How to Remove Background Noise From a Voice Recording
Updated October 2026
Background noise is easiest to remove when it is steady, like a fan or hiss, and hardest when it moves with the voice, like a TV or another person in the room.
The short version
- Steady noise (fan, air conditioner, hiss) is the easiest: use a noise profile or an AI cleaner.
- Noise that comes and goes needs a gate, or a cut between sentences.
- Noise under the voice cannot be fully removed; reduce it, do not chase it to zero.
- Always compare against the original.
First, identify the noise
Listen to the recording with the voice paused. A hum or hiss that stays the same all the way through is steady noise. A sound that starts and stops (a car, a dog, a keyboard) is intermittent. A sound that changes with your words (an echo, another person speaking) is the hardest kind. Your strategy depends on which one you have.
Method 1: a noise profile (free, in any editor)
In Audacity, select a second or two of the room with nobody talking, choose the noise reduction effect and take a noise profile from that selection. Then select the whole recording and apply the effect with moderate settings, about 12 dB of reduction to start. Listen. If the voice sounds thin, lower the reduction. Audacity's own manual explains each setting.
Method 2: an AI cleaner
AI speech models separate the voice from the room better than a noise profile when the noise is not steady. The free voice cleaner on this site works in your browser, and Tunedzy runs a studio sound model (DeepFilterNet 3) on your own PC or phone. In Tunedzy, the noise removal sits inside Perfect it. Use a moderate setting first.
Method 3: a gate between sentences
A noise gate silences the recording when the voice stops. It removes noise between words but not under them. Set the threshold just above the room noise, with a short attack and a longer release, so the ends of words are not clipped.
Where it stops
Noise that sits under the voice (a TV in the next room, a fan right beside you) can be reduced, but not removed without changing the voice. If the cleaned version sounds worse than the noisy one, the cleaning was too strong: use less, or record again away from the noise.
Reduce it without ruining the voice
Tunedzy’s noise removal is part of Perfect it, which also repairs clipping and hum first. Use Before and After to choose the amount you like.
Free tools for this
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free noise remover?
For a steady hiss, Audacity with a noise profile is free and works well. For mixed or moving noise, an AI cleaner is more accurate. Test both on your own file.
Does noise removal make voices sound robotic?
Too much does. Keep the reduction moderate and compare with the original. A little residual room sound is more natural than a voice with no room at all.
Can I remove a TV in the background?
Only partly. Speech on a TV is hard for any tool to separate from your voice. Turning the TV off or moving to another room is the reliable fix.
Keep going
How to Clean Up a Phone Voice Recording
AI Vocal Cleanup: What It Can and Can't Fix
How to Remove Echo and Room Reverb From a Vocal RecordingAll guides and comparisons · Tunedzy Go on your phone · Pricing