Amplitude Audio SDK vs OpenAL Soft
Amplitude Audio SDK
amplitudeaudiosdk.comOpenAL Soft
openal-soft.orgSide by side
| Figure | Amplitude Audio SDK | OpenAL Soft |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Audio Middleware | 8.4 (#6) | 7.8 (#13) |
| Integrations | Official integrations are available for O3DE, ezEngine, Godot 4+, and Flax Engine. | The site says loopback devices can be used for playback to interface with other audio systems. |
| Platforms | The SDK lists Android, iOS, Linux, OS X, and Windows as supported platforms. | The library supports Linux, Windows, Android, OS X, iOS, and other platforms. |
| Purpose | Amplitude is a cross-platform audio engine designed for games and supports audio for 2D, 3D, and VR/AR environments. | OpenAL Soft is a software implementation of the OpenAL 3D audio API for playing audio in a virtual 3D environment. |
| Spatial audio | The engine supports stereo panning and binaural rendering with user HRTF assets, as well as Ambisonic rendering. | The API handles distance attenuation, Doppler shift, and directional sound emitters. |
| Support | The documentation directs users with installation issues to Discord and recommends Discord community support or GitHub issues for troubleshooting. | The project directs users to its GitHub issue tracker for bugs and feature requests and to the #openal IRC channel for help. |
Plans
Amplitude Audio SDK
- Amplitude Audio SDKFree
- Amplitude Studio FreeFree
- Amplitude Studio PaidPriced on request
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.
OpenAL Soft
OpenAL Soft is a free, LGPL-licensed software implementation of the OpenAL 3D audio API for playing sound in virtual 3D environments. It handles distance attenuation, Doppler shift, and directional emitters. The EFX extension adds effects such as air absorption, occlusion, and environmental reverb. The library supports streaming audio, multichannel buffers, and audio capture, with output options including mono, stereo, 4-channel, 5.1, 7.1, HRTF, UHJ, and B-Format. Implemented audio backends include PipeWire, PulseAudio, ALSA, WASAPI, CoreAudio, JACK, SDL2, and SDL3. Developers can use loopback devices to connect playback with other audio systems and incorporate the library into projects. The latest release identified on the site is version 1.25.2, available as source and Win32 and Win64 binaries. Building requires CMake 3.13 or newer and a compiler supporting C++20; Autotools is not supported. Runtime platforms listed are Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. The project directs bug reports and feature requests to its GitHub issue tracker and points users to the #openal IRC channel for help.