Want to make a ringtone out of your favorite song? Cut your song online. Want to edit in some effects? You can edit music online. Want to mix songs for a custom mashup or lay a different beat on it? You can do that all online and for free.

We’re going to look at some sites to help us do that.

We’ll break the sites into two categories:

Light-weight sound editing – allows us to do basic edits like cuts, light mixing, fade in, fade out.

– allows us to do basic edits like cuts, light mixing, fade in, fade out. Fuller-featured sound editing – are capable of complex edits like multi-track, adding effects or instruments, accepting MIDI input, recording. Everything you’d expect from a sound editing app like Audacity. If you haven’t tried the free full-featured sound editing app Audacity, you need to check it out.

Light-Weight Sound Editors Online

BearAudio is a free online MP3 cutter but offers a couple of editing tools. The interface is easy to use and figure out. It’s a fast loading site and processes files reasonably quickly in our testing.

Across the top of the ad-supported site, there are links to some other bearAudio tools like their voice recorder and audio converter.

Features:

Record.

Sound library – a small library of sound effects.

Stereo capable.

Cut.

Fade in and fade out.

Alter the volume of a section.

Convert WAV to MP3.

It does what it says it does. It trims audio. Use AudioTrimmer for those really quick snips and cuts we might need on the go. If you can click and drag, you can edit with this.

It’s an ad-supported site and the maximum file size that can be uploaded is 100MB. Like BearAudio, there are links across the top of the site to their other single-purpose tools like MP3 converter, tempo changer, volume booster, audio reverser, and a small royalty-free, free-to-download music section.

Features

Very easy to use.

Fade in and fade out.

Output in MP3 or M4R for iPhone.

Select by dragging handles or entering time marks.

Single function audio editing must be popular. MP3Cut is another online tool for simply cutting and trimming audio. It does support just about any audio format you can think of though – MP3 3G2, AIFF, AVI… around 300 formats in all. That includes obscure formats like those used by Bethesda games or even the Commodore 64.

Once again, across the top of the site are links to their other single-use tools like an audio joiner, converter, voice recorder, and even a couple of video tools.

Features

Supports over 300 file formats.

Drag and drop loading.

Choose a file from your local computer, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

Fade in and fade out.

Create iPhone ringtones.

Apowersoft has the same features of the tools we’ve talked about but works just a bit differently when you want to edit music online. There is a launcher that needs to be installed the first time you use it.

It’s good because then the audio editor opens in its own window without the clutter of the browsers’ toolbars and tabs. You could also download the desktop version.

Features

Segment selection to the millisecond.

Append audio.

Mix sound files.

Cut and trim.

Fade in and fade out.

Export to MP3, AAC, OGG, WMA, WAV, or FLAC.

Export in High, Standard, or Low quality to control file size.

Clideo is another solid choice for a free online audio cutter that’s easy to use. Where it differs from the others is that once we’ve uploaded the audio to work with, it opens to a full-window editing studio. Click and drag the tabs to select the audio. If you know the exact time points for start and finish, type those in for preciseness.

Choose one of the 15 most popular audio file formats and download your ringtone or clip. If you need to do anything else, choose one of the other Clideo tools at the top of the site.

Features

Clean and simple user interface.

Save files to one of the 15 most popular audio file formats.

Fade in and fade out.

Precise time entry to the millisecond for start and end of the cut.

Now for something completely different! The WubMachine gives you one-click power to “turn any music into dubstep, drum and bass, and more”. Upload or drag and drop a song. You can even search SoundCloud and bring the song in from there.

Choose one of the five styles, two sounds, two speeds, or even the Jingle Bell tool for some festive joy. WubMachine automatically applies it to the song. Once it’s done, download the MP3 or share it directly to SoundCloud. Or click the Again button to go back and layer in another style, sound, or speed to the song. WubMachine seems like a more fun tool than a serious online music editor.

Features

SoundCloud integration.

5 styles – trap, dubstep, swing, electro house, drum & bass.

2 sounds – kick drum and cowbell.

2 speeds – double time and half time.

Fuller-Featured Sound Editing

Maybe you’re creating your first podcast or working on some music with friends. These fuller-featured sound editors will give you the tools to make something polished. Who knew you could edit music online with your friends?

If you’re putting together a demo tape for your band or going pro podcaster, look at these free professional music production tools.

The free version of Soundation eclipses any of the tools mentioned above. Yet, it’s surprisingly easy to use. The layout is clean and almost self-explanatory. There are extensive help resources and even starter kits to get you up to speed.

If you like it and want to upgrade to the full studio, it’s as low as $1.99/month to $6.99/month for the full premium.

Features

Multi-channel.

Sound library.

Starter kits with pre-built sounds and rhythms.

Templates.

MIDI support.

.sng file support.

Virtual keyboard.

For the collaborating music makers, Soundtrap may be a great choice. With it, you can edit music online, in real-time, with your musician friends around the world.

There are paid versions of it starting at $9.99/month right up to the Soundtrap Complete plan for $17/month. The free version is very well appointed and could be enough for a lot of people’s needs. There’s also a mobile app.

Features

Unlimited projects.

900 loops.

210 instruments and sounds.

Over 150,000 sound effects from freesounds.org.

Multitrack recording and editing.

Virtual synthesizer.

Full video tutorials.

Soundtrap community to learn and interact with other artists like yourself.

Another collaborative music production studio, Audiotool really plays to the Electronica or EDM artist. It has a unique and visually appealing method. Using virtual electronica devices like drum machines, synthesizers, and effects boxes, you connect them together as though you were wiring them together in real life. Let your inner Brian Eno out to play.

Features

Drum machines.

Synthesizers.

Mixing tools.

Mastering tools.

Effects boxes.

Tens of samples.

Tens of presets.

MIDI integration.

In-studio text, audio and video chat for instant collaboration.

Publish to the Audiotool community with different licenses.

Still a tool to edit music online , TwistedWave functions as a Chrome plugin. There’s a Chrome plugin for everything. The TwistedWave interface is clean and easy to learn. The free version is limited to mono, but that may be good enough for a small project or a ringtone. It’s on the lower side of the fuller-functioned tools, but still more powerful than the lightweights.

If you like it, you can upgrade for anywhere from $5/month for the basic package to $20/month for the Pro package with unlimited channels, work with 240 minute long files, and store 40 hours worth of audio.

Features

Built-in effects.

Amplify and Normalize.

Fade in and fade out.

Reverse.

Change pitch and speed.

Convert sampling rate.

Recording.

Send to SoundCloud or Google Drive.

Play That Funky Music!

The world of music is at your fingertips. And it’s free. Use one of these tools to express yourself. If it doesn’t meet all your needs, fine. Import it into another tool to finish it off. Whether you’re a virtuoso or can’t even play music on an iPhone, you can learn to edit music online with any of the tools above.

Know of any other great online music editing tools? Creating your own music with these tools? What do you think of them? Got any tips or shortcuts? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.