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Virtual Audio Cable uses a one-time license rather than a subscription: the home license costs $30, while a business license costs $50. The home price buys a driver-based routing system with configurable virtual cables, audio mixing between applications, and support for high-resolution formats. Whether that cost fits depends on needing these routing controls; the free Lite edition may be enough for basic private home use, but it has a narrower feature set.
What the license includes
Virtual Audio Cable is shareware developed by Eugene Muzychenko. Its full trial includes the full version’s features, but after 30 minutes a female voice reminder announces that the program is being tried. The Lite edition is free for private home use and provides one cable, up to 48 kHz and 16-bit stereo, with one client. The paid home and business licenses are one-time and perpetual, and no account is needed to try the program.
The trial’s reminder is a practical consideration for long sessions, while Lite’s single-cable limit restricts how many separate audio paths can be maintained. For someone who needs more cables or broader format support, the $30 home license provides a way to use the full version without recurring payments. The business license is priced separately at $50.
How audio routing works
Virtual Audio Cable installs a Windows driver that creates virtual audio devices. One application plays audio to a cable’s playback side, and another records it from the cable’s recording side. For example, audio from a DAW can be routed into OBS or a voice-chat application without sending it through a physical cable between devices.
Several applications can play into the same cable, mixing their sounds, and several applications can also record from one cable. When the signal does not undergo format conversion or volume control, the transfer is bit-perfect. This makes format and level settings relevant: changing either can alter the signal path from a direct transfer.
The full version supports up to 256 virtual audio devices, with up to 384 kHz, 32-bit audio and 32 channels per cable. Its controls include channel remapping, stream-format limits, and microphone- or S/PDIF-type lines. These options suit users who need to define how audio channels and formats pass between applications, although configuration is handled through a control panel and Windows audio settings rather than a graphical mixing interface.
Additional routing and setup
Bundled Audio Repeater applications copy audio from one device or cable to another. This offers a way to route sound between sources and destinations beyond the basic application-to-cable connection. The driver works locally, has no tray clutter, and does not use network access.
Virtual Audio Cable supports Windows 10, Windows 11, and older versions back to Windows XP. Installing the driver requires administrator rights. On Windows 10 or 11, if recording devices do not appear, microphone access may need to be allowed in Settings > Privacy > Microphone. Switching from the trial to the full version requires uninstalling the trial and installing the full package.
Who may find it useful
The program is aimed at people who need to pass audio between Windows applications, including streamers, podcasters, ham radio operators, and developers. Its driver-based design and format controls are useful when the routing path needs to be explicit or when multiple applications must share a cable. It is less suited to anyone seeking an unlimited free audio router or a mixer with a graphical interface.
For program details, see Virtual Audio Cable on ExeDepot.