Top 5 Microphones for YouTubers in 2024

When it comes to recording audio for your YouTube videos, you want to make sure the audio turns out smooth, clear and easy to understand.

The last thing you want is to playback your audio recording and realize there’s feedback or distortion competing with the audio you want your audience to hear. There’s rarely a chance for rescue afterwards and re-recording can be cumbersome. Not only that, but low quality audio quality combined with a progressively shorter human attention span can compel your listeners to quickly move onto the next video in their feed.

In this article

1. Blue Yeti
2. The Original Blue Yeti
3. Blue Yeti Nano
4. Blue Yeti X
5. Blue Yeti Pro
6. Rode NT-USB
7. Shure SM7B
8. Apogee MiC Plus
9. Movo VXR10 Pro
10. Which one will you choose?

And now, in 2024, with the creation of YouTube video content increasingly becoming a side hustle or a full-time job for many, competition is high and the audio quality expectations listeners require from a YouTube video has grown exponentially. The room for poor audio production is non-existent as of 2024. 

So which microphones will give you impeccable audio quality and reel listeners in on your YouTube videos? With so many options these days, choosing the right microphone for your channel may be overwhelming. Depending on the type of YouTube content you create, you’ll want to go with either a condenser or dynamic microphone. A condenser model will capture delicate sounds such as studio vocals, and a dynamic model is better for capturing loud, strong sounds such as loud vocals or drums.

To make is easier, we did the research for you to find the top five best mics for YouTubers in 2024:

Blue Yeti

Despite being one of the top USB microphones in today’s market, the Blue Yeti mic is as easy to use as just plugging it in and pressing record. This condenser mic gives you pristine sound quality for your YouTube channel and its versatility allows you to record almost anything without the complex set up. The Blue Yeti mic comes in four variations: 

• Blue Yeti (original)
• Blue Yeti X
• Blue Yeti Nano
• Blue Yeti Pro

The Original Blue Yeti

Debuted in 2009, the OG Blue Yeti mic offers superb sound quality and makes professional grade audio possible for newbie video creators. It also comes with four polar patterns – cardioid, which is perfect for solo YouTubers; omnidirectional, which takes in sound from all sides of the mic; bidirectional, which only captures sound from the front and rear of the mic making it ideal for two speakers; and stereo, which is uses both the left and right channels to capture a wide, realistic sound image, ideal for ASMR videos.

The only downside is the size and weight – it’s relatively large and heavy compared to other mics these days and may be awkward to carry.

Price: USD $99.99

Blue Yeti Nano

Released in 2018, the Blue Yeti Nano has an overall updated design from the original Blue Yeti. It is the most compact microphone in the line, at only 1.39 pounds which makes it easy to carry and store. It offers the same pristine sound quality as the other microphones and its updated design comes in several colors.

This may or may not be a con, depending on what type of YouTube videos you create, but the Nano only records in cardioid and omnidirectional mode.

Price: USD $99.99

Blue Yeti X

Blue Yeti X is the newest member of the Blue Yeti family having come out in 2019. It offers an updated design and the ability to monitor audio levels in real time with LEDs that light up at incoming sound. 
Price: USD $169.99

Blue Yeti Pro

The Blue Yeti Pro contains the same polar patterns as the original Blue Yeti, but offers a more comprehensive package. It is a USB microphone combining 24 bit/192 kHz digital recording resolution with analog XLR output. It also offers a built-in headphone amplifier and direct controls for headphone volume, pattern selection, mute, and microphone gain. 

Price: USD $249.99

Rode NT-USB

The Rode NT-USB is a condenser mic with incredible build quality and produces sound as crispy as cold winter air. Although it’s at capacity for just one polar pattern, cardioid, a plethora of key features such as a side-address, on-mic mix control, pop shield, tripod and zero-latency stereo headphone monitoring make it a worthwhile investment–especially for those who create solo video content. Set up is also incredibly easy; just plug in the mic and hit ‘record’.

Price: USD $169.99

Shure SM7B

This dynamic cardioid studio microphone features an advanced electromagnetic shielding to defeat hum from computer monitors and other studio equipment, producing exceptionally clean and natural music and speech. It’s perfect for close-proximity studio and vocal applications. Moreover, recording in a controlled environment with the flat frequency response selected produces accurate sound frequencies associated with the human voice. 

Price: USD $399.00

Apogee MiC Plus

This easy to use microphone features a cardioid polar pattern and is a professional studio quality USB mic that can be connected to your PC, Mac or other iOS devices. The 7.2 ounce design makes it ideal for carrying and transporting, easy to operate buttons and knobs, and the status LEDs allows you to quickly raise or lower your mic headphone levels in relation to the audio on your project. This professional studio quality USB microphone is a condenser model that will allow you to record great quality sound in a studio.

Price: USD $259.99

Movo VXR10 Pro

The Movo VXR10 Pro is possibly the best budget condenser microphone for YouTubers. Comparable to its more expensive counterparts, it produces smooth, professional audio quality while being ultra compact. This shotgun mic is great for DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, smartphones, tablets and other portable audio devices. The highly accurate supercardioid polar pattern delivers crisper audio by picking up exactly what you want to hear while filtering out background noise. 

Price: USD $69.99

Which one will you choose?

These five microphones will elevate your videos by ensuring crisp audio quality for your YouTube content. Impeccable audio is key for YouTubers– listeners can probably deal with poor lighting and a semi-good camera, but if the audio is substandard, listeners will likely move on. Here’s a great tip: If you’re unsure about which microphone to choose, consider renting so you  can test which one will work best for your YouTube content.

Want to learn more about purchasing the right microphone for voice over? Read this short article on the best microphones for voice actors.