# The Cheapest Way to Clean Up Hours of Podcast Audio

Updated October 20, 2026 · [Michael Nguyen](https://audo.ai/about?utm_source=markdown&utm_medium=agent) · Tested October 2026

Audo AI cleans up podcast voices for $1.80 an hour ($0.03 a minute) with no subscription, takes files up to 10 hours, and lets you try the first minute of each file free with no sign-up. For short files now and then, Adobe Podcast's free plan (files under 30 minutes, 1 hour a day) and Auphonic's 2 free hours a month cost nothing, and Cleanvoice's pay-as-you-go runs $1.50 to $2.20 an hour. If you clean up 10 hours or more every month, a subscription is cheaper per hour: Cleanvoice from $1.10, Auphonic's 9-hour plan at $1.44, or Adobe Firefly Pro's flat US$19.99 a month.

[Open Audio enhancer](https://audo.ai/audio-enhancer?utm_source=markdown&utm_medium=agent)

What 10 hours of podcast clean-up costs in a month (each company's pricing page, checked October 19, 2026)

| Tool | What it does to the sound | Free to start | 10 hours in a month | Per hour | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audo AI | Audio enhancer rebuilds the voice; Remove noise filters the background and keeps the voice | First minute of each file, 3 times a day, no sign-up | $18, pay as you go, no subscription | $1.80 | https://audo.ai/pricing?utm_source=markdown&utm_medium=agent |
| Adobe Podcast Enhance Speech | Rebuilds the voice, removing noise, reverb, and music | Audio files up to 30 minutes, 1 hour a day, with an Adobe sign-in | US$19.99 with Firefly Pro (files up to 2 hours, 4 hours a day) | About $2.00 at 10 hours; less above that | https://www.adobe.com/products/firefly/plans.html |
| Descript (Hobbyist) | Studio Sound enhances the voice, inside a text-based editor | 1 media hour a month, Studio Sound limited | $24 billed monthly, or $16 a month billed annually | $2.40, or $1.60 annually | https://www.descript.com/pricing |
| Cleanvoice | Cuts filler words, mouth sounds, and silences; removes noise | 30 minutes, no card | $11 on the 10-hour monthly plan, or $20 pay as you go | $1.10 subscribed, $2.00 pay as you go | https://cleanvoice.ai/pricing/ |
| Auphonic | Levels speakers and music, sets loudness, reduces noise and reverb | 2 hours a month, with an Auphonic jingle | $23 in one-time credits for 10 hours | $2.30 one-time, $1.44 on the 9-hour plan | https://auphonic.com/pricing |
| Audacity | Noise Reduction for constant background sounds, applied by hand | Free, open source | $0 | $0, plus your time | https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/noise_reduction.html |

## What clean-up costs depends on the job

These tools clean up podcast audio in different ways, so a price per hour only means something next to the job it does. Some filter out the noise, some rebuild the voice, and some cut filler words and pauses.

Audo AI's Audio enhancer rebuilds the voice: it removes noise and echo and fixes muffled, thin, and distorted voices. Its Remove noise only filters out the background and keeps the voice as recorded. Adobe Podcast Enhance Speech and Descript's Studio Sound enhance the voice too. Cleanvoice cuts filler words, mouth sounds, and silences and removes noise. Auphonic levels speakers and music, sets loudness, and reduces noise and reverb. Audacity is a free editor with a Noise Reduction effect for constant background sounds, which you apply by hand.

## For a few hours, now and then

If you clean up an episode or two at a time and don't want a subscription, start with the free plans, then pay as you go:

- **Adobe Podcast's free plan:** Free with an Adobe sign-in for audio files up to 30 minutes and 500 MB, up to 1 hour a day. It enhances the voice; there's no video and no strength control.
- **Auphonic's free 2 hours:** The first 2 hours each month are free, with an Auphonic jingle on free files. It levels, sets loudness, and reduces noise and reverb.
- **Pay as you go:** Audo AI is $1.80 an hour for voice clean-up, and what you buy doesn't expire. Cleanvoice's packs are $2.20, $2.00, or $1.50 an hour (5, 10, or 30 hours, valid 2 years). Auphonic's one-time credits are $2.40 an hour for 5 hours, down to $1.71 for 100 hours, and never expire.

## For 10 or more hours every month

At a steady volume, a subscription spreads one price over more hours, so each hour costs less:

- **Cleanvoice subscriptions:** 10 hours a month for $11 ($1.10 an hour), 30 hours for $28 (about $0.93), and 100 hours for $90 ($0.90). Unused hours roll over, up to three times the plan.
- **Auphonic plans:** 9 hours a month for $13 ($1.44 an hour), with larger plans above it.
- **Adobe Firefly Pro:** A flat US$19.99 a month for files up to 2 hours, up to 4 hours a day, with video and a strength control. That's about $2.00 an hour at 10 hours a month, and it costs less per hour than Audo above about 11 hours a month.

## One long episode, or a video

Per-file limits matter as much as price for long recordings. Adobe's free plan stops at 30 minutes a file and Firefly Pro at 2 hours. Audo AI takes files up to 10 hours when you're signed in, audio or video, and gives a video back with the picture untouched.

So a 90-minute episode costs $2.70 to clean up on Audo, in one go, with no plan to cancel afterwards. To also cut the ums and shorten the pauses, Remove filler words is $1.20 an hour and Remove silence $0.60 an hour.

## When a subscription is the better deal

If you clean up 10 hours or more every month, a subscription costs less per hour than paying as you go: Cleanvoice's 10-hour plan works out to $1.10 an hour and Auphonic's 9-hour plan to $1.44. Above about 11 hours a month in files up to 2 hours, Adobe Firefly Pro's US$19.99 is cheaper than Audo's $1.80 an hour, and Descript's Hobbyist plan comes to $1.60 an hour billed annually if you use all 10 hours.

## Clean up a long episode, with no subscription

Drop the whole episode or video into Audo's Audio enhancer and pay only for its minutes, $1.80 an hour. Free to try. No sign-up.

- [Clean up your episode](https://audo.ai/audio-enhancer?utm_source=markdown&utm_medium=agent)
- [See pricing](https://audo.ai/pricing?utm_source=markdown&utm_medium=agent)

## Questions

**What's the cheapest way to clean up podcast audio?** For short files, free: Adobe Podcast's free plan takes audio files under 30 minutes, up to 1 hour a day, and Auphonic gives 2 hours a month. Without a subscription, Audo AI is $1.80 an hour and Cleanvoice's pay-as-you-go $1.50 to $2.20. At 10 hours or more a month, Cleanvoice's subscription is cheapest, from $1.10 an hour.

**How much does it cost to clean up 10 hours of podcast audio?** About $11 on Cleanvoice's 10-hour plan, $18 on Audo AI, $19.99 with Adobe Firefly Pro, $20 with Cleanvoice's pay-as-you-go, $23 in Auphonic's one-time credits, and $24 on Descript's monthly Hobbyist plan ($16 a month billed annually). Adobe's free plan costs nothing if every file is under 30 minutes and you do an hour a day.

**Is there a free way to clean up a long podcast episode?** Partly. Adobe's free plan stops at 30 minutes a file, so a long episode has to be split and done over several days. Auphonic's free 2 hours a month add a jingle, and Audacity is free but works by hand. Audo AI cleans the first minute of any file free, 3 times a day, with no sign-up.

**Is a subscription cheaper than paying per hour?** At 10 hours or more a month, yes: Cleanvoice's 10-hour plan is $1.10 an hour and Auphonic's 9-hour plan $1.44. Adobe Firefly Pro's flat US$19.99 costs less per hour than Audo once you do more than about 11 hours a month.

**Can I clean up podcast audio without a subscription?** Yes. Audo AI is $1.80 an hour with no subscription, and what you buy doesn't expire. Cleanvoice's pay-as-you-go hours ($1.50 to $2.20) last 2 years, and Auphonic's one-time credits ($1.71 to $2.40 an hour) never expire.

## More

- Related guides: [Auphonic alternatives](https://audo.ai/guides/auphonic-alternative.md), [Cleanvoice alternatives](https://audo.ai/guides/cleanvoice-alternatives.md), [Descript Studio Sound alternatives](https://audo.ai/guides/descript-studio-sound-alternative.md)
- Related tools: [Audio enhancer](https://audo.ai/audio-enhancer.md), [Remove filler words](https://audo.ai/remove-filler-words.md), [Remove silence](https://audo.ai/silence-remover.md), [Balance audio](https://audo.ai/audio-leveler.md)
- All guides: https://audo.ai/guides?utm_source=markdown&utm_medium=agent
- Every tool: https://audo.ai/llms.txt
- This page for people: https://audo.ai/guides/cheapest-way-to-clean-up-podcast-audio?utm_source=markdown&utm_medium=agent