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VB-Audio VoiceMeeter is the default answer Windows users hear when they need to route system audio — record desktop audio into a DAW, capture browser audio for OBS, stream Spotify to Discord. It's free, powerful, and famously hard to learn. AudioRoute tries to be the boring single-purpose tool VoiceMeeter isn't. This guide is the honest comparison — where each one wins, when to pick which, and how to migrate in five minutes if you're switching.
VoiceMeeter, by VB-Audio (the same company behind VB-CABLE), is a Windows-only virtual audio mixer. It creates a software audio mixing console — with input strips, output buses, faders, EQ, gates, compressors — and a set of virtual audio cables that let you route audio between any apps on your machine.
Three editions, all free (donationware):
For the common "record system audio" or "route audio between apps" use case, you use VoiceMeeter as a virtual sound card: Windows sends audio to VoiceMeeter, VoiceMeeter routes it to one or more destinations (a DAW input, OBS, your physical speakers, etc.).
Both tools solve the same fundamental problem on Windows: get audio from one place on your system to another, without rebuilding your audio configuration in Audio MIDI Setup (which doesn't even exist on Windows) or relying on Stereo Mix (which is broken on most modern installs — see our Stereo Mix guide for why).
Specifically, both can do:
If you're trying to do any of those things, both VoiceMeeter and AudioRoute will work. The question is which one fits your situation better.
Always free, donationware. If you're allergic to paying for software or you're a hobbyist with no budget, VoiceMeeter is the right answer regardless of anything else this guide says.
VoiceMeeter has per-channel EQ, compression, gating, gain, intercom, and matrix routing. If you want to apply a high-pass filter to your mic feed AND a compressor to your system audio AND route both to a single OBS input AND have a separate monitoring mix on your headphones — VoiceMeeter does that. AudioRoute doesn't try to.
VoiceMeeter ships with VBAN, a protocol that streams audio between machines on the same network. Useful for sending audio from a streaming PC to a gaming PC, or between studio rooms. AudioRoute has no equivalent.
Twitch streamers running multi-PC setups with separate game audio, chat audio, and music sources all routed through a mixer that feeds OBS — that's VoiceMeeter's natural habitat. The complexity of the mixer maps to the complexity of the production. AudioRoute is the wrong tool for that kind of setup; VoiceMeeter is genuinely the right one.
AudioRoute does one thing — capture system audio so you can route it into a DAW, OBS, or a file — and doesn't try to be a full mixer. The tray window has a record button, a meter, and an Advanced panel for the small set of users who need to change the format or output folder. Most users don't even open Advanced.
VoiceMeeter Banana's main window has over 50 controls visible at the same time. They're necessary for the full-mixer use case, but the cognitive load is real. "How do I record YouTube to my DAW?" needs to be a 30-second answer, not a 20-minute YouTube tutorial. With AudioRoute that's the case — install, open the tray, click Record. With VoiceMeeter, the path from "installed" to "first successful recording" is meaningfully longer.
VoiceMeeter is Windows-only. AudioRoute works on macOS 14.4+ and Windows 10/11 with the same workflow and the same VST3/AU plugin format. If you have a Mac in your setup (or your collaborators do, or you might switch), AudioRoute is portable; VoiceMeeter isn't.
AudioRoute ships a VST3 plugin (and AU on Mac) that loads inside any DAW — Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Reaper, Studio One, Cubase, Pro Tools (via wrapper). You insert the plugin on a track and get captured audio as a live signal in your session. No virtual cables, no driver routing, no Audio Preferences gymnastics.
With VoiceMeeter, the DAW workflow is: configure VoiceMeeter to route system audio to a virtual cable → set the DAW's audio input device to that virtual cable → create an audio track that reads from the cable → record. Several configuration layers, and the DAW is locked to that audio device while VoiceMeeter is in the path.
VoiceMeeter installs as a Windows audio driver. Many users report driver conflicts with audio interfaces, weird sample rate behavior, or "VoiceMeeter randomly stopped showing up in Sound settings" after Windows updates. AudioRoute uses the modern WASAPI process loopback API (introduced in Win 10 1903) — no kernel driver to install or maintain.
AudioRoute ships signed installers via WinSparkle auto-update. New version released, you get a prompt in the tray, click Install. VoiceMeeter is updated manually from the VB-Audio website; older versions can be hard to find and tutorials may reference outdated UIs.
VoiceMeeter is free (donationware). AudioRoute is €29 as a one-time purchase, with a 14-day free trial and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
We're not going to pretend that "free vs €29" doesn't matter. It matters. The question is what you're buying with the €29 over zero:
For an audio professional whose hourly rate is > €29, the time saved on day one usually pays the cost. For a hobbyist with time but no budget, VoiceMeeter remains a legitimate choice.
| Capability | VoiceMeeter | AudioRoute |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (donationware) | €29 one-time, 14-day trial |
| Platforms | Windows only | macOS 14.4+ & Windows 10/11 |
| Capture system audio | Yes (via virtual cable) | Yes (via process loopback) |
| DAW plugin (VST3 / AU) | No | Yes |
| Virtual audio input device | Yes | Yes (Mac shipping, Windows pending) |
| Built-in mixer (EQ, comp, gates) | Yes | No |
| Multi-channel routing | Yes (3-5 buses) | Stereo |
| Network audio (VBAN) | Yes | No |
| Installs a kernel driver | Yes | No |
| Auto-updates | Manual download | Automatic (WinSparkle) |
| UI complexity (visible controls) | ~50+ (Banana edition) | ~10 |
| Time to first successful recording | ~20 min including a tutorial | ~30 seconds |
If you're already on VoiceMeeter and considering switching, here's the 5-minute migration. Try this during the 14-day free trial — no card required.
Download the Windows installer from audio-route.com. Run it, accept the SmartScreen prompt if Windows shows one (the installer is EV-signed by Arvital Soft d.o.o.), and the tray app appears in the system tray after install.
Keep both installed for the trial. They don't conflict — VoiceMeeter is a driver, AudioRoute is a userspace app using WASAPI loopback. You can switch between them per-recording while you decide.
Open your DAW. Scan plugins (most DAWs do this automatically on next launch). AudioRoute Capture should appear in the VST3 plugin list under AudioRoute. Insert it on a track per the platform-specific guide:
Reset your DAW's audio device back to your interface (or built-in audio) — AudioRoute doesn't need to be in the audio device path the way VoiceMeeter did.
Note: the AudioRoute Capture virtual device on Windows is pending Microsoft attestation as of June 2026 — if your install doesn't yet show it as a recording input, the WASAPI loopback plugin path is the alternative until attestation lands.
Once the virtual device is available: in OBS, add an Audio Input Capture source → pick AudioRoute Capture from the device list. Done. You can remove VoiceMeeter from OBS's audio sources.
Click the AudioRoute icon in the system tray → Record to File. Play whatever you want to capture. Click Stop. The file lands in %USERPROFILE%\Music\AudioRoute\ as a WAV. See the Windows recording walkthrough for the visual version.
14 days of side-by-side use should tell you which one matches your workflow. If AudioRoute wins, €29 buys the license. If VoiceMeeter wins for your use case, keep using it — we built AudioRoute for the audience VoiceMeeter under-serves, not to replace it for everyone.
If you bought AudioRoute and then want to keep VoiceMeeter installed too — that's fine. They coexist cleanly. We've seen production setups where AudioRoute handles the system-audio capture into the DAW while VoiceMeeter handles the streaming-output mixer. Different jobs, different tools.
Free trial. No card required. They coexist cleanly — install AudioRoute and use both in parallel for two weeks before deciding.
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