Joe Hindy / Android Authority
This article was updated and checked for accuracy in April 2024. It was originally published in 2015.
One of the most practical features of any Android device is the ability to record yourself. There are many reasons why you might want to do this. Musicians may want to record a new idea, journalists need to record interviews, and some even set up to see if they are talking in their sleep. The good news is that you no longer have to go and buy a voice recorder from a place like Amazon or Walmart.
Your smartphone is perfectly capable of handling this for you. These are the best voice recording apps for Android. Note-taking apps also have the ability to record voice. Our best list for that can be found below.
Best Voice Recorder Apps for Android
ASR recorder
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($2.49 – $12.99 per item)
ASR Voice Recorder is one of the more competent voice recording applications. It records in a variety of formats, including popular ones like MP3, FLAC, WAV, OGG and M4A. Cloud integration makes it easy to upload to Dropbox, Google Drive, and more. You also get many more minor features, such as playback speed controls, the ability to automatically skip silent parts of a recording, a gain switch and support for Bluetooth devices. It’s a surprisingly strong proposition for its price.
Dolby On is another decent recording app on the list. It allows you to record in high quality with various amplifications and features that improve the sound quality. It also has an audio editor if you need to edit your recordings. Some filters include noise reduction, de-essing, and fade-in and fade-out effects. It’s mostly for musicians, but it’s also pretty good for voiceovers and other things like that. It’s also completely free, with no ads.
A simple Digipom voice recorder
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($1.49 – $4.99 per item)
Easy Voice Recorder does what its name suggests. It allows you to easily record things on your phone. You open the app, press the microphone button, record, share as needed, and then close the app. It also has a few extra features, like changing the type of file you’re recording to. It also has widget support. The Pro version also includes stereo recording support, Bluetooth microphone support, and more. The Pro version also removes ads.
J Labs Voice recorder and audio editor
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($0.99 – $14.99 per item)
J Labs Voice Recorder & Audio Editor is another great voice recorder on our list. It has a unique user interface designed like a tape recorder. Press Record to record the content and press Play to play them back. You can customize the tape recorder to your liking, and overall it has a nice aesthetic. In terms of recording quality, this one is pretty good. There are some lightweight audio editing features for simple things, but we recommend something more powerful if you intend to do some serious editing. It’s free, but includes ads.
Sound Recorder Plus
Price: Free / As low as $2.99
Umme Aimon Shabbir / Android Authority
Sound Recorder Plus by Digital Alchemy is an easy-to-use audio recording application that makes recording great sound effortless. Whether you’re recording voice messages, notes or music, this app works best for everything. It stands out with features such as on-the-fly overwriting, impressive sound quality with mono and stereo options, background recording and automatic saving. You can record as much as you want, limited only by your phone’s memory. Playback options include adjustable speeds and easy social media sharing. Sound Recorder Plus simplifies sound recording without complications. It also contains ads, which may spoil the experience for some people.
Voice recorder and voice recordings
Price: Free
Umme Aimon Shabbir / Android Authority
Voice recorder and voice recordings by Simple Design Ltd. is a free and user-friendly Android audio recording application. It allows you to easily record high-quality audio with one click, and there are no time limits to worry about. There are three preset shooting modes and customizable settings to tailor your shots to your needs.
It also has noise cancellation, echo cancellation and automatic gain control for clean sound. It offers practical features such as quick access from the notification center, stereo or mono recording, marking important moments during recording and categorizing recordings using tags. In addition, it supports background recording and screen-free recording, making it versatile for meetings, lectures, musical inspiration and more. The only downside is that you have to watch intrusive ads before each recording.
Otter voice notes
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($12.99 – $129.99 per item)
Otter is a voice recorder for professionals. Its feature set is primarily for business meetings and other more serious matters. It does the basics like recording, sharing and playback. Includes transcription service, cloud storage, cross-platform support and photos. The free version consists of 600 minutes of transcription per month. Premium subscription offers over 6000 minutes. It’s also not half bad for lectures; students even get a discount if they want to go that route. It’s powerful, but only if you need things like cloud storage, transcription, and more powerful stuff.
Smart recorder
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($1.99 per item)
Smart Voice Recorder is an affordable and user-friendly Android audio recorder that stands out for its simplicity and quality. It comes with all the usual features, including cloud storage support and recording features. This app offers a unique “skip silence” feature, which allows you to shorten recordings by excluding silent periods, making it ideal for capturing late-night conversations or snoring. Additional features include adjustable sample rates, background recording and a simple interface for efficient use.
Voice Recorder Pro
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($2.99 per item)
Joe Hindy / Android Authority
Fortunately, Voice Recorder Pro is a better app than its bland name might suggest. It’s a full-featured app that likes to keep things simple. You can record in PCM (Wave), AAC and AMR, giving you a variety of options. On top of that, the interface is easy to use, files are easy to find and manage, and it can be used to record phone calls (if the device and OS are supported). It also has other features, such as a bit rate option. It is one of the lighter and simpler voice recording apps. This one is also free if you use Google Play Pass.
Your phone’s native recorder
Price: Free
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
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Voice recording apps on your phone are not negligible. For starters, they’re always free. They are also pre-installed so they don’t take up more of your storage space. They are generally simple, with basic features. However, for some devices, such as LG’s V series phones, the voice recorder app can use hardware features that third-party voice recorder apps cannot. We’ve also heard that Google’s new Pixel Recorder app is pretty good. In any case, we recommend trying the recorder on any device before going third-party to make sure you don’t miss out on some great features.
If we missed any of the best voice recorder apps for Android, tell us about them in the comments!