Sound Forge Pro Free Trial — What's Included and How Long It Lasts
Short answer: 15 days, fully unrestricted, no credit card. You get the complete software — every tool, every export format, every iZotope plugin — not a stripped-down demo. When the 15 days end, the software stops working until you buy a license.
That's the whole story. But since you're probably here because you want to know whether 15 days is enough to evaluate something this deep, or what exactly "fully unrestricted" means in practice, let's go through it.
How Long Is the Sound Forge Pro Trial?
Under Boris FX — who acquired Sound Forge from MAGIX in March 2026 — the trial runs for 15 days. This is a change from the previous MAGIX version, which offered 30 days. Worth knowing if you've read older guides that say 30 days: those are outdated.
The trial clock starts the moment you activate it in the Boris FX Hub, not when you download the installer. So if you download it today and sit on it for a week before installing, you haven't lost any trial time. The 15-day countdown begins at activation.
What's Included in the Trial
Boris FX describes the Sound Forge trial explicitly as "unrestricted." That means the trial version and the paid version are the same software running with a timer. No features hidden behind a paywall, no export watermarks on audio files, no file size limits, no disabled iZotope restoration modules. You're evaluating the actual product.
Specifically, the trial gives you full access to:
- Sample-level waveform editing and WaveColor display
- The full iZotope DSP restoration suite — noise reduction, click/pop removal, clipping repair, de-essing
- The mastering chain — EQ, multi-band compression, Wave Hammer peak limiter
- Real-time LUFS, True Peak, and RMS metering simultaneously
- Recording up to 32 channels at up to 64-bit/192 kHz sample rate
- ASIO driver support for low-latency monitoring
- Batch processing across multiple files
- VST2, VST3, and DirectX plugin support
- All export formats — WAV, FLAC, MP3, and others
- ACX export wizard for audiobook delivery specs
The trial applies to whichever tier you install — Sound Forge or Sound Forge Plus. If you want to evaluate the Plus tier's pitch correction and amp emulation plugins, you'd need to request the Plus trial specifically. The base trial covers the core feature set.
How to Download and Install the Trial
The process runs through the Boris FX Hub — their central installer — rather than a direct download. Five steps:
- Go to vfx.borisfx.com/sound-forge-trial, fill out the short form, and download the Boris FX Hub installer.
- Create a Boris FX account if you don't already have one. Free to create, no payment info required at this stage.
- Launch the Boris FX Hub and select "Request an Unrestricted Trial of Sound Forge."
- Install Sound Forge through the Hub.
- Choose "Start Free Trial" when prompted. The software launches in unrestricted trial mode.
The whole process takes under ten minutes on a reasonable internet connection. No credit card enters the picture until you decide to buy.
System Requirements for the Trial
The trial runs on the same build as the paid version, so the system requirements are identical. The short version: Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit. Sound Forge Pro is Windows-only — there's no Mac version since MAGIX discontinued it before the Boris FX acquisition.
RAM and storage requirements are modest by 2026 standards. If your machine runs modern Windows without issues, it runs Sound Forge Pro without issues.
Is 15 Days Enough to Actually Evaluate It?
Depends on what you're evaluating it for.
If you want to know whether Sound Forge Pro handles noise reduction and LUFS-compliant mastering better than whatever you're using now — yes, 15 days is plenty. You can load a problem recording, run it through the iZotope noise reduction suite, run the mastering chain, check the LUFS numbers, and export a finished file in an afternoon. Do that two or three times with real project material and you'll know exactly where it fits in your workflow.
If you're evaluating it for archival restoration work — processing hundreds of old recordings — 15 days lets you test the batch processor properly, try the click removal on actual vinyl rips, and get a realistic sense of how fast the iZotope tools work at scale. That's enough time to make a decision.
Where 15 days gets tight is if you only open the software sporadically, spend the first week on tutorials, and then try to squeeze in real evaluation at the end. The old 30-day window was more forgiving for that pattern. Under the current Boris FX trial, it pays to go in with a specific project and test Sound Forge Pro against it directly — not against hypothetical future work.
What Happens When the Trial Ends
The software stops working. No grace period, no read-only mode, no export-only functionality. Sound Forge Pro closes itself after 15 days and won't reopen without a valid license.
Your saved project files stay on your computer untouched — Sound Forge Pro works with standard audio formats (WAV, FLAC, MP3) rather than a proprietary project file format, so you won't lose access to any audio you recorded or edited during the trial. The files are just files.
At that point you have two options: purchase a license, or move on. Boris FX offers both an annual subscription and a perpetual license. The current pricing is on the Boris FX webshop — I'm not quoting specific numbers here because they update. Former MAGIX customers on Sound Forge Pro 18 can upgrade at a reduced price through December 5, 2026.
How the Sound Forge Trial Compares to Adobe Audition's
Adobe Audition's trial is 7 days and requires a credit card to start. If you forget to cancel before day 8, you're billed for the first month.
Sound Forge Pro's trial is 15 days with no credit card at any point. You can download it, decide it's not for you, and walk away without touching your payment details.
That's a meaningful difference — not because 15 days is dramatically better than 7, but because the no-credit-card requirement removes any anxiety about starting the trial in the first place. There's no "I should wait until I have time to really use it" pressure when there's nothing to cancel.
What the Trial Won't Tell You
Long-term stability is hard to judge in 15 days. Sound Forge Pro has had occasional version-specific bugs throughout its history — not crashes-every-session bad, but the kind of thing that shows up after months of daily use. Check the Boris FX community forums before buying. Users there are specific about what works and what doesn't in the current build.
The CrumplePop AI tools Boris FX plans to integrate into Sound Forge Pro haven't shipped yet. The trial evaluates what exists right now. If AI-powered noise reduction is the main reason you're looking at Sound Forge Pro, you might get more value from waiting a few months to see what Boris FX actually releases before paying for a license.
And one thing that's obvious in 15 minutes rather than 15 days: Sound Forge Pro is a single-file waveform editor. One file, deep tools, export. No multitrack session management. If your workflow needs multitrack arrangement alongside mastering and restoration, the trial will confirm that Sound Forge Pro covers the mastering side but not the session side — and you'll probably know that by day two. That's not a limitation unique to the trial; it's just how the software was built.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Sound Forge Pro trial really free?
Yes. No credit card, no payment information, no subscription that starts automatically. You register a Boris FX account, install through the Hub, activate the trial, and use the software for 15 days at no cost.
How many days is the Sound Forge Pro free trial?
15 days under Boris FX (as of 2026). The previous MAGIX version offered a 30-day trial — older articles saying 30 days are outdated.
Does the Sound Forge Pro trial have any limitations?
No — the trial is described as "unrestricted." All features are available, including the iZotope restoration suite, full mastering chain, batch processor, and all export formats. No watermarks on exported audio.
Can I extend the Sound Forge Pro trial?
Boris FX doesn't offer a standard trial extension. Once 15 days are up, you either purchase a license or the software stops working.
Does the trial work on Mac?
No. Sound Forge Pro is Windows-only. The Mac version was discontinued before the Boris FX acquisition and hasn't been revived.
What happens to my files after the trial ends?
Your audio files are unaffected — Sound Forge Pro works with standard formats like WAV and FLAC, so the files remain on your system and open normally in any other audio application. Only the Sound Forge Pro software itself becomes inaccessible.
Is Sound Forge Plus included in the same trial?
The base trial covers the core Sound Forge feature set. Sound Forge Plus adds pitch correction and amp emulation plugins — to evaluate those specifically, check the Boris FX trial page for Plus-specific trial options.
