Recording microphone sound from your Mac is easy. But recording internal audio on Mac devices, such as the sound from a video playing in your browser, can be a headache as Mac devices do not have a built-in system sound recorder. Fortunately, this post provides 5 ways to guide you on how to record internal audio on Mac.

Let's dive in.

1. How to record internal audio on Mac using Awesome Screenshot & Recorder

Awesome Screenshot & Recorder is our first recommendation for you to record internal audio on Mac. It allows you to record Mac screen with audio, including internal audio and microphone sound. Besides, it can also enable you to capture your webcam and edit your recording with ease. Better still, you can download the recordings locally or save them to the cloud to free up your storage space.

You can simply download this app from your Mac App Store. Once the installation is done, you will receive an application to your device and a Safari extension on your Mac. Surprisingly, the Safari extension also has the added capability of capturing scrolling screenshots on Safari web pages to capture an entire site.

Best for: users who want to record any Mac screen with internal audio

Pros:

-Allows Mac users to record HD video with internal audio and microphone sound

-Provides cloud storage

-Enables users to take screenshots

-No watermark, no recording time limit

Cons:

-Cannot record audio only

Now, let's check below to learn how to record internal audio on Mac using Awesome Screenshot & Recorder app.

Step 1. Download and install Awesome Screenshot & Recorder app from Mac App Store.

Step 2. Launch Awesome Screenshot & Recorder app and sign in or create an account. This will allow you to enjoy unlimited recording time for cloud recordings. You can choose not to sign in, but you will only be able to use the local recording function. Click "Record" and choose what to record from the 4 options it lists. Make sure the "Turn on system audio" option is enabled. You can also choose whether or not to record the microphone and webcam.

record internal audio on mac awesome recorder full screen

Step 3. Once you're done with the settings, you just click the blue "Start Recording" button to start recording. Then you will see the recording status showing a "Pause" button, the recording time and a "Stop" button in your Menu bar. You can pause or stop the recording according to your needs.

record internal audio on mac awesome recorder stop recording

Step 4. After you click the "Stop" button, your recorded video with internal audio will be saved to cloud storage and you will see the following page. On that page, you can preview the recording, download it locally, edit it further or share it with ease.

record internal audio on mac awesome recorder saving options

If you signed in to Awesome Screenshot & Recorder, all your recorded videos will be saved into "My Items" on the cloud to save your local storage space. You can feel free to check, download or manage the recordings whenever you want.

2. How to record system audio on Mac with QuickTime Player + BlackHole

QuickTime Player is Mac's built-in media player which offers a screen recording feature. Although it can record microphone sound, it doesn't record internal audio on your Mac. If you still want to capture internal audio with QuickTime Player, you'll need to download an additional sound tool, such as BlackHole.

BlacHole is a free and open-source audio driver which can pass audio from one application to another. You can set it as the sound output so that you can record internal audio on Mac. Check the steps below to learn how to record system audio on Mac with QuickTime Player + BlackHole.

Best for: users who want to record Mac internal audio for free

Pros:

-Completely free

Cons:

-Setup is complicated for beginners

-Users need to switch the sound output back and forth

Step 1. Download and install BlackHole. You will need to enter your email before getting the download link. There are 3 options to download. Just choose "BlackHole 2ch" which is enough for recording your internal audio on Mac.

record internal audio on mac blackhole download

Step 2. Now, set up your BlackHole by combining it and your microphone output to create a "Multi-Output Device". This will allow you to record both internal audio and microphone sound. To do that, open the Audio Midi Setup app, click the "+" icon at the bottom of the window, select "Create Multi-Output Device". In the following window, just check both "Built-in Output" and "BlackHole 2ch". Once done, right-click on "Multi-Output Device" and select "Use This Device For Sound Output".

record internal audio on mac set blackhole as multi output device

Step 3. Open your QuickTime Player, click "File" > "New Audio Recording".

record internal audio on mac quicktime new audio recording

Step 4. In the audio recording control window, click the drop-down arrow near the record button, then select "BlackHole 2ch". Once done, hit the Record button to start recording.

record internal audio on mac set blackhole as microphone

Step 5. Hit the Record button again to stop recording whenever you want. After that, you can preview the recorded audio and save it.

record internal audio on mac quicktime audio recording status

Step 6. You may wish to revert audio settings back to normal when you are done. Just go to Audio Midi Setup app again, right click on "Built-in Output" and select "Use This Device For Sound Output".

record internal audio on mac revert audio settings

Bonus Tip: How to record screen with system audio on Mac with QuickTime Player + BlackHole

Step 1. Download and install BlackHole. You will need to enter your email before getting the download link. There are 3 options to download. Just choose "BlackHole 2ch" which is enough for recording your internal audio on Mac.

record internal audio on mac blackhole download

Step 2. Now, set up your BlackHole by combining it and your microphone output to create a "Multi-Output Device". This will allow you to record both internal audio and microphone sound. To do that, open the Audio Midi Setup app, click the "+" icon at the bottom of the window, select "Create Multi-Output Device". In the following window, just check both "Built-in Output" and "BlackHole 2ch". Once done, right-click on "Multi-Output Device" and select "Use This Device For Sound Output".

record internal audio on mac set blackhole as multi output device

Step 3. Open your QuickTime Player, click "File" > "New Screen Recording''.

record internal audio on mac quicktime new screen recording

Step 4. In the recording toolbar, click "Options" and select "BlackHole 2ch" in the Microphone option. Then, you can click either "Record Entire Screen" or "Record Selected Portion". If you choose the later one, you can adjust the recording area. Once done, press Enter key to start recording screen with internal audio.

record internal audio on mac screen recording options

Step 5. To end the recording, you can hit the Stop icon in the menu bar or simply press Command + Control + Esc.

record internal audio on mac stop screen recording

Step 6. You may wish to revert audio settings back to normal. Just go to Audio Midi Setup app again, right click on "Built-in Output" and select "Use This Device For Sound Output".

3. How to record system audio on Mac with QuickTime Player + Soundflower

Soundflower is an alternative to BlackHole. It can also route audio from one application to another. Thus, if you prefer not to use BlackHole, you can use it with QuickTime Player to record internal audio on your Mac.

Best for: users who want a completely free solution

Pros:

-Completely free

Cons:

-Not simple to set up the audio output

-Doesn't work for all Mac devices, such as the M1 chip

-Installation is complicated

Step 1. Download and install Soundflower. Check this if you failed to install it for the first time.

Step 2. Once the installation is successful, you should change the audio output device. To do so, please click "System Preferences" > "Sound" > "Output" and select "Soundflower 2ch". (Soundflower 2ch is enough for you to record internal audio. Soundflower 64ch is for more advanced usage.)

record internal audio on mac soundflower settings

Step 3. After you choose Soundflower as your Mac’s audio output, you cannot hear it through the built-in speaker or any external headphones. So, to allow you to hear the sound while capturing the internal audio, you can open the Audio Midi Setup app, click the "+" icon at the bottom of the window, select "Create Multi-Output Device". In the following window, just check both "Built-in Output" and "Soundflower (2ch)". Once done, right-click on "Multi-Output Device" and select "Use This Device For Sound Output".

record internal audio on mac set soundflower as multi output device

Step 4. Open your QuickTime Player, click "File" > "New Audio Recording".

record internal audio on mac quicktime new audio recording

Step 5. In the following audio recording control window, click the drop-down arrow near the record button, then select "Soundflower (2ch)". Once done, hit the Record button to start recording.

record internal audio on mac set soundflower as microphone

Step 6. Hit the Record button again to stop recording whenever you want. After that, you can preview the recorded audio and save it.

Step 7. To set your audio settings back to normal, you just go to Audio Midi Setup app again, right click on "Built-in Output" and select "Use This Device For Sound Output".

4. How to record internal audio on Mac with Audacity + Soundflower

Using the combination of QuickTime Player and an audio router tool will allow you to simply record internal audio on Mac. But you cannot cancel the noise, edit audio or use other advanced features.

If you want to record your internal audio with more editing options, you can try Audacity, a professional internal audio editing tool. It can record high-quality live audio through a microphone or mixer, or digitize recordings from other media.

Once the recording is done, you can even edit the recorded audio as you want. Moreover, when you are satisfied with the sound editing, you can export it into many file formats.

record internal audio on mac audacity

Best for: professional users who need to record and edit perfect audio file

Pros:

-Offers a variety of editing tools to edit audio

-Free and open-source

Cons:

-Complicated interface

-Need to use with Soundflower or other audio router tool to record internal audio on Mac

Here is how to record internal audio on Mac with Audacity and Soundflower.

Step 1. Download and install Audacity and Soundflower on your Mac.

Step 2. Go to "System Preferences" > "Sound" > "Output" to set "Soundflower (2ch)" as the audio output. Then you can play the audio that you want to capture. Note that you cannot hear sound.

record internal audio on mac soundflower settings

Step 3. Then open Audacity, click Preferences > Devices and choose the Soundflower (2ch) as the recording device.

record internal audio on mac set soundflower as recording device

Step 4. Open Audacity, click File to create a new project. Then hit the red "Record" button on the toolbar. You can click the "Pause" button to pause the recording or hit the "Stop" button to end the recording whenever you want.

Step 5. Once done, you can edit the recorded audio using Audacity's built-in editing tool. Or you can save your audio to an MP3 file or other formats.

Step 6. Remember to revert the audio output setting of your Mac. To do that, please go to "System Preferences" > "Sound" > "Output" and select your original sound output device back.

5. How to record system audio on Mac via Easy Audio Recorder Lite + Soundflower

As its name implies, Easy Audio Recorder Lite is an easy-to-use and lightweight audio recording tool. However, to record the system audio on your Mac, you still need to use it with Soundflower or BlackHole. It is no exception.

record internal audio on mac easy audio recorder lite

Best for: uses who want to easily record audio only on Mac

Pros:

-Free and Easy-to-use

-Save audio file to M4A, FLAC, AIFF, CAF and WAV

Cons:

-Needs to be used with external software like Soundflower or BlackHole

Follow the steps below to learn how to record system audio on Mac using Easy Audio Recorder Lite and Soundflower.

Step 1. Download and install Easy Audio Recorder Lite and Soundflower.

Step 2. After successful installation of both software, please set Easy Audio Recorder Lite as the sound output device in System Preferences.

Step 3. Open Easy Audio Recorder Lite, go to "Settings" and set "Soundflower (2ch)" as the recording input device.

record internal audio on mac easy audio recorder lite settings

Step 4. Once you have completed updating the settings, click the red "Record" button to start recording the internal audio on your Mac. You can click the "Stop" button to stop the recorder as you want.

record internal audio on mac stop recording of easy audio recorder lite

Step 5. Never forget to go back to "System Preferences" and set your default output sound device back. Otherwise, you won't hear the sound of your Mac.

Conclusion

Now you will be able to record internal audio on your Mac devices. This post offers you 5 methods to do so. If you need a real easy way to record your Mac screen with audio, we recommend that you just try Awesome Screenshot & Recorder. This option has the easiest process since the other ways require you to use at least 2 applications . If you want an easy and completely free solution, you might want to try using QuickTime with BlackHole.

5 Ways to Record Internal Audio on Mac

Miley

Miley