It’s our budget studio special so it’s time to round up the best audio interfaces that won’t break the bank for recording into your Mac, PC and even your phone…

If you want to buy a great budget interface for less than £200, you might be quite surprised at the quality of the models you can get. We’ve got the best audio interfaces under £200 from big audio hitters including SSL, Audient and Focusrite in this buyer’s guide. And pretty much all the interfaces in our roundup offer exceptional sonic quality considering their relatively low prices.

With a budget of £200 you can now also expect to get decent additional features as well as that great sound quality. Indeed most of the interfaces in this buyer’s guide go well beyond the very basic connectivity you get just by spending double digits. Those cheaper interfaces will offer you one or two inputs and outputs to allow you to record voice and instrument into your DAW and play the results out to some decent speakers. Up the budget to £200 as we have here and you can expect extras like decent software bundles, better input quality (for better recordings), and extra inputs to allow you to record more than one instrument or voice simultaneously.

We’ve listed all of the main specifications, like audio recording quality and the number of ins and outs, but we’ve also detailed some of the software bundle highlights as this could be an equally important factor to consider in your buying decision.

You can skip to the bottom if you want to know more about interface options and how we test audio interfaces, but before we get into the detail of each interface individually, let’s break down some of the things to look out for when starting your search….

Buyer ’s Advice

Do you actually need an audio interface?

If you’re a musician who wants to make great quality recordings and listen back to them on decent speakers, then you really need an audio interface. They allow you to record any audio into your computer or smart device. You can capture anything, from strumming guitars and your singing through to a complete band or orchestra. Once recorded, you can then mix that audio into a song in your DAW and hear the results back through pro-grade speakers.

How many inputs and outputs do I need?

When choosing the best audio interface for your studio, the first thing you need to work out is the number and type of inputs and outputs you need. If you only want to plug in one microphone or instrument at a time – if you’re a solo producer who generates most of their sounds inside the computer, this is probably you – just one or two inputs will be plenty. If this is the case then most of the interfaces featured in this Best Audio Interface For Under £200 will suffice. However, if you want to record a live band, you’ll need to think about more inputs. Multiple outputs can also be useful if you want to set up separate headphone mixes (if you’re a DJ, for example) or send audio elsewhere for further processing.

What types of inputs and outputs do I need?

On most audio interfaces you’ll typically find both XLR and 1/4- inch inputs, often combined into combo connectors so that you can plug mics, guitars, synths and the like into the same input. Many interfaces also offer a phantom power option, which is required if you want to use certain mics.

Some audio interfaces also have MIDI I/O on them, which could save you from having to buy a separate interface for external MIDI gear. If you only intend to use a MIDI keyboard, though, remember that this could plug into one of your computer’s other USB ports, so MIDI I/O might not be an essential requirement.

How to connect your audio interface

Most audio interfaces connect to your computer by USB or Thunderbolt or by using a Lightning adaptor with iOS devices. The cable required for connectivity usually ships with the interface but not always with Thunderbolt 3 and Lightning, so do check what you get in the box.