---
title: "Testing Krisp, an AI noise canceller for video calls"
author: "Stan Voo"
url: https://www.99rabbits.com/blog/testing-krisp-ai-noise-cancelling
published: 2021-02-02
summary: "I tested whether Krisp can make a call from a noisy café bearable. It can: it cut the café noise out completely, at some cost to my voice."
---

# Testing Krisp, an AI noise canceller for video calls

![](https://www.99rabbits.com/blog/testing-krisp-ai-noise-cancelling-1.webp)

Krisp installs on your computer, creates a "virtual" microphone of the same name in the system and tries to remove background noise during your Zoom calls. You can find all the details on the app's website: [krisp.ai](https://ref.krisp.ai/u/u248e16fe0) (my referral link).

I didn't run the tests for the referrals, but since I've written the post anyway, why not add one :)

## Use cases and results

I wanted to see how Krisp would work in my use case: a video call from a MacBook with AirPods in a noisy café. I emulated the café with various recordings from SoundCloud, played through the speakers of my home audio system. I recorded the sound in Loom, a screencast app. Zoom might behave differently, but it's unlikely.

I'm happy with the result and will try it "in the field". Given that there's now a free plan with 120 minutes a month, you can keep the app on your computer for calls from noisy places. In some cases it spoils the quality of the voice, boosts the highs and distorts it. But in return it removes background noise excellently and copes so-so with a voice nearby.

> In everyday use, for the other person to understand me well, it's better that my voice sounds worse but there are no distracting voices or noise in the background.

That way the other person can turn up my voice and adjust, but they don't have to "filter out" other sounds in their head. In my subjective experience, voices are the hardest thing to filter out in your head.

The second use case I want to test later is a call center, for its operators. I'm 90% sure it'll be worse there, since the noise is mostly high-pitched and uneven: the neighbors' voices. Most likely, for operators the app won't justify its price.

**A note on AirPods.** AirPods Pro didn't always connect properly with Krisp and Loom together. I had to disconnect them from the laptop and then connect them again. The [ToothFairy](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/toothfairy/id1191449274?mt=12) app puts the device's icon in the menu bar and makes this easier.

![](https://www.99rabbits.com/blog/testing-krisp-ai-noise-cancelling-2.webp)

So, on to the tests.

## Test 1: AKG headphones + loud music + an English-language show nearby

**Variant 1.1:** loud music + English-language show nearby + mic hanging loose, *without* Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/a5ad779f5f4b4bddb7f5809f98675545](https://www.loom.com/share/a5ad779f5f4b4bddb7f5809f98675545)

**Variant 1.2:** loud music + English-language show nearby + mic hanging loose, *with* Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/72b51478947d431d94de7441c760a59c](https://www.loom.com/share/72b51478947d431d94de7441c760a59c)

**Result:** the volume is almost the same and the voice a little lower. The music is almost gone. The voice in the background stayed; it got quieter, but it's unpleasantly distorted.

**Score:** 7/10

## Test 2: AKG headphones + mic hanging loose + instrumental music, no voices in the background

**Variant 2.1:** instrumental music, no voices in the background + mic hanging loose, *without* Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/86ba4d083e474e5ebbe1b3633196c944](https://www.loom.com/share/86ba4d083e474e5ebbe1b3633196c944)

**Variant 2.2:** instrumental music, no voices in the background + mic hanging loose, *with* Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/87fa79d204174e9ea0880b2b0f7196b9](https://www.loom.com/share/87fa79d204174e9ea0880b2b0f7196b9)

**Result:** the voice gets distorted. You can feel Krisp raising its volume, and sometimes the highs grate on the ear. The music comes through in snatches, but much quieter.

**Score:** 5/10

## Test 3: AKG headphones + mic at my mouth + music with vocals + a video with loud Russian speech

**Variant 3.1:** without Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/144e9f7cbb26429393117800935ec9ab](https://www.loom.com/share/144e9f7cbb26429393117800935ec9ab)

**Variant 3.2:** with Krisp (I forgot to raise the mic to my mouth)

[https://www.loom.com/share/83be7536bc8048039db8b82dee6541c1](https://www.loom.com/share/83be7536bc8048039db8b82dee6541c1)

## Test 4: AirPods + music with vocals + a video with loud Russian speech

**Variant 4.1:** without Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/4754b6aa84ca487fbfd45ba42793c542](https://www.loom.com/share/4754b6aa84ca487fbfd45ba42793c542)

**Variant 4.2:** with Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/5fefbe659e4748e280f50d8cc60de198](https://www.loom.com/share/5fefbe659e4748e280f50d8cc60de198)

**Result:** for everyday use it's better not to hear someone else's voice in the background and to hear me quieter and distorted, than to hear me well with a voice getting in the way. The AirPods' own noise suppression is better than the wired AKGs'. The voice is quieter, but you hear less of the background music even without Krisp.

**Score:** 7/10

## Test 5: AirPods + café noise in the background, 70–80 dB

![](https://www.99rabbits.com/blog/testing-krisp-ai-noise-cancelling-3.webp)

**Variant 5.1:** without Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/edee5659a97645ca828111087bb3b056](https://www.loom.com/share/edee5659a97645ca828111087bb3b056)

**Variant 5.2:** with Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/272e37ae5aec4ceab83eb8ebe7fae03e](https://www.loom.com/share/272e37ae5aec4ceab83eb8ebe7fae03e)

**Result:** holy crap! It's quieter, but the café noise is cut out completely! Completely!

**Score:** 9/10

## Test 6: AirPods + office noise in the background, 70–75 dB + Russian speech nearby

**Variant 6.1:** without Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/3912d910ec084fa49fdbb60b28b0873c](https://www.loom.com/share/3912d910ec084fa49fdbb60b28b0873c)

**Variant 6.2:** with Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/b11beff89ed94dcbb27d0576e6e0baf7](https://www.loom.com/share/b11beff89ed94dcbb27d0576e6e0baf7)

**Result:** it picks up the "neighbor's" voice, and it distorted my voice a lot. You could call this the limit of usability. Sitting in such a noisy place is unpleasant in itself, so it's not quite the everyday use case I wanted to test. Let's bring the noise down to something more usual.

**Score:** 3/10

## Test 7: AirPods + office noise in the background, 60–65 dB + Russian speech nearby

**Variant 7.1:** without Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/ca878d87226e4f548faf4e1591351c8c](https://www.loom.com/share/ca878d87226e4f548faf4e1591351c8c)

**Variant 7.2:** with Krisp

[https://www.loom.com/share/33e8724667cc42d29fe48d7fe111f53b](https://www.loom.com/share/33e8724667cc42d29fe48d7fe111f53b)

**Result:** a little of the voice is there, and overall the noise suppression is less noticeable. So it works best when the café is very noisy but there are few highs (nobody close by). In conditions like these Krisp makes less sense, but it still makes some. I can hardly hear the "neighbor" and can't hear the ambient noise at all.

**Score:** 8/10

**How I measured the noise level in the room.** I used the [Sound Meter](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=coocent.app.tools.soundmeter.noisedetector) app from the Android app store. I think any similar app will do if you want to repeat this.