Hindenburg PRO
Audio editor built for spoken-word journalism. Auto-leveling, local transcription, broadcast-standard loudness — in a tool designed by a journalist.
What should journalists know about Hindenburg PRO?
Hindenburg is the only professional audio editor built specifically for journalism. Founded by Nick Dunkerley after working on a community radio project in Zambia, the company has focused exclusively on spoken-word workflows since 2009. That focus shows. Drag audio onto a track and it auto-levels to broadcast standard. Hit publish and it masters to the correct loudness target — EBU R128 for broadcast, LUFS for podcasting. One-knob noise reduction. Non-destructive editing. Voice profiling that auto-levels and ducks across tracks. The transcription engine runs entirely on-device — no audio leaves your machine, no internet required, 99 languages supported. You can edit audio by editing the transcript text, similar to Descript, but without uploading anything to the cloud. Compared to Audacity (free but steep learning curve, no auto-leveling, no transcript editing), Descript (AI-powered but cloud-dependent), and Adobe Audition (overkill for spoken word, expensive Creative Cloud bundle), Hindenburg occupies a unique position: professional broadcast tools with a journalist's workflow at a mid-range price. The Soundly integration adds 2,000-20,000 royalty-free sound effects depending on tier. Video track support arrived in PRO 2, including subtitle generation from transcripts. The company is small — roughly 11 employees in Copenhagen — and appears bootstrapped with no VC funding on record. That matters for longevity risk but also means no investor pressure to harvest data or pivot the product.
Radio journalism, podcast production, interview editing, documentary audio, newsroom audio workflows, field recording post-production. Especially strong for deadline-driven spoken-word work where auto-leveling and one-click loudness mastering save real time.
Music production, sound design, multi-instrument recording — use a DAW like Reaper, Logic, or Ableton. Not for journalists who need free tools (use Audacity). Not for video-first workflows (use DaVinci Resolve). The subscription model with metered transcription hours may frustrate heavy transcription users.
Security & Privacy
Data is scrambled while being sent to their servers
Data is scrambled when stored on their servers
Where servers are located — affects which governments can request your data
Privacy policy summary
Hindenburg is a desktop application. Audio editing and transcription happen locally — no audio uploads to any server. The transcription engine runs on-device with downloadable language packs, works offline. Account data (email, license info) collected for licensing. Website uses Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Reddit tracking pixels. GDPR applies (Danish/EU company). The privacy advantage is structural: the core product processes everything locally.
How to protect yourself:
Audio and transcription are already local by default — no action needed to keep recordings off the cloud. For maximum privacy: (1) work offline after initial license activation, (2) use a dedicated email for your Hindenburg account, (3) block tracking domains if you access their website. The Field Recorder app (iOS) stores recordings locally on device. Soundly sound effects library requires internet access to browse and download.
Desktop application with local-only audio processing and on-device transcription — no audio ever leaves your machine. Strong structural privacy model for the core editing workflow. Rating is 'adequate' rather than 'strong' because: encryption-at-rest details are undocumented, the licensing system requires periodic online check-ins, and the company's website deploys extensive third-party tracking (Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit). The product itself handles sensitive audio well. The marketing infrastructure is typical adtech.
Who Owns This
Known issues
No public data breaches or security incidents found. No Linux support — Mac and Windows only. Transcription hours are metered and require periodic online check-in to refill, even though transcription itself runs offline. The shift from perpetual licensing (older Hindenburg Journalist product) to subscription-first pricing frustrated some long-time users. Maximum two simultaneous computer installations per license. Field Recorder app is iOS-only.
Pricing
Personal Standard: $12/month ($99/year). Personal Plus: $15/month (adds 20 transcription hours). Personal Premium: $30/month (50 transcription hours, premium Soundly library). Business Bronze: $20/user/month (no transcription). Business Silver: $35/user/month (75 transcription hours). Business Gold: $45/user/month (100 transcription hours). Volume discount of 10-15% for 21+ users. Education: 50% off first annual subscription. Perpetual license option exists for one-time purchase. 30-day free trial, no credit card required. Field Recorder iPhone app: $4.99 one-time.
This is an editorial assessment based on publicly available information as of 2026-04-03, using our published methodology. Independent security review is pending. Security posture can change at any time. This is not a guarantee of safety.
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