Contents

Part 1. How to Use Audacity to Remove Vocals
Part 2. Best Alternatives to Audacity for Cleaner Results
Part 3. FAQs of the Audacity Vocal Remover

How to Remove Vocals from a Song Using Audacity Like a Pro

May 09, 2026Lucas Hayes

While audio editing in Audacity, you may wonder if you can remove vocals and create a karaoke track using it.

In most cases, you need to remove background music and enhance the human voice. Many audio editors can do that. What if you need to sample an instrumental for a remix, or perform the vocal removal for other purposes? Can Audacity remove vocals from a song?

Part 1. How to Use Audacity to Remove Vocals

Audacity is a free, open-source audio editor that carries all the necessary editing functions. However, when it comes to vocal removal in Audacity, most users don’t know how to do it. Considering that, this section tells two main methods to remove vocals from a song using it.

1. Use Audacity to Remove Vocals Through Vocal Reduction

Step 1.

Open Audacity and use a common way to load your song. You can drag the audio file onto the interface or add it via File > Open.

Step 2.

Click the track waveform or press Ctrl/Command + A to select the entire song. Then, go to the top Effect menu and choose Vocal Reduction and Isolation. If you don’t see the option, click Special to look for it.

Note that if you are using a relatively new Audacity version like 3.5 or above, you may need to manually download the “Vocal Reduction and Isolation” effect from the official Audacity Plugins.

Audacity Plugins Vocal Reduction And Isolation

Step 3.

You can see several options from the dropdown Action menu: Remove Vocals, Isolate Vocals, Remove Center, Analyze, and more. Customize these settings to remove vocals from the music. Click Preview to check the vocal removal result, then click OK to apply.

2. Remove Vocals in Audacity Using OpenVINO AI Plugin

Besides the standard vocal removal solution in Audacity, you can rely on a modern AI way to do that. The OpenVINO AI Plugins can actually locate the human voice and remove it.

Step 1.

Download and install the OpenVINO AI Plugins from the GitHub page or the official Audacity website.

Download Openvino Ai Plugins For Audacity

Step 2.

Open Audacity and go to Edit/Audacity > Preferences > Modules. Ensure the mod-openvino is enabled, and then restart the software.

Step 3.

Load the music file or song you want to remove vocals from. Choose your track and then choose Effect > OpenVINO AI Effects > Music Separation.

Step 4.

Select your preferred mode to split the original track into Vocals, Instrumental, Drums, Bass, and Other. After that, click Apply and let AI generate new tracks.

Part 2. Best Audacity Alternatives to Remove Vocals with Cleaner Results

Sometimes, you want to directly remove vocals from videos or don’t want to install the AI plugins. In those cases, you can turn to a dedicated vocal removal tool for better results.

Desktop Audacity Alternative: Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate

Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate has a powerful AI Voice Remover to easily remove vocals from videos and audio.

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Key Features:

Uses advanced AI to detect and remove vocals without losing audio fidelity.
Supports over 1,000 video and audio formats (MP3, FLAC, AAC, etc.).
Includes built-in audio editor and enhancer tools for later edits.
Supports hardware acceleration and batch processing.

Steps to Remove Vocals from a Song Using the Audacity Alternative

Step 1.

Download and launch the Audacity alternative and select its AI Voice Remover. Drag and drop your audio/video file into the window.

Step 2.

The AI will automatically separate the original song or music file into an audio track and a background track. You can play it to check the sound quality. Click Change Source File to isolate other audio tracks if necessary. Then, click Export to only save your clean instrumental.

Online Audacity Alternative: LALAL.AI

If you prefer quick edits and don’t want to install anything, LALAL.AI is a great choice to replace Audacity for vocal removal. It is widely used for browser-based stem separation.

Key Features:

Uses the Advanced Orion and Phoenix neural networks to remove vocals.
Delivers high-precision separation with minimal artifacts.
Can isolate specific instruments like piano, bass, or electric guitar.

Steps to Remove Vocals from a Song Using LALAL.AI

Step 1.

Open a web browser and visit LALAL.AI. Choose Vocal and Instrumental as your processing type. Then, click the Select Files button to upload your audio file.

Step 2.

Wait for the AI to process the song. After that, mute the “Vocal” and adjust the volume of “Instrumental”. Listen to the Instrumental stem and then download it.

Remove Vocals From A Song Online Via Lalal Ai

Part 3. FAQs on How to Remove Vocals from a Song Using Audacity

Question 1. How can I clean my voice with Audacity?

Audacity has a dedicated Noise Reduction effect to effectively clean the voice. So, it is easy to remove background noise in Audacity, such as microphone hiss, computer fan hum, air conditioner rumble, and more. You can find it in Effect > Noise Reduction.

Question 2. Is Audacity’s vocal remover completely free?

Yes, the Audacity vocal remover is completely free. As mentioned, it is an open-source tool. All the built-in functions and official AI plugins are available for downloading and using for free. There are no subscriptions or hidden fees.

Question 3. Can Audacity remove vocals from videos?

Audacity can remove vocals from videos, but not directly. It is strictly an audio editor, not a video editor. The software does not support video files by default. It cannot open a video for vocal removal or other audio edits. To do that, you need to install the FFmpeg Library, which allows Audacity to read and access the audio track inside a video container.

Conclusion

This guide has mainly talked about how to remove vocals from a song using Audacity. Considering that the software is free and open-source, you are suggested to download it and follow the steps above to erase the human voice and only leave the instruments. However, if you are unsatisfied with it, turn to a great vocal remover alternative like Aiseesoft.