Amplitude Audio SDK vs Audiokinetic Wwise
Amplitude Audio SDK
amplitudeaudiosdk.comAudiokinetic Wwise
audiokinetic.comSide by side
| Figure | Amplitude Audio SDK | Audiokinetic Wwise |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 4 |
| Spec score · Game Audio Middleware | 8.4 (#6) | 8.7 (#1) |
| Purpose | Amplitude is a cross-platform audio engine designed for games and supports audio for 2D, 3D, and VR/AR environments. | Wwise combines an audio authoring application, sound engine, game simulator, plug-in architecture, and Authoring API for interactive game audio and motion. |
| Support | The documentation directs users with installation issues to Discord and recommends Discord community support or GitHub issues for troubleshooting. | Without a Direct Support Plan, users can ask questions through the public Audiokinetic Community Q&A; paid support plans include ticket allowances or unlimited tickets. |
Plans
Amplitude Audio SDK
- Amplitude Audio SDKFree
- Amplitude Studio FreeFree
- Amplitude Studio PaidPriced on request
Audiokinetic Wwise
- IndieFree
- Pro$8,000, paid once
- Premium$25,000, paid once
- Platinum$45,000, paid once
In their own words
Amplitude Audio SDK
Amplitude Audio SDK is a cross-platform audio engine for games, supporting audio for 2D, 3D, and VR/AR environments. It runs on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows; Windows, Linux, and macOS are listed as runtime platforms. Project assets are defined in JSON and compiled into binary sound banks for runtime loading. Audio options include stereo panning, binaural rendering with user HRTF assets, and Ambisonic rendering. Developers can configure processing per runtime platform, including filters, room effects, and spatialization, and extend the pipeline with plugins. A MiniAudio-based default driver and MP3 and WAV decoding are included. Official integrations are listed for O3DE, ezEngine, Godot 4+, and Flax Engine. The SDK is free and open source under Apache-2.0, but it is in beta without an official release; nightly builds are for development, not production. Amplitude Studio is in early access with complimentary access during that phase; its planned free version has non-commercial and feature limits.
Audiokinetic Wwise
Audiokinetic Wwise is a toolset for creating interactive game audio and motion. It combines an audio authoring application, sound engine, game simulator, plug-in architecture, and Authoring API. Its pipeline covers authoring, simulation, integration, in-game mixing, and real-time profiling. A project can organize sound, voice, music, and motion assets, playback behaviors, Events, simulations, profiling, and platform-specific SoundBanks. Wwise supports spatial audio, interactive music, dialogue management, localization, and audio streaming. Unity and Unreal Engine integrations are available; the Unity package includes a plug-in library, C# SDK API bindings, components, and Editor windows. The free trial is for non-commercial use and limits SoundBanks to 200 media assets. Commercial licenses are per title, with a license required for each platform used. Listed commercial plans start at $8,000, paid once; the price depends on platforms. The free Indie plan is for production budgets below $250K.