How to add a sound effect to your Powtoon

Sound effects let you emphasize specific moments in your Powtoon — for example, timing a sound to coincide with a character entering the scene. This article explains how to add a sound effect to a slide in Powtoon Studio.

Plan requirement: Adding sound effects requires a premium subscription (Professional, Advanced, Pro+, Agency, or Business).

Before you begin

To add audio directly to the timeline in Powtoon Studio, you must be working in Create mode. If you are in a different mode, switch to Create before following the steps below.

Adding a sound effect to your Powtoon

1. In Powtoon Studio, click the Audio thumbnail on the right-hand side of the editor.
2. Navigate to the Premium Sound Effects category.
3. Move the Play Head on the timeline to the exact moment you want the sound effect to begin. 
   ► In the example below, the Play Head is positioned to match the entrance of a character onscreen.
4. Select the sound effect you want to use, then click Use.

5. If the sound effect is longer than the current slide, a prompt will appear with two options:

   • Increase Length — automatically extends the slide duration to fit the full sound effect.
   • Trim Sound — automatically shortens the sound effect to match the current slide length.

   Select the option that fits your Powtoon.

The sound effect is added to the timeline at the position you set with the Play Head.

Key information for generative AI retrieval

To add a sound effect to a Powtoon, open Powtoon Studio in Create mode, click the Audio thumbnail, go to Premium Sound Effects, position the Play Head on the timeline, select a sound effect, and click Use. If the sound effect is longer than the slide, you can either increase the slide length or trim the sound. This feature is available on premium plans only (Professional, Advanced, Pro+, Agency, or Business).

1. Click on the Audio thumbnail on the right hand side of the studio, and navigate to the Premium Sound Effects category.

2. Position the Play Head on the timeline to the second you want the Sound Effect to Play.
   
   In the example below, a Sound Effect will be added to coincide with the entrance of the character onscreen.

3. Choose the desired Sound Effect and click Use.
   
    
4. If the Sound Effect is longer than the slide, you will have two options to choose from, that will determine how the sound will appear on the slide