully, Adobe Audition has great support. So if you have a problem with anything, don’t be afraid to talk to Adobe support. They will most certainly take care of whatever problem you have.
• Music auto arrange: This is a wonderful feature as it will keep everything nice and organized for you with no problems. This can be especially helpful because getting lost in unorganized files is a struggle.
• Auto ducking: When another track gets a bit louder in your file, Adobe Audition will automatically make another track a bit quieter. This way, it balances out the sound and produces a higher quality.
• Customization: If you don’t like the general setup of everything on your screen or things are harder to get used to, you can customize a few things. This can be especially great for anyone who is switching from a cheaper program they’ve used for a long time.
• Mac & PC stability: Regardless of if you use mac or pc, this program will remain stable with no issues. This way, you won’t have to worry about unexpected crashes and losing your work and files. Either way, to be safe, you should still save every chance you get.
• Works seamlessly with non-linear editing: This is a great feature because it’s a type of offline editing for audio. The original audio is not modified in any way while editing. This can help you mess around and try something with audio you don’t want to ruin.

Cons

Some of the cons of Adobe Audition are as follows:

• No MIDI: This program does not have MIDI, which is typically helpful for a variety of instruments and easy usage. This may be a game-changer for a lot of music creators, but the other features are somewhat worth it.
• No good time stretch: Unfortunately, this program doesn’t have a good time stretch, which usually helps to change the speed/duration of an audio file without altering the pitch. This may also be a deal-breaker depending on what you’re looking for.
• No native hardware acceleration: This can be a pro or a con depending on your device and what it can handle. Hardware acceleration can be both good and bad. If you have a stronger device, you may like hardware acceleration. If you have a weaker device, you probably won’t mind not having this feature. Either way, it’s not extremely important but it is a good feature to have.
• No good multithreading: Multithreading is a vital feature to have as it helps to run multiple threads in a single process. This is likely a deal-breaker, but if that doesn’t bother you, Adobe Audition is likely the better choice.

The Pros and Cons of Pro Tools

In this section, we will analyze both the pros and cons of Pro Tools.

Pros

The pros of Pro Tools are as follows:

• MIDI: Pro Tools has MIDI, which is (as mentioned earlier on) a helpful tool that’s used for multiple instruments with ease. You’ll be able to create a wider variety of music with the help of this tool.
• Good time stretch: Pro Tools has time stretch, which helps to edit the duration of the audio without causing problems with the pitch. This is a great feature to have for anyone who typically uses things like this for their audio projects.
• Native hardware acceleration: As aforementioned, this can be a pro or con depending on your device. However, since this program has it, it’s certainly a pro. Whether you need it or not, it’s a nice feature to have.
• Good multithreading: Pro Tools has multithreading, which is an important feature as it helps to run multiple threads in one process. This can be especially important for those who want very high-quality audio.

Cons

The cons of Pro Tools are as follows:

• Price: In comparison to Adobe Audition, Pro Tools is a bit more expensive. Pro Tools is $1000 per year, which is pretty costly. However, the features may be worth it.
• No good support: Unfortunately, the support for Pro Tools isn’t nearly as good as Adobe Audition. This can be especially disappointing because if you have any problems with Pro Tools, there’s a chance that getting help won’t be so simple.
• No music auto arrange: If you’re the type to get annoyed by unorganized things, Pro Tools definitely isn’t for you. Sadly, Pro Tools doesn’t have music auto arrange, which is important for organization. No one wants to get lost in music files.
• No auto-ducking: Pro Tools doesn’t have auto-ducking, which can make editing a bit more tedious. You will have to manually edit louder audio and quieter audio to match.
• No customization: Sadly, Pro Tools doesn’t offer customization. This might be a deal-breaker for you if you like to change things up to suit your taste. Otherwise, this shouldn’t be a problem for you.
• No stability: Whether it’s with mac & pc or just overall, Pro Tools doesn’t have much stability. This way, you have a higher chance of unexpected crashes and losing files.

Last update on 2024-12-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Check out this article on Tracktion vs. Reaper.

Final Thoughts

Both Adobe Audition and Pro Tools are amazing audio editing programs. They both have some of the more basic features in common, like 32-bit files and surround mixing. However, they both have their own unique and respective features. Adobe Audition has great support, auto-ducking, stability, and more. Pro Tools has time stretch, multithreading, MIDI, and more features in their ultimate version.

Either way, both are great programs to choose from. However, at the end of the day, Adobe Audition seems a little bit better considering some of the more important features it has. No matter what you choose, though, you’re sure to have great quality audio.

For more information, check out this article on the best DAWs for vocal recording

Sources

• Cinema Sound: Adobe Audition vs. Pro Tools & Everybody Showdown
• Reddit: Which is better, Audition vs. Pro Tools? Why?