Gain Curve and Auphonic, compared.
Both level a podcast and set its loudness. Auphonic is a well-established web service that does it automatically; Gain Curve does it on your Mac and shows you a curve you can change. Here's an honest look at which suits whom.
| Gain Curve | Auphonic | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | On your Mac (app, AU and VST3 plug-in) | Online, in the browser: you upload, it processes, you download |
| Price | $29 once (until December 31, then $49); 14-day free trial | 2 hours a month free; plans by hours per month, or one-time hours that don't expire |
| Levelling | A curve over the whole episode, drawn for you, which you can see and redraw | Automatic leveller |
| Loudness targets | Podcast −16, Spotify, YouTube, ACX, broadcast, custom | Many targets, ACX and broadcast included |
| One track per speaker | Yes: voices matched, bleed held down | Yes (multitrack; under 20 minutes on the free plan) |
| Noise and echo | Yes | Yes |
| Cutting ums, coughs and pauses | Yes, from a transcript you can edit, cutting any word too | Yes, automatic |
| Transcript | Made on your Mac, English only, for editing (not exported as text) | Yes, many languages, on paid plans |
| Show notes and automatic chapters | No: chapters are marked by you | Yes, on paid plans |
| Chapters, cover, tags | Yes (chapters in MP3) | Yes |
| Publishing to hosts | No: you upload the file | Yes, direct to many hosts and services |
| Video | Yes, picture untouched, or jump cuts | Yes, picture kept |
Choose Auphonic if
- you want everything automatic and online, including transcripts in other languages, show notes and publishing;
- you don't work on a Mac, or prefer working from a browser;
- you produce only a few hours a month (the free plan may be enough).
Choose Gain Curve if
- you want to see and adjust what's done to the levels, line by line, and choose each cut in the text;
- you'd rather not upload recordings, or work offline;
- you produce a lot and prefer one price to counting hours;
- you also mix music or work in Logic, Ableton or another DAW (it's a plug-in too).
Many people use more than one tool. Try Gain Curve free for 14 days on your own episodes and compare by ear.
Auphonic is a trademark of its owner. Facts about Auphonic from auphonic.com as of October 28, 2026. Paul Voia-Tipei, PVT Studio