Audacity
Drop-in replacementFreeThe same program from the same developers. Copy your project files across and carry on.
Your files: Opens .aup3 project files made on Windows without conversion, and exports .mp3, .wav and .flac as before.
Does Audacity run on Linux?
Verdict: Yes
Yes, natively. Audacity is released for Linux by the people who make it, and it is the same program with the same window and the same projects.
The Audacity download page offers Linux builds alongside Windows and Mac. Your Linux app store will also have it, usually as a Flatpak, which is the tidier way to install it.
Everything carries over. An .aup3 project file made on Windows opens on Linux and looks identical. Your recordings, your edits and your track layout are all in that one file, so copying the files across is the whole job. Exported .mp3, .wav and .flac files are unaffected either way.
Two small things to check. Plugins have to match the platform, so a VST you downloaded as a Windows .dll will not load and needs replacing with a Linux build of the same effect. And picking the right microphone is done through the Linux sound settings rather than the Windows ones, which takes a minute to find the first time.
Recording quality and latency are as good as on Windows for ordinary podcast and voice work.
Audacity on Linux, and alternatives
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