How to add professional fade to podcast clips — free tool
- Step 1Export the clip from your editor — Cut the segment you want in your DAW or with audio-trimmer, and export it as MP3 or WAV. Fade is the last step — do it after the cut so the fade lands on the clip's real edges.
- Step 2Drop the clip into the fade tool — Open the fade-in-out tool and drag the clip in. It decodes locally and shows the duration so you can size the fades to the clip length.
- Step 3Set a short fade-in — For speech clips,
0.5–1s is enough to ease in without swallowing the first word. Default is2. If the clip opens on a punchy line you want to keep crisp, go as low as0.3. - Step 4Set the fade-out —
1–2s lets the clip resolve. Default2. The tool auto-positions it to end on the last sample, so you only choose the length. Avoid a fade-out longer than the final sentence or you'll fade over speech. - Step 5Pick a curve — Linear is the most transparent for talk and won't draw attention to itself. The same curve applies to both ends. Use exponential only if the clip ends on music.
- Step 6Process and post — Run it, grab the
-fadedMP3, and drop it into your audiogram tool or social scheduler. Re-run with a shorter fade-in if the first word got softened.
Fade lengths by clip type
Starting points for podcast clips. The tool caps any fade at the clip's own length; keep the in + out sum below the duration to leave speech untouched in the middle.
| Clip type | Fade in | Fade out | Curve | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social teaser (15–30 s) | 0.5 s | 1 s | Linear | Tight clip — small fades avoid eating the hook or the punchline |
| Quote / soundbite (30–60 s) | 0.5–1 s | 1.5 s | Linear | Eases in, resolves on the last sentence |
| Trailer with music bed (60–90 s) | 1 s | 3 s | Exponential | Longer musical outro holds then drops |
| Cold-open intro | 0 s (no in) | 0 s (no out) | — | If you want the cold open punchy, skip fades; add only an outro fade on the segment that follows |
| Full episode top-and-tail | 1 s | 2 s | Linear | Subtle ease-in/out around your existing intro/outro music |
Podcast clip limits by tier
Audio family limits. Most social clips fit Free easily; full episodes need Pro.
| Tier | Max file size | Max duration | Batch files | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 50 MB | 30 min | 1 | Social clips, teasers, soundbites |
| Pro | 200 MB | 120 min | 10 | Full episodes, long interviews |
| Pro-media | 100 GB | Unlimited | 100 | Archive batches, multi-hour recordings |
| Developer | 100 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Automated/scripted runs |
Cookbook
Real podcast clip recipes. The fade is the final polish after you've cut the clip elsewhere.
30-second Instagram teaser
A short hook clip. Tight fades so the first word stays crisp and the clip resolves cleanly.
Input: teaser.mp3 (30.0 s) Settings: Fade in 0.5 · Fade out 1 · Curve Linear FFmpeg: afade=t=in:st=0:d=0.5:curve=tri, afade=t=out:st=29:d=1:curve=tri Output: teaser-faded.mp3 (ready for audiogram)
60-second quote clip
A standalone soundbite for show notes. Slightly longer outro to let the closing line land.
Input: quote.wav (1 min 02 s) Settings: Fade in 1 · Fade out 1.5 · Curve Linear FFmpeg: afade=t=in:st=0:d=1:curve=tri, afade=t=out:st=60.5:d=1.5:curve=tri Output: quote-faded.wav
Trailer ending on music — exponential outro
The trailer ends on a music sting; an exponential fade holds the music then drops it.
Input: trailer.mp3 (1 min 20 s) Settings: Fade in 1 · Fade out 4 · Curve Exponential FFmpeg: afade=t=in:st=0:d=1:curve=exp, afade=t=out:st=76:d=4:curve=exp Output: trailer-faded.mp3
Outro-only fade on a clip that already cold-opens
You want a punchy start (no fade-in) but a graceful end. Set Fade in to 0.
Input: cold-open.mp3 (48.0 s) Settings: Fade in 0 · Fade out 2 · Curve Linear FFmpeg (in filter omitted): afade=t=out:st=46:d=2:curve=tri Output: cold-open-faded.mp3 (hard start, faded end)
Trim then fade workflow
Cut the clip first, fade second — fade lands on the clip's true edges.
Step 1: audio-trimmer -> pull 00:14:30-00:15:15 from the episode
-> clip.mp3 (45.0 s)
Step 2: fade-in-out
Fade in 0.7 · Fade out 1.5 · Curve Linear
-> clip-faded.mp3
Result: a clean, self-contained 45 s clipEdge cases and what actually happens
Fade-in swallows the first word
Clipped openIf the clip starts on speech and the fade-in is too long, the first word or two ramp up from silence and sound mumbled. For talk clips keep the fade-in short (0.3–0.7 s) or set it to 0 and only fade the end. Re-run with a shorter in if it happened.
Fade-out runs over the last sentence
Clipped closeA fade-out longer than the closing line will fade down over speech, making the end inaudible. Keep the fade-out shorter than the final sentence, or trim a beat of room tone onto the end first with audio-trimmer so the fade has silence to work in.
Clip exceeds 30 min on Free tier
Tier limitA full episode is over the Free 30-minute cap. Fading a whole episode needs Pro (120 min) or above. For social clips you'll be well under 30 minutes.
Re-encoding an already-compressed clip
One generation lossIf you exported the clip as MP3 from your DAW, fading it re-encodes that MP3 again — one more generation of lossy compression. Where possible export the clip as WAV from the DAW, fade the WAV, then export MP3 for posting to avoid stacking generations.
Want music under the voice
Wrong toolThis tool only fades level over time; it can't mix a music bed under your voice. To layer two sources you need a mixer, not a fader. Prepare the clip with the bed in your DAW, then use fade for the top-and-tail.
Joining two clips with a crossfade
Use audio-mergerBlending the end of one clip into the start of the next is a crossfade between files. This tool fades one file's edges. Use audio-merger, which has a crossfade duration for two-file joins.
Clip is too quiet after fading
ExpectedFades never raise level — they only ramp the ends down. If the whole clip is quiet, level it first with loudness-normalizer (good for podcast LUFS targets) or volume-normalizer, then fade.
Both durations longer than a tiny clip
Overlapping fadesOn a very short clip, fade-in + fade-out can exceed its length; the envelopes overlap and the clip never reaches full level. Shorten the fades for short clips.
Different curve wanted on each end
Single curveThere's one Curve control. For a linear voice intro and an exponential music outro, run the tool twice: in-only linear, then out-only exponential on the result.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a podcast clip fade be?
For talk clips, a fade-in of 0.3–1 s and a fade-out of 1–2 s works well. Short enough not to swallow the first word, long enough to resolve the end. Use longer fades (3–5 s out) only when the clip ends on music.
Will the fade cut off my first or last word?
It can, if the fade is longer than the speech at that edge. Keep the fade-in short on talk clips and the fade-out shorter than the closing sentence. If it happens, re-run with a shorter duration.
Does my unreleased episode upload anywhere?
No. FFmpeg runs in WebAssembly inside your browser tab — the clip is faded on your own CPU and never sent to a server. Unaired episodes and sponsor reads stay on your machine.
Can I fade a full episode, not just a clip?
Yes, on Pro or above. Free caps at 30 minutes per file; Pro raises it to 120 minutes (200 MB). Social clips are always within Free limits.
What format should I drop in?
Whatever you exported — MP3 is fine for social clips and comes back as MP3. If you'll post the clip and also keep a master, export WAV from your DAW, fade that, then make the MP3 last to avoid double lossy encoding.
Can I add a music bed under the voice with this?
No. This tool only changes level over time; it can't mix two sources. Build the bed in your DAW, then use this tool to top-and-tail the mixed clip.
Does it crossfade between two clips?
No — it fades one clip's start and end. To blend one clip into another, use audio-merger, which exposes a crossfade duration for two-file joins.
Which curve for a talk clip?
Linear. It's the most transparent and won't draw attention to the fade. Save exponential and logarithmic for clips that end on music.
Can I skip the fade-in and only fade the end?
Yes. Set Fade in to 0. The in filter is simply not added, so the clip keeps a punchy hard start while still resolving with a fade-out.
Is there a preview?
The tool returns a downloadable faded file you can play locally; there's no live scrub of the fade. If it's not right, change a value and re-run — it's fast and non-destructive on your source.
How do I cut the clip in the first place?
Use audio-trimmer to pull the segment from your episode, then fade it. Cutting first means the fade lands on the clip's real edges.
Is fading free?
Yes, within Free limits (50 MB / 30 min, no account). That covers every social clip; full-length episodes need Pro.
Privacy first
Every JAD Audio tool runs entirely in your browser via FFmpeg (WebAssembly) and RNNoise. Your audio files never leave your device — verified by zero outbound network requests during processing.