Best Krisp Alternative 2026: 7 Noise-Suppression Tools
If you’re hunting for the best Krisp alternative, you’re not alone. Krisp works well enough, but the free tier is capped at 60 minutes of noise suppression per week, the paid plan costs $8–$14/month, and it sits as a separate layer between your microphone and every app you use. Depending on your setup, that overhead might not be worth it — especially when several solid alternatives exist, some of them free. This post covers seven real options, what they actually cost, how they compare on latency and compatibility, and which one fits which type of user.
TL;DR
- NVIDIA Broadcast — best overall if you have an RTX GPU; free, zero latency impact, virtual device output
- Discord built-in — free, zero setup, but locked to Discord calls only
- RNNoise / NoiseTorch — open-source, any hardware, great for privacy-conscious users
- Windows Sonic / OS-level filters — basic, free, no extra install needed
- Krisp itself — still good, but 60 min/week free cap is a real limitation
- VoxBooster — best for streamers and gamers who want noise suppression plus voice changing, soundboard, and STT in one tool
- RTX Voice (legacy) — older path; Broadcast has superseded it for most users
Why Look for a Krisp Alternative in 2026?
Krisp was one of the first consumer AI noise-cancellation tools to get mainstream traction, and its quality is genuinely good. But a few friction points push users to look elsewhere:
- Free tier cap. 60 minutes of noise suppression per week is the current free limit. For anyone gaming or streaming daily, that runs out fast.
- Subscription cost. The Pro plan sits at $8/month billed annually or $14/month monthly. That’s competitive with other SaaS tools, but hard to justify when free noise suppression exists.
- Latency and CPU. Krisp introduces a small but measurable audio delay and runs a background process. On lower-end machines this matters.
- Single-purpose. Krisp only does noise suppression. If you also want voice changing, soundboard, or STT, you’re stacking another app on top.
None of these are dealbreakers for everyone. But they’re real reasons to compare alternatives before committing.
How We Compared These Tools
Every tool on this list was evaluated against the same set of criteria:
- Price — free tier availability, monthly and annual pricing
- Platform — Windows, Mac, Linux support
- Latency — measured in milliseconds or qualitative low/medium where exact specs aren’t published
- Virtual driver requirement — does it need a kernel-level audio driver?
- Output flexibility — can you route it to OBS, Zoom, Teams, Discord simultaneously?
- Best use case — what type of user benefits most
We don’t include theoretical benchmarks here. Latency figures come from published specs or widely reported community testing, not invented numbers.
Comparison Table: 7 Noise-Suppression Tools
| Tool | Price | Platform | GPU Required | Virtual Driver | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krisp | Free (60 min/wk) / $8–14/mo | Win, Mac | No | No | Remote workers, general calls |
| NVIDIA Broadcast | Free | Win | RTX GPU required | Yes (virtual mic) | RTX GPU owners, streamers |
| Discord built-in | Free | Win, Mac, Linux | No | No (Discord only) | Casual Discord users |
| NoiseTorch / RNNoise | Free, open-source | Linux (Win ports exist) | No | Yes (virtual mic) | Privacy-focused, Linux users |
| Windows built-in (Voice Focus) | Free (Windows 11) | Win 11 only | No | No | Basic call cleanup |
| VoxBooster | Paid (free trial) | Win 10/11 | No | Yes (virtual device) | Streamers, gamers, VTubers |
| NVIDIA RTX Voice (legacy) | Free | Win | RTX recommended | Yes | Legacy RTX setups |
1. NVIDIA Broadcast — Best Free Option for RTX Users
NVIDIA Broadcast is the evolution of RTX Voice, combining AI noise removal, room echo cancellation, virtual camera background removal, and virtual mic/speaker routing into one free application. If you have an RTX GPU, it’s the obvious first stop.
The noise suppression quality is among the best available. NVIDIA uses dedicated Tensor cores on RTX cards, which means the processing happens with minimal CPU overhead and near-zero added latency. The virtual microphone it creates can be selected as the input device in any app — OBS, Discord, Zoom, Teams, browser tabs — simultaneously.
The hard limit: NVIDIA Broadcast requires an RTX-series GPU (20xx or newer). Older GTX cards aren’t officially supported, and while community workarounds exist, they degrade quality and aren’t stable.
Pros:
- Free with RTX GPU
- Excellent suppression quality using Tensor cores
- Low CPU overhead
- Virtual device works across all apps at once
- Room echo cancellation included
Cons:
- Hard RTX GPU requirement — excludes a large chunk of users
- Windows-only
- No voice changing, soundboard, or STT
NVIDIA Broadcast official page
2. Discord Built-In Noise Suppression — Zero Setup, One Caveat
Discord includes Krisp’s technology directly in the client. Go to User Settings → Voice & Video → Noise Suppression and toggle it on. That’s it. No extra app, no driver, no account for a separate service.
For casual users who mostly communicate through Discord calls, this is the easiest answer. The suppression quality is solid — it’s powered by the same Krisp model — and it costs nothing.
The caveat is that it only works for Discord audio. You can’t route it to OBS for stream audio, and it won’t clean up your mic in Zoom meetings or game chat. If all your communication runs through Discord, this isn’t a problem. If you’re also streaming or recording, it’s a significant limitation.
Pros:
- Completely free
- Zero additional installation
- Krisp-quality suppression
- Works on all platforms (Win, Mac, Linux, mobile)
Cons:
- Limited to Discord calls only
- Can’t route output to OBS or external apps
- No control over suppression strength
See Discord’s official voice settings documentation for setup details.
3. NoiseTorch and RNNoise — Open-Source Noise Suppression
RNNoise is an open-source recurrent neural network for noise suppression developed by Jean-Marc Valin (who also worked on Opus and Speex). It’s lightweight, runs on CPU, and requires no GPU. NoiseTorch built a user-friendly Linux application on top of it that creates a virtual microphone the same way paid tools do.
Windows users don’t have a single definitive NoiseTorch equivalent, but several community ports and wrappers exist. EasyEffects (Linux), and projects like noise-suppression-for-voice bring the same RNNoise backend to other platforms.
Quality is good for a CPU-based solution — not as deep as RTX Broadcast on Tensor cores, but clearly better than nothing and perfectly usable for gaming or streaming in moderately noisy environments.
Pros:
- Free and open-source
- Runs on any hardware (no GPU required)
- No subscription, no usage caps
- Privacy-conscious: fully local processing
Cons:
- Windows support is fragmented — no single polished app
- Less aggressive suppression than GPU-accelerated options
- Requires some technical comfort to configure
4. Windows 11 Voice Focus — Built Right Into the OS
Windows 11 introduced Voice Focus, a built-in speech enhancement feature that applies noise reduction at the OS level through the Windows audio processing pipeline. You can enable it per-app in Windows sound settings.
It’s basic compared to dedicated tools. Voice Focus handles steady-state background noise (fans, air conditioning) reasonably well, but it’s not tuned for dynamic noise like keyboard typing or crowd sounds. For a free, zero-install solution for occasional calls it’s fine. For daily streaming or gaming it won’t satisfy.
Pros:
- Completely free, no install required
- Works at OS level — applies to any app
- Windows 11 only, zero overhead
Cons:
- Less effective suppression than dedicated tools
- Windows 11 only (not available on Windows 10)
- Limited configuration options
5. VoxBooster — Best Krisp Alternative for Gamers and Streamers
VoxBooster is Windows desktop software built specifically for the streamer and gaming audience, and noise suppression is one of several integrated features rather than the entire product. The approach matters: instead of running Krisp plus a voice changer plus a soundboard as three separate apps eating CPU and introducing multiple virtual driver layers, VoxBooster handles everything through one local pipeline.
The noise suppression runs entirely on your machine with no cloud processing and no internet dependency. Latency is low enough for real-time voice changing — if it introduced noticeable delay, the pitch-shifted output would be unusable. No kernel driver is required, which means no driver signing issues on Windows 11 and no system-level instability.
The integrated stack is what differentiates it:
- AI noise suppression on the microphone input
- Real-time voice changing and voice modulation on the same signal
- AI voice cloning (AI-based, with custom model training support)
- Soundboard with OBS integration and hotkeys
- Speech-to-text powered by OpenAI Whisper (local)
For a VTuber or streamer, that’s replacing three or four separate tools. If you want to understand how to remove background noise from a microphone in a streaming context, the integrated approach also means fewer routing headaches.
Pros:
- Integrated noise suppression + voice changer + soundboard + STT
- No GPU required, local processing
- No kernel driver required
- Single virtual device output works in any app
- Low latency tuned for real-time voice changing
Cons:
- Paid software (free trial available)
- Windows 10/11 only — no Mac or Linux
- More than you need if you only want noise suppression with no voice features
Check VoxBooster’s pricing page if you want to compare plans. There’s a free trial available from the download page so you can test the suppression quality on your hardware before committing.
For Discord-specific setup, see the guide on voice changer Discord setup.
6. NVIDIA RTX Voice — The Legacy Option
RTX Voice was NVIDIA’s original standalone noise suppression app, released before Broadcast. It’s still available but NVIDIA now points users to Broadcast instead. If you’re on a very old RTX setup running an older OS, you might end up here — otherwise, Broadcast supersedes it in every way.
Functionally it works the same way: creates a virtual microphone, routes suppressed audio to it, any app can use that device. The difference is Broadcast has more features and a better interface.
Pros:
- Free with RTX GPU
- Same core suppression quality as Broadcast
Cons:
- Superseded by NVIDIA Broadcast — no reason to choose it for a new install
- Same RTX GPU requirement
- Less actively developed
7. Krisp Itself — Still Worth Considering
Fair is fair: Krisp remains a strong option for users who primarily need noise suppression for remote work calls. The free tier (60 min/week noise suppression) works for light use. The Pro plan has gotten more competitive as background voice cancellation, echo removal, and meeting transcription have been added.
Where Krisp falls short for the gaming and streaming audience is the weekly cap on the free tier and the fact that it’s still a separate layer. For a remote worker who wants clean audio on Zoom meetings a few hours a day, the $8/month Pro plan is reasonable. For a streamer who’s broadcasting four hours daily, that’s a different value calculation.
What to Look For in a Krisp Alternative Free or Paid
Before picking a tool, answer these questions for your specific setup:
Do you have an RTX GPU? If yes, NVIDIA Broadcast is the obvious starting point. It’s free, excellent quality, and covers multiple use cases.
Is Discord your only audio app? If so, the built-in suppression is genuinely sufficient. No need to add anything.
Are you on Linux or privacy-focused? RNNoise / NoiseTorch is the right call — open-source, local, no subscription.
Are you a streamer or VTuber who also wants voice changing? This is where VoxBooster becomes the more sensible choice over stacking separate tools. See the how to use voice changer on Discord guide for context on how these tools integrate.
Do you need Mac or mobile support? VoxBooster and NVIDIA Broadcast are Windows-only. Krisp, Discord’s built-in, and some RNNoise wrappers support other platforms.
Budget: If free is a hard requirement, NVIDIA Broadcast (with RTX), Discord built-in, Windows Voice Focus, or RNNoise will all work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free Krisp alternative?
Yes. Discord’s built-in noise suppression is free and powered by the same underlying tech as Krisp. RNNoise-based tools like NoiseTorch are also free and open-source. NVIDIA RTX Voice is free for RTX GPU owners. The trade-off is typically fewer features or hardware requirements.
What is the best noise cancelling app for streamers?
NVIDIA Broadcast is hard to beat if you own an RTX GPU — deep learning suppression, virtual camera, and background removal in one package. For streamers without RTX hardware, VoxBooster’s integrated suppression paired with voice changing keeps everything in one tool without extra drivers.
Does Discord have built-in noise suppression?
Yes. Discord includes Krisp-powered noise suppression in its voice settings under Noise Suppression. It’s free for all users but limited to Discord calls. You can’t route it to OBS, Zoom, or other apps outside the Discord client.
Does NVIDIA RTX Voice work without an RTX GPU?
Officially, no — NVIDIA Broadcast and RTX Voice require an RTX-series GPU. There are community workarounds using registry edits to run it on older GTX cards, but NVIDIA doesn’t support that configuration and audio quality degrades noticeably without Tensor cores.
What noise suppression software works on any PC without a gaming GPU?
RNNoise-based options like NoiseTorch (Linux) or its Windows equivalents work on any hardware. VoxBooster runs on Windows 10/11 with no GPU requirement, using local CPU processing. Krisp also runs on any hardware since it uses its own lightweight model.
Is AI noise removal worth it compared to a better microphone?
Both help but address different problems. A better microphone reduces pickup issues at the source. AI noise removal handles environmental sounds the mic already captures — keyboard clatter, fans, room echo. For streamers in noisy spaces, AI suppression adds genuine value even with a decent mic.
Can I use noise suppression in OBS and Discord at the same time?
Yes. NVIDIA Broadcast outputs a virtual microphone that any app can use, including OBS and Discord simultaneously. VoxBooster also routes audio through a virtual device so both apps pick up the cleaned signal. Discord’s built-in suppression only works inside Discord calls.
Conclusion
There’s no single best Krisp alternative for every person. The right tool depends on your hardware, your workflow, and how much you’re willing to pay.
- RTX GPU + just noise suppression: NVIDIA Broadcast, free, done.
- Discord-only use: the built-in suppression is fine.
- Linux or open-source preference: RNNoise / NoiseTorch.
- Streamer or gamer who wants noise suppression as part of a larger voice toolkit: VoxBooster integrates suppression, voice changing, soundboard, and STT in one local app with no GPU requirement and no kernel driver hassle. You can download VoxBooster and test it free before deciding.
Krisp is a solid product — this post isn’t about talking it down. But “best” is always relative to what you need, and in 2026 the competition has genuinely caught up in ways that weren’t true a few years ago.