The Best USB Microphone
We analyzed 13,684 reviews from 34 websites to find the best usb microphone. Sources included:
+29 More
Top USB Microphones
Why Consider This:
The reasonably priced Blue Yeti Nano USB microphone delivers high-quality, crisp audio with two selectable polar patterns and a DSP-free signal chain. Blue may have shrank its Yeti with the Yeti Nano, but it's still filled with reasons to love it.
People Like:
- Excellent audio quality.
- Two capsules provide cardioid or omnidirectional polar patterns.
- Headphone jack with low-latency monitoring.
People Dislike:
- Requires desktop Sherpa app (or OS adjustments) to modify gain levels.
- Lacks some features
- Pricing similar to Blue Yeti
94
Owner Score
2,674 Reviews from 13 Sites
82
Media & Critic Score
2 Media Reviews
Why Consider This:
A little orb that delivers great sound, the MV5 can be tucked away easily or transported in a bag. The mic (when unscrewed from its stand) is about the size and shape of a stress ball or pool table eight ball; you’ll hardly notice it on your desk more than you would a big paperweight. It can also plug directly into an iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
People Like:
- Quality audio signal with flexible DSP modes.
- Can be used with USB ports on computers or Lightning ports on iOS devices.
- Good sound out of the box
People Dislike:
- Voice mode is a bit heavy on DSP.
- Lacks some clarity compared to more expensive mics
- Plastic body does not feel very durable
86
Owner Score
175 Reviews from 7 Sites
85
Media & Critic Score
2 Media Reviews
Why Consider This:
The Blue Yeti is a great option for anyone who just wants to plug in and play without spending hours tweaking audio settings. It is a versatile, solidly built mic you can use for years.
People Like:
- Tremendous sound quality
- Multiple recording patterns
- Plug and play – no installation
People Dislike:
- No multi-head setup
- Non-standard size, hard to find a fitting shock mount
- Flimsy controls / buttons
89
Owner Score
9,327 Reviews from 4 Sites
90
Media & Critic Score
2 Media Reviews
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Our reviews of the best usb microphones were based on 13,684 reviews from 34 websites.
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How to Find the Right USB Microphone
If you’re a podcaster, a musician looking to share homemade productions online, or a YouTube vlogger—or you just want to do much better recording than your laptop’s built-in microphone will allow—a USB microphone is the easiest way to improve your audio recordings. You don’t need any extra equipment or even software: Plug a USB microphone directly into the USB port on your computer, and most often it will appear as an additional input you can choose in either your system settings, recording software, or conference call interface. USB mics are much easier than traditional mics that need extra equipment to connect to your computer.
Depending on your goals, a USB microphone alone might not make you sound as perfect as you’d like to. Experts would advise that the room environment has a big impact on sound quality; even the highest-quality mic will capture less than perfect audio if the room isn’t set up ideally for acoustics (how sound is absorbed, blocked, or reverberated in a space). So before you upgrade your mic, be sure to limit background noise (no fans or air conditioning on, for example) and anything that will reflect sound like hard bare walls and floors. If that’s not possible, you can purchase a shield to place around your mic to focus the audio input.
USB Microphones We Eliminated
We research and analyzed 7 usb microphones. Here's what we concluded about the ones that didn't make the cut.
7-$170
Runner Up
Highly rated (88 owner score, 80 expert score), but a slight notch below the best.
Sources & Methodology
Critic.ly uses a combination of machine learning and human editors to help you find the best products.
We start by aggregating and analyzing reviews from real owners and industry critics. We remove spam, sponsored reviews, and other forms of bias to make sure you get the best possible sense of what people actually think about products.
We convert every review to a weight average score from 0 to 100.
For this article, we analyzed 13,684 reviews from 34 sites to find the best usb microphone.