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If you’re in the market for a USB microphone, you probably have a specific use in mind. But what works for live streaming games might strike the wrong chord for music. And the pristine signal you get from a top-flight mic for musicians might provide far more fidelity (and far less convenience) than you need for a podcast. Not all USB mics are the same and thus finding the right one for your needs can be a little tricky.
We’ve tested lots of USB microphones in several price classes to determine which ones work best for different scenarios. Below are the best mics we’ve tested, followed by everything you need to know to choose the right one for your needs.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Apogee HypeMiC
Best for Built-In Analog Compression
Why We Picked It
The pricey Apogee HypeMiC is a few years old now, but it still deserves your attention because of its built-in analog compressor. This helps you get the most out of the microphone signal before it’s converted to digital, especially if peaks are an issue.
Who It’s For
If you want to get the best possible vocals without clipping, the HypeMiC’s onboard analog compressor lets you do just that. However, if you aren’t familiar with signal compression, you might want to stick to a mic that handles everything through DSP.
PROS
- Excellent mic signal with strong clarity and the ability to add in analog compression.
- Good tripod stand and mic stand mount.
- Pop filter and carrying case included.
CONS
- Expensive.
- Smash mode is a bit over the top.
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Blue Snowball Ice
Most Affordable Mic
Why We Picked It
The Blue Snowball Ice’s signature, baseball-like profile is iconic, and for a good reason: After half a decade, it’s still one of the best budget USB microphones. It doesn’t have fancy features, multiple recording patterns, or onboard controls, but it does produce a clear signal.
Who It’s For
As the most affordable option on this list, the Blue Snowball Ice is ideal if you want to start a podcast or live stream channel without too much of an investment.
PROS
- Affordable.
- Delivers crisp audio in a cardioid recording pattern.
- No DSP means pure signal.
- Plug-and-play ready.
CONS
- Only 44.1kHz/16 bit.
- Mic stand doesn’t angle high enough for proper mouth alignment.
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Joby Wavo POD
Best for Podcasting
Why We Picked It
The Joby Wavo POD is a powerful little mic, with cardioid and omnidirectional recording modes, a built-in headphone jack, and an onboard gain control. It also ships with an external pop filter that helps keep plosives to a minimum.
Who It’s For
The Wavo POD is suitable for any aspiring podcaster or streamer. It offers plenty of signal quality and setup options without costing significantly more than the truly budget choices.
PROS
- Crisp, clear sound for recording voices
- Cardioid and omnidirectional modes
- Headphone jack
- Multiple screw mounts
CONS
- Doesn’t capture much bass and can be sibilant without the included pop filter
- Combination volume/gain knob is slightly awkward
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Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set
Best All-In-One Package
Why We Picked It
Most USB mics come with a table stand that’s functional, but not very flexible. The Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set replaces the stand with a sturdy boom arm you can mount on your desk and move around any way you want. The microphone in the package sounds excellent as well and includes several onboard controls. It’s (oddly) missing a pop filter, but those are cheap.
Who It’s For
The Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set is best for streamers and content creators because of its focus on vocals. For the money, you won’t find a better all-in-one solution that includes a boom arm.
PROS
- Quality vocal mic with transparent signal
- Onboard gain, mix, and headphone controls
- Sturdy boom arm
- Long cable
CONS
- Lacks software with effects and presets
- Doesn’t include pop filter
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JLab Talk Pro
Best Mic With Multiple Patterns
Why We Picked It
The JLab Talk Pro offers you a choice of three recording patterns: cardioid, omnidirectional, and figure-eight. It also features a sample rate of up to 192kHz and some fun RGB lights, plus it ships with a sturdy table stand.
Who It’s For
If you want to add a bit of visual flair to your stream or podcast session, the JLab Talk Pro can help you. Its figure-eight pattern is also particularly good for interviews and podcasts with several people.
PROS
- Crisp signal
- Multiple modes, including stereo, omni, and figure-eight patterns
- Onboard gain and volume control
- Sturdy built-in tripod stand
- High sample rate
- Camera-friendly design
CONS
- Switching patterns can create loud, unpleasant noise
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MSI Immerse GV60
Best for Stereo Recordings
Why We Picked It
If you want to make stereo recordings, you need a stereo microphone like the MSI Immerse GV60, which lets you capture separate channels for the left and right sides of the mic. This type of recording pattern isn’t particularly important if you’re simply trying to record your voice, but it’s vital for capturing a sense of space and directionality in scenarios with multiple people and instruments.
Who It’s For
This is the least expensive stereo USB microphone we’ve tested, making it ideal for budding musical artists. It’s not fancy and lacks the precise controls of more expensive options, but it’s still an excellent value.
PROS
- Produces crisp, clear signal
- Multiple recording pattern options, including useful stereo mode
- Onboard gain and headphone volume controls
- Supports low-latency monitoring
CONS
- Digital signal processing isn’t ideal for those who want a pure signal for mix-down
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Rode NT1 5th Generation
Best for USB and XLR Inputs
Why We Picked It
The Rode NT1 5th Generation is cardioid only, but it supports both USB and XLR inputs, has multiple DSP options, produces up to 192kHz/32-bit float audio, and includes a pop filter and shock mount (though not a stand). It’s a potent tool for multiple recording scenarios.
Who It’s For
If you can’t commit to USB or XLR for whatever reason, the Rode NT1 is one of the few mics we’ve tested that won’t make you choose. It’s a bit pricey and doesn’t have physical controls, but it gives you a clean signal in whatever format you need it.
PROS
- Features both XLR and USB inputs
- Solid digital signal processing options for USB mode
- Up to 192kHz, 32-bit float audio quality
- Box includes shock mount, cables, and pop filter
CONS
- Not all processing options are available for every audio quality setting
- Lacks physical gain and volume knobs
- No headphone jack
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Shure MV7
Best for Vocals
Why We Picked It
The Shure MV7 takes heavy inspiration from the company’s SM7B model, which is famous in the music recording industry for its treatment of vocals. It has both an XLR and USB input, captures up to 48kHz/24-bit audio, and comes with quality recording software.
Who It’s For
If you want to record vocals, the MV7 keeps the character of the SM7B and adds the convenience of a USB input. The Rode NT1 5th Generation also offers both connection types for around the same price, but the MV7 has a clear advantage for vocals.
PROS
- Excellent dynamic mic for vocals
- USB (digital) and XLR (analog) connections
- Shure Motiv app provides real-time EQ and basic controls while recording
CONS
- No included mic stand or mount
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512 Audio Tempest
Best for a Pure Signal
Why We Picked It
The 512 Audio Tempest captures an exceptionally clear signal with no DSP, which is a bit rare for a USB model. That quality alone makes it worth your attention, especially if you prefer to mix things by yourself. It glows blue when it’s on and comes with a shock mount, though the included stand feels pretty flimsy.
Who It’s For
If you want to mix with a pure signal or learn how to process audio on your own, this mic is an excellent value. Just keep in mind that you might want to buy a pop filter and a better stand.
PROS
- Crisp signal free of digital signal processing
- Handsome design
- Includes shock mount
- 24-bit/48KHz audio
- Low-latency monitoring
CONS
- Tripod stand is easy to topple over
- Doesn’t ship with a pop filter
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DJI Mic
Best for Dual-Source Recordings
Why We Picked It
Although you might associate DJI with drones and gimbals, it also makes the DJI Mic, an all-in-one wireless recording solution that includes two transmitting mics and a receiver. The mics sound clear and hold up well against wind interference, and the whole setup is very easy to use.
Who It’s For
If you’re a journalist or a content creator who often interviews people in the field (especially in crowds), this is the recording you should get. All you need to do is clip one mic onto your collar and the other onto your subject. Just be aware that you can get only mono audio if you use an iPhone.
PROS
- Crisp mono and stereo recordings
- Dual transmitters have excellent range
- Well-designed charging case
- Effective wind protection
CONS
- Record and Link buttons are easy to accidentally press
- Only records mono audio with iPhone
- No low-latency monitoring mode
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Buying Guide: The Best USB Microphones for 2023
How Do USB Mics Work?
Before we dive into the world of USB mics, you should know how most professional microphones work. In a typical recording studio scenario, a microphone is an analog piece of gear that sends a signal to a console or computer through an XLR cable (often through a mixer that can handle multiple microphones at once). The signal from the mic should be more or less pure; EQ, dynamic compression, and reverb are all later steps in production.
Digital mics that use USB cables are a totally different beast. The microphones process and digitize the audio directly. Any editing you do at the computer is to a signal that has already been digitally processed. Also note that the mic dictates the maximum sampling rate and bitrate. Each USB mic is essentially an analog-to-digital converter (DAC), complete with a built-in gain knob. In the analog studio world, that gain knob is often on a different piece of gear entirely; typically pros refer to it as a Mic Pre. USB mics also often have headphone jacks, which is another abnormality.
Shure MV7
(Credit: Shure)
The biggest difference between competing USB mics is how they use digital signal processing (DSP). Some mics use it subtly. Others avoid DSP completely and offer you the purest, highest-bitrate signal they can. And yet others glob the DSP on in thick coats. The latter can still be OK if the processed sound meets your project requirements, however. Typically, most of the mics with heavy DSP are for gamers.
Outside of the USB mic world, there are several styles of microphone (such as condenser, dynamic, or ribbon) that, combined with the various microphone polar patterns (such as cardioid, hypercardioid, omnidirectional, or figure-eight), produce a wide range of options for the recording engineer. Among USB mics, it’s mostly (but not always) condenser mics with cardioid patterns.
Finally, most USB mics are plug-and-play ready. Apple GarageBand, for instance, typically recognizes a USB mic immediately and asks if you want to use it as an input (if you want to use it as a headphone monitor as well, set it for both input and output). But not all recording software plays nice with USB mics. Perhaps most surprisingly, Avid Pro Tools, which is more or less the industry standard for music recording software, requires a somewhat tedious workaround to support most USB mics. (You can search for “aggregate device USB mic Pro Tools” to get a better handle on that.)
With all that out of the way, let’s break down the discussion into the three most typical uses for a USB mic and discuss the various options, characteristics, and needs for each application.
What are the Best USB Mics for Streaming?
Gamers who want to record or live stream their gameplay might appear to need the same things as musicians who want to record clear vocals. But musicians recording vocals with a pure signal are then likely to mix the vocal recordings in a multi-track scenario, applying EQ, dynamic compression, and perhaps reverb in the process. Gamers, more likely than not, need some of these things baked in from the outset, or at least to have some form of DSP that knows when to limit spikes in levels—say if you shout or laugh during a recording. Thus, most gaming mics won’t be shy about employing DSP to reduce distortion and clipping.
Blue Yeti Snowball
(Credit: Blue Mics)
Some gaming mics up the ante by providing multiple polar patterns to choose from. Although cardioid (single-direction) is the standard, maybe you want to capture more than one voice with an omnidirectional or figure-eight pattern. Some gaming mics also have built-in switches to work with specific consoles.
Finally, most gaming mics offer an onboard headphone jack. Hopefully, it has low or zero latency, so you don’t hear a distracting slapback delay when you speak. For more gaming audio gear, check out our favorite gaming headsets.
What Are the Best USB Mics for Podcasting?
The goal with any mic is almost always clarity. But for podcasts, we need to take the vocalist into account. If you are recording an experienced speaker who has excellent mic technique, you might want to go for a USB mic that has no DSP. If, on the other hand, the podcast routinely calls for less experienced interviewees, you might wish to use a mic that has some protective DSP like in the aforementioned gaming mics, so that outbursts of laughter or sudden rises in level don’t immediately cause distortion.
Another consideration is how many people will be speaking simultaneously. If it’s only one person talking in the room, a cardioid pattern mic is probably the best route. It might be worth considering a mic that has a figure-eight pattern if there’s a one-on-one interview happening—placing the mic in the middle of the two speakers in this scenario (provided they are not far away from each other) can yield a natural recording.
Rode NT1 5th Generation
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
There’s also the omnidirectional route if you’re trying to capture the sound of a room. This can be particularly useful for location recordings—say, if your podcast calls for you to get the sound of a softball game in a park or the sound of glasses clinking and diners chatting at a restaurant. But this brings up another point—if your podcast is going to involve on-location recording, you should consider a mic that can record directly to mobile devices. We’ve tested a few that ship with cables to connect via the Lightning port on iOS devices, for instance.
Beyond that, you need to think about windscreens and pop filters, regardless of where you’re recording—dealing with the wind, or a speaker with no mic technique, is likely to require one or the other to keep plosive air sounds from causing distortion. Luckily, many of the mics we include here bundle such accessories.
In addition to a mic, check out the rest of the best podcast equipment you need to get professional-quality audio. Once you’re ready to start recording, check out our tips for how to create a successful podcast,
How to Choose the Best USB Mic for Recording Music
Microphones in music recording have always been one of the more mysterious elements of the signal chain. You want a mic that provides an accurate, clear signal, but there’s no denying that engineers and producers consistently go to certain mics because of their particular characteristics. A Royer R-121 ribbon mic, for instance, is a figure-eight pattern ribbon mic that some engineers prefer for a richer, smoother sound (along with perhaps picking up some of the room). Meanwhile, the Shure SM7, of Michael Jackson fame, is popular for broadcasting because of its clarity. Thus, the concept of a “pure” signal is a bit misleading—what you’re really usually after is a clean signal, which should be a given with pro mics.
After that, you need to consider any specific characteristics that make the mic bright or dark. Some models can handle higher sound pressure levels, making them great for recording loud drums and amps, while others are ideal for capturing every bit of detail in a vocalist’s dynamic performance. With USB mics, the concept isn’t—or at least shouldn’t be—wildly different. You should expect clarity, so we focus on defining characteristics instead.
JLab Talk Pro
(Credit: JLab)
You probably don’t want a mic that uses obvious DSP in the signal. With music, the goal is typically to get the purest recording “to tape” (even if your “tape” is GarageBand). Then, any processing that needs to happen takes place during mixing. Some engineers record with a little EQ or compression as part of the signal chain, but that offers less flexibility down the road, as those effects are now baked into the recording. Of course, the compression or dynamic limiting is often in place to prevent distortion on peaks, so it’s there in the name of preventing distortion from getting into the recording, which is the whole purpose of DSP to begin with.
Recommended by Our Editors
We could talk in circles here, but a USB mic for music recording should probably have only minimal DSP, if any. Although some models employ DSP, it is really subtle in these scenarios compared with that of a typical gaming mic. And there are plenty of music mics that use no DSP whatsoever.
If your goal is to get the highest quality recording possible from a USB mic, you also need to take the sample rate and bitrate into account. All mics should be able to do 44.1kHz/16-bit, but if fidelity is a top priority, you may want to consider mics with higher sampling rates (such as 48kHz or even 96kHz) and 24-bit capabilities.
Basically, most USB mics take care of the mic pre and analog-to-digital conversion steps in the chain, which makes the signal chain simpler. As mentioned, standalone gear typically handles those processes in pro studio settings.
How Much Should You Spend on a USB Mic?
There’s a wide price range among USB mics and we’ve done our best to test models across the entire spectrum. Spending more doesn’t necessarily mean you get a better product, but there does seem to be a fairly sensible scale of quality that comes with price.
MSI Immerse GV60
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
Check what accessories come with your microphone as well. Depending on what and where you plan to record, you might need to buy a separate mic stand, pop filter, or even a shock mount. You can easily spend more than $100 on those three items alone. For some users, a mic that ships with a stand and windscreen or pop filter is the more reasonable choice.
Again, don’t base your decision entirely on pricing and buy the most expensive thing. Determine what you need first and see what options meet your criteria.
What Are the Limitations of USB Mics?
A quick word about a major limitation in the USB microphone world: You can typically only record one mic at a time. This is because, on the whole, USB mics are made less for pro-level setups and more for typical computer-based setups that lack an audio interface to field multiple inputs. All your computer can do without an audio input/output to field the multiple signals is select a single input. There are workarounds, of course, including using recording software that allows you to record multiple mics at once, but the catch is that they all record to the same track. If it’s possible to pan one signal all the way left and the other all the way right, in a stereo track, and then after recording, separate the channels of the file and drag them into new tracks, then you have your separation, though you likely want to center them again instead of having each hard-panned left and right. And, besides, that is a lengthy and annoying workaround.
If your goal is to record multiple microphones at once, USB mics are probably not what you need. Look for a USB (or Thunderbolt) audio interface that can receive multiple inputs at once and send them as separate tracks to your recording platform. In this scenario, you almost definitely need XLR mics (the interface handles the digital conversion for you and connects via USB or Thunderbolt, thus eliminating the convenience and need for a USB mic in the first place). The result is a much more pro-level setup than what we’re typically discussing when USB mics are part of the equation. But USB mics can still provide solid, high-fidelity signals if you don’t need to deal with multiple, simultaneous inputs.
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