Best for
Best for podcasters and editors who want hands-off cleanup of spoken-word recordings.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
AI Sound & Audio Comparison
Cleanvoice vs. SpectraLayers
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for post-production and music editors who need to pull a finished recording apart layer by layer.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Cleanvoice | SpectraLayers |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value From $11 / month Monthly plans by hours: $11 for 10 hours, $30 for 30, $90 for 100. Pay-as-you-go credit packs also available. | From $89.99 one-time A perpetual licence rather than a subscription. SpectraLayers Elements 13 is $89.99 (EUR 89.99) and SpectraLayers Pro 13 $359.99 (EUR 359) in Steinberg's own shop; moving up from an earlier version costs less. |
| Free trial | 30 minutes free, no signup | 60-day trial with all features and no restrictions |
| Commercial use | Yes | Yes |
| Output | Cleaned-up audio and video, transcripts, summaries with chapters | Repaired, unmixed and separated audio |
| Languages | Not stated | Program in English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese; documentation in English |
| Hosting | Not stated | Desktop application for 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 and for macOS Sonoma, Sequoia and Tahoe |
| Made in | Not stated | Germany, Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH in Hamburg |
| What it does | Automated cleanup of podcasts and video, removing filler words, noise, mouth sounds, dead air and stutters | Spectral editing: unmixing a recording into layers and repairing them |
| Noise removal and repair | Yes, background noise, mouth sounds, breaths and stutters removed; filler words in 20+ languages | Yes, DeNoise, DeHum, DeClick, Voice Denoise, Voice DeReverb and DePlosive, plus Unmix Noisy Speech and Unmix Crowd Noise |
| Mastering and loudness | Loudness normalization to a target LUFS (-16 given as the podcast standard) plus Studio Sound level balancing, rather than music mastering | Limited: Normalize and Gain in every edition, plus Ambience Match, Reverb Match and EQ Match in Pro |
| Where it runs | In the browser: upload and process, with multitrack for several guests | Standalone desktop editor, plus an ARA plugin for hosts including Cubase, Nuendo, Pro Tools, Logic Pro and Reaper, or as an external editor |
| Also included | Transcription, summaries with chapter markers, studio-sound enhancement | Unmix modules for song, drums, instrument, chorus, soundtrack, multiple voices, components, levels, mid/side and transcription; lasso, magic wand, frequency, harmonics and transient selection; clone stamp and transfer tools; VST3 effects and batch processing in Pro |
| API | Yes, REST API with Python and JavaScript SDKs and an in-app playground | No developer API is documented; automation is batch processing, and that is in Pro only |
| Deployment | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | On-premise |
| Support | Email helpdesk | Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | Make.com, n8n | more entries Cubase, Nuendo, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Reaper |
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Cleanvoice From $11 / month SpectraLayers From $89.99 one-time
- Free trial Cleanvoice 30 minutes free, no signup SpectraLayers 60-day trial with all features and no restrictions
- Deployment Cleanvoice Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based SpectraLayers On-premise
- Company size Cleanvoice Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise SpectraLayers Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Support Cleanvoice Email helpdesk SpectraLayers Community forum
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Cleanvoice
Strengths
- Removes filler words, noise and dead air automatically
- Filler-word removal across 20+ languages
- Transcripts and chaptered summaries included
Limitations
- No ongoing free tier beyond a 30-minute trial
- Priced by audio hours, which adds up at volume
SpectraLayers
Strengths
- Every unmix and restoration module is in Pro, from song parts to crowd noise
- Runs as an ARA plugin inside a DAW as well as standalone
- Three editions, so the entry level is not the full price
Limitations
- A spectral, layer-based workflow to learn, not a one-tap cleanup
- Go and Elements are held to 2 channels, 96 kHz and 8 undo levels
- Desktop software rather than a service, so it runs over a file
Plans
Pricing
Cleanvoice
- Free trial $0 30 minutes, no signup.
- Monthly (10 hours) $11 Per month, 10 hours of audio.
- Monthly (30 hours) $30 Per month, 30 hours of audio.
- Monthly (100 hours) $90 Per month, 100 hours of audio.
- Pay as you go From $11 Credit packs: $11 for 5 hours, $20 for 10, $45 for 30.
- Custom Not stated For 200+ hours a month, with priority support.
SpectraLayers
- SpectraLayers Go Not stated Vocals-only unmix, one VST3 effect slot, 2 channels, up to 96 kHz and 8 undo levels. Steinberg's shop carries no separate price for it.
- SpectraLayers Elements 13 $89.99 One-time, perpetual licence. Unmix of song vocals plus DeNoise, DeHum and DeClick, 2 channels, up to 96 kHz and 8 undo levels. Updating from Elements 9 to 12 costs $34.99.
- SpectraLayers Pro 13 $359.99 One-time, perpetual licence. Every unmix and restoration module, batch processing, up to 8 channels, 384 kHz and 64 undo levels. Upgrading from Elements 9 to 12 costs $289.99.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Cleanvoice
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
SpectraLayers
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Cleanvoice https://cleanvoice.ai · no check date recorded yet
SpectraLayers https://www.steinberg.net/spectralayers/ · checked against the official source on 2026-09-11
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.