Krisp
9.1DexScoreBoth directions, every app, both desktops. The one to beat.
- Win · Mac
- Free tier
- Real-time
Real-Time noise removal
Real-time tools sit in the audio path while you speak — as a virtual microphone, OS feature or driver — and remove noise during live calls, streams and recordings. To qualify here a tool must filter live within ordinary conferencing or streaming apps, use AI/ML or serious DSP, and be publicly available and actively maintained. Eight of the fifteen listings qualify; the strictest cut is liveness itself — a filter that adds noticeable latency to a conversation fails the category, whatever its demos claim. Scores are DexScores: one 1–10 editorial number per tool, defended on each profile, never influenced by affiliate programs.
NVIDIA Broadcast
8.8DexScoreFree and uncapped — behind one gate: RTX hardware on Windows.
- Windows · RTX
- Free tier
- Real-time
OBS noise filters
8.0DexScoreRNNoise is already in OBS. Two clicks, any source, $0.
- Win · Mac · Linux
- Free tier
- Real-time
macOS Voice Isolation
7.9DexScoreOne toggle in Control Center. Free, local, already installed.
- macOS · iOS
- Free tier
- Real-time
SteelSeries Sonar
7.5DexScoreFree ClearCast NC plus a per-app mixer. Windows, no hardware rule.
- Windows
- Free tier
- Real-time
IRIS Clarity
6.6DexScoreTwo-way isolation built for call centres — and priced like it.
- Win · Mac
- Paid
- Real-time
Utterly
6.2DexScoreA virtual mic that mutes noise outbound. That's the whole product.
- Win · Mac
- Free tier
- Real-time
SoliCall
5.4DexScoreTelephony-era reduction that still ships; PBX is the real use case.
- Windows · PBX
- Free tier
- Real-time
How to choose
- Platform first: Windows-only rules out half this list, Mac-only rules out the rest — only Krisp, IRIS and Utterly straddle both desktops.
- Budget second: three strong $0 options exist (Broadcast, Sonar, OBS) plus a built-in (Voice Isolation) — exhaust those before subscribing.
- Direction third: only Krisp, NVIDIA Broadcast, Sonar and IRIS clean inbound audio — what you hear — as well as what you say.
- Workflow fourth: streaming setups favour OBS and Broadcast; meeting-heavy days favour virtual-mic tools that follow you across apps.
- Try free first: run a free tier or trial on one real call in a real noisy room before any card number leaves your wallet — every free option here survives that test.
Top 3 verdicts
9.1 · Krisp — mixed teams that need both directions cleaned on every platform they own
8.8 · NVIDIA Broadcast — RTX owners, no contest — uncapped and free on hardware they already have
8.0 · OBS noise filters — streamers who live inside OBS and want zero new software
Two residents work both worlds: OBS filters bake live cleanup into every recording they touch, and Krisp cleans the meetings it records as it records them. For repairing audio that already exists, cross to post-production.