How to Add Audio to Video 6 Quick Ways for All Devices (2024)

Why should you add audio to videos?

Many successful content creators use audio and video together to create an immersive, attention-grabbing end result. Adding audio to your videos is a great way to give your content an extra dimension. Audio can help you clarify what’s happening on screen, give extra information or provide another level of entertainment. 

It’s also essential for increasing audience engagement. In fact, a recent study by TikTok has shown that 88% of users feel audio is essential to their viewing experience. 73% would stop and look at ads with audio, making it an essential feature of brand videos.

Audio can have different uses. For example, add a voice-over to a how-to video so the viewer has verbal and visual instructions. Or you can use audio to tell a story related to your video. In this way, you can use audio to give your viewers a better insight into your content.

6 Ways to Add Audio to Video Easily

Now that you know why audio is useful, we’ll show you how to get started. 

Below, we’ve listed 6 ways to quickly add audio to a video. 

There’s a method for every device, so you’re sure to find a solution. Read on to discover all the information you’ll need.

Riverside

Price: Free; paid plans from $15/mo

Compatibility: PC, Mac

Riverside is an online studio-quality video and audio recording platform. You can capture up to 4K video and 48kHz audio without worrying about your internet connection. With local recording, everything records directly on your device so you don’t need to worry about internet connection ruining your resolution. 

With separate audio and video tracks for every participant, you have more room to control how you’d like to edit your audio with your video. However, you can also add pre-existing audio to your video while recording with our Media Board. And if you just want to add an intro or outro, you can easily do that in our editor.  This saves you the work of adding audio later on in post-production.

Among many other benefits, with Riverside you can:

• Invite up to 7 guests to join your recordings remotely
• Edit your recordings as easily as reading through a text document with our text-based editor
• Add captions to your video with our highly-accurate transcriptions which you can download as SRT or TXT files. 
• Assign a behind-the-scenes producer to control audio levels and other technical controls.

You can learn more, or sign up to start recording studio-quality content. 

How to add audio to video with Riverside

Step 1: Go to Riverside’s website on a Chrome browser and set up your account

Step 2: Create a Studio on Riverside by clicking the ‘+ create new’ button. You can then name your studio and select whether you’ll be recording audio, video or both.

Step 3:  Select ‘Enter studio’ to enter the Lobby. Here, you can select and check your equipment before recording. When all is set click ‘Join studio’.

Step 3: In the studio click on the ‘Media’ button on the right side of the bottom toolbar.

Step 4: Here you’ll find a list of pre-recorded sounds like clapping and cheering. You can use these, or you can add your own audio. 

Step 5: To upload your own audio files, click on the plus button or drag and drop your files into the audio library.

Step 6: Wait for your audio to upload, then click on the play button to preview it. You can also loop your audio using the loop button beside it.

Step 7: Select the ‘Live’ button beside the ‘Preview’ option to start recording your audio. Now whenever you play an audio clip during your session, it gets recorded.

Step 8: Press the red record button and record your video.

Step 9: While recording, simply hit play on any of the audio clips, and Riverside will capture this as part of your recording.  

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iMovie

Price: Free

Compatibility: Mac, iPhone, iPad

iMovie is a useful, feature-packed editing tool for iOS devices. It comes pre-installed on all modern Macs, iPhones and iPads. You can use iMovie to record video and audio and add audio to your videos. Add music, voiceovers, and other audio in formats including M4A, MP4, MP3, WAV and AIFF.

How to add audio to video with iMovie on a Mac

Step 1: Open your video project on iMovie and select Audio at the top of the window

Step 2: Go to the ‘Libraries’ list and click ‘Music’.

Step 3: From here, you can browse songs to add as background music to your video.

Step 4: Drag the song you want to use from the Media browser into the timeline.

Step 5: To add any other audio files to your video, go to the Finder and select your audio file.

Step 6: Drag the audio file into the music well underneath your timeline. This will make the audio play throughout the entirety of your video. 

Step 7: Alternatively, drag and drop your audio file underneath a specific video clip. This will mean the audio only plays during that section of your video.

Clipchamp

Price: Free

Compatibility: Windows

Clipchamp is a simple video editing app for Windows devices. You can use Clipchamp to edit video clips, music, photos, and more. Clipchamp currently doesn’t support recording audio only. However, you can easily add audio to a video with a few quick steps. 

How to add audio to video with Clipchamp

Step 1: Open up Clipchamp and drag and drop the video you want to import

Step 2: Drag and drop audio files from your computer into the media tab on the left-hand side.

Step 3: Drag and drop the file from the media tab into the timeline underneath your video track.

Step 4: Adjust the handles of the green sidebars at either end of your audio recording to trim the audio.

Step 5: Click the scissors icon to split the audio file in two.

InShot

Price: Free; pro version from $3.99/mo

Compatibility: Android, iPhone

InShot is a great app for Android users to add audio to videos. With this app you can quickly edit your video to add background music or record a voiceover. The app is well-designed and easy to use. It only takes a few taps to add your audio, saving you time.

How to add audio to video with InShot

Step 1: Open the InShot app on Android or iPhone.

Step 2: Tap on the Video icon and import your video.

Step 3: Select the music note icon to enter the Music tab

Step 4: Choose between the option to add music, effects or record your own audio.

If you select music:

• You can choose from the Featured tracks, My Music, or an Effects tab to add stock music, your own recordings, or audio effects
• To select a song, click on the download button on the top-right. Then select Use. Your audio music should appear in the timeline. 

If you select to record a voiceover:

• Wait for the timer, then directly record your voiceover over the top of your video.
• Once done, press the stop button, then select the click icon to save your new voiceover in the timeline. 

Splice

Price: Free; paid plans from $4.99

Compatibility: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android

Splice is a video editing app with multiple features for refining your content. The app can be downloaded onto an iPhone and used for adding audio to videos. If you’re wondering how to add audio to video on an iPhone, just check out the steps below. By using Splice and following this method, you can add music or voice overs to your videos with ease.

  How to add audio to video with Splice

Step 1: Open the Splice app and create a new project.

Step 2: Select a video from your camera roll to upload it to the app

Step 3: Give the project a title, and select your aspect ratio. 

Step 4: In the main toolbar, you have three options for audio: 

• Music (to add your own music tracks)
• Sounds (this includes audio effects)
• Voice (for recording a voiceover)

Select one of the three options to add the audio of your choice. If you’re adding voiceover, you can record directly in the app. 

Your new audio should appear in the timeline. 

Step 5: Use the sliding arrows to reposition or trim the audio on your video

Kapwing

Price: Free; paid plans from $16/mo

Compatibility: PC, Mac

Kapwing is a great option for a free way to add audio to videos. This platform can be accessed directly from a web browser without downloading anything. It’s simple to use, and has the tools for adding audio to videos online. Kapwing is both intuitive and quick, so it shouldn’t take long to learn the ropes. 

How to add audio to video with Kapwing

Step 1: Open Kapwing on a web browser and set up your account

Step 2: Drag and drop your video file into the video editor or paste a URL link to upload the video

Step 3: In the left-hand sidebar, click on the Audio tab.

Step 4: Here you can:

• Upload an audio file from your device into Kapwing
• Use Kapwing’s library of royalty-free music and sound effects
• Record your own voiceover
• Convert text to speech

Step 6: Drag and drop audio files into your video timeline

Step 7: Use the volume slider tool to adjust audio volume levels

Step 8: Click Export Project on the top right to save your final result

Best practices for adding audio to video

When it comes to adding audio to a video, there are steps you can take for the best final result. Ensuring the little things are right is the best way to get a high-quality video. Some steps are simple and intuitive, while others involve a little more care and attention. You can discover more about them in this list:

1. ‍Record high-quality live audio. When you first sit down to record your audio, make sure it’s as crisp and clear as possible. You can use a high-quality microphone and a recording platform to achieve this.‍
2. Reduce background noise. You can do this initially by recording audio in a quiet space. Once you’ve got your recording, certain platforms offer a background noise removal feature.‍
3. Use a script. Having a script to read from when you record your audio can stop you from stuttering or getting lost in a tangent. This will make it easier for listeners to engage with what you’re saying.‍
4. Add background music. This step isn’t always essential, but in some cases, adding background music to your video can give it a stronger sense of atmosphere.‍
5. Adjust audio volume. Before you publish your video, ensure the audio accompanying it isn’t too loud or too quiet. Listeners should feel comfortable when they press play.

FAQs on How to Add Audio to Video 

Can you add sound to a recorded video?

You can absolutely add sound to a recorded video. If you’ve got a pre-recorded video without any sound, the first step is to capture some audio. You can sit down and record a voiceover or search for the perfect background music for your video. You can add audio to your video using an app, online platform, or video editing software.

Read more: Recording audio for video: Full Guide & Tips for Top-Quality 

How can I overlay audio on a video for free?

There are free apps and platforms for adding audio to your video. The process slightly differs depending on whether you use a mobile or PC. Whatever device you have, there’s a way to overlay your audio. We’ve listed many of the methods for doing so in this article. Some free software for adding audio to a video includes iMovie, Kapwing and InShot.

How do I add audio to a video on my iPhone?

Modern iPhones come with iMovie pre-installed. This handy app is for all kinds of things, including adding audio to a video. You can use the My Music tab on iMovie to add background music to your video. Or you can record a voice-over with the Add Media button.

How do I combine audio and video?

Combining audio and video can seem confusing. Thankfully, the whole process is straightforward, and anyone can do it. An online platform like Riverside is ideal for audio and video recording.

Alternatively, you can add audio to recorded videos using apps like iMovie and InShot. We’ve broken down every process step in this article to simplify things.