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Draw it, don't decode it
Sources on the left, outputs on the right, tools in between. The lines are the routing, and they pulse with the level while audio plays. There are no strips or bus buttons to keep in your head.
AudioRouter vs Voicemeeter
Coming from Voicemeeter?
Draw your audio instead.
Voicemeeter is a respected virtual mixer with years of features behind it. AudioRouter takes a different approach: a canvas where you draw any route, with voice cleanup, crash-safe plugins and per-app capture built in. It's free and open source. Here is an honest side-by-side comparison.
FreeOpen sourceWindows 11
Where AudioRouter stands out
Six reasons to try it.
You don't need to give anything up to try it: AudioRouter works with your existing devices and virtual cables, and never changes your Windows default devices.
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Clean voice built in
Noise gate, denoise, speech denoise, spectral gate, de-hum, de-click, a 16-point EQ, a compressor and a limiter, in any order you like. Chain as many as you need.
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Plugins that can't crash your stream
Load x64 VST2 and VST3 effects directly, with no separate host program. Each plugin runs in its own process, so a crashing plugin can't take your route down.
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Capture just one app
Route only the game, only the browser or only Spotify, and leave the rest of the desktop out of your stream.
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Script it, or ask an AI
A local HTTP API, a command line and an MCP server let scripts, a Stream Deck or an AI assistant build and control your routes, under permissions you set.
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Free, and open source
There are no paid features, licence reminders, accounts or telemetry. The code is GPL-3.0 and on GitHub for anyone to read, build or improve.
Feature by feature
The full comparison.
Voicemeeter has more features in some areas, and the table shows them. A highlighted cell marks the stronger option for that row.
AudioRouter is strongerVoicemeeter is strongerComparable
| Feature | AudioRouter | Voicemeeter Banana / Potato |
|---|---|---|
| Routing | ||
| How you route | A visual canvas: draw connections between sources, tools and outputs | A fixed mixer: input strips with buttons that send them to buses |
| Inputs and outputs | Add only what you need, up to 64 tools per session, in any layout | Fixed by edition: Banana has 5 inputs and 5 buses, Potato 8 and 8 |
| Capture one application | Yes: capture just the game, the browser or a music app | No: apps play into a virtual input, which you choose in Windows |
| One source to many places | Yes: split any point of a route to as many outputs as you like | Yes: send each strip to any combination of buses |
| See where sound flows | Lines light up and pulse with the live level along the route | Level meters on each strip and bus |
| Several setups | Named sessions you switch between, each saved to its own file | Settings files you save and load |
| Processing | ||
| Voice cleanup | Noise gate, denoise, speech denoise, spectral gate, de-hum and de-click | Gate and compressor (through the Audibility knob); Potato adds a denoiser |
| EQ and dynamics | 16-point parametric EQ, graphic EQ, bass and treble, compressor, limiter, duck | Parametric EQ on every bus, strip EQ, compressor, limiter; Potato adds a multiband compressor |
| Effect order | Any order, with as many tools as you want in a chain | Fixed processing order on each strip |
| Creative effects | Delay, pitch, a voice changer with 14 presets, convolution (FIR) | Chorus and 3D panning; Potato adds reverb, delay and a pitch shifter |
| VST plugins | Load x64 VST2 and VST3 effects on any route and open their editors live | Through a virtual ASIO insert and a separate VST host program, on inputs only |
| If an effect fails | Each plugin runs in its own process; a failed effect on your voice goes silent instead of sending unprocessed audio | Plugins run in the external host you choose |
| Devices and connections | ||
| Virtual audio devices | Uses a virtual cable such as VB-Cable today; AudioRouter's own cable is in development | Includes its own virtual inputs and outputs |
| ASIO and DAWs | No; AudioRouter uses Windows shared mode | ASIO output, plus virtual ASIO devices for DAWs |
| Audio over the network | Network Send and Receive between PCs on your home network, with a pairing key | VBAN: many streams in and out, plus MIDI and text, and a range of VBAN apps |
| Recording | Recorder tools at any point of a route, to WAV, FLAC or MP3, with a library | A built-in tape deck that records and plays files |
| Control and automation | ||
| Stream Deck | Official plugin included with the app | Through the separate Macro Buttons app or community plugins |
| MIDI controllers | Not yet | Yes, with MIDI learn |
| Scripting | Local HTTP API with a request builder, a command line, and an MCP server for AI assistants, all permission-controlled | Remote API as a Windows DLL, with community wrappers for other languages |
| Cost, trust and maturity | ||
| Price | Free, with no paid features and no reminders | Donationware: pay what you want, and a licence reminder appears after 30 days |
| Source code | Open source (GPL-3.0) | Closed source |
| Privacy | No cloud, account or telemetry | Needs no internet connection and collects no user data |
| Windows versions | Windows 11, x64 only | Windows XP to 11, 32-bit, 64-bit and ARM64 |
| Maturity | Early preview; the installer is not signed yet | Established for years, with a large community and many tutorials |
The Voicemeeter details come from VB-Audio's Banana and Potato product pages and documentation, checked on 20 October 2026. Voicemeeter and VBAN are products of VB-Audio Software; AudioRouter is not affiliated with VB-Audio. If anything here is wrong or out of date, please open an issue and we'll fix it.
Being honest
When Voicemeeter is the better choice.
Choose Voicemeeter, or keep it, if you:
- record into a DAW through ASIO, or need the lowest possible latency on an audio interface;
- control your mix with a MIDI controller;
- want virtual devices included in one install, without a separate virtual cable;
- already use VBAN apps across several machines;
- run Windows 10 or older, or a 32-bit or ARM PC.
Or use both
They work side by side.
AudioRouter routes to any Windows playback device, and Voicemeeter's virtual inputs are Windows playback devices. You can clean up your microphone in AudioRouter and send it into the Voicemeeter mix you already have, then move over one route at a time when you're ready.
AudioRouter never changes your Windows default devices or volumes, so trying it can't break your current setup.
Try it on your own setup.
Download, draw your first route and press Play. It takes about a minute.