Buy the Scarlett 2i2 (4th Gen) unless the price difference genuinely decides whether you record at all. It publishes 69 dB of mic gain and 120 dB of dynamic range, so you can check it against any microphone's sensitivity before you buy. The UMC204HD is the cheapest two-input interface worth plugging a real microphone into, and Behringer publishes no maximum gain figure for it, which makes any low-output dynamic a gamble.
This comparison gets searched because the price gap is large and the feature lists look similar: two XLR/TRS combo inputs, phantom power, 24-bit / 192 kHz conversion, bus powered. On paper they are the same class of product. The difference is what each manufacturer is willing to tell you.
Why the missing gain figure is the whole story
Choosing an interface for a specific microphone is arithmetic. You take the microphone's published sensitivity — an SM7B at -59.0 dBV/Pa, a PodMic at -57 dBV/Pa, an AT2035 at -33 dB — and check it against the interface's published maximum gain. If the interface does not publish one, there is no arithmetic to do, and you are buying on hope.
With a hot microphone that is survivable. An AT2020 at -37 dB or a Wave DX at -52 dBV/Pa will reach a working level on almost anything. With a broadcast dynamic it is a real risk, and the failure mode is not silence but a thin, hissy recording that you may well blame on the microphone. How much clean gain do you need sets out the figures properly.
The Scarlett's 69 dB is the most gain published at this price by any manufacturer, which is why it is the default recommendation across this site. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 vs MOTU M2 is the comparison where that number is contested by something other than price.
What the UMC204HD genuinely gets right
- It is the floor of the category, honestly. Two combo inputs with phantom power at a price nothing else matches. If the alternative is a USB microphone you have outgrown or no recording at all, this is a real upgrade.
- Inserts on the inputs. Unusual at any price near this and genuinely useful if you own outboard hardware.
- Midas-designed preamps. A real design pedigree, even though the absence of published figures means you cannot verify what it buys you.
- It leaves budget for the room. Two acoustic panels bought with the price difference will improve your recordings more than the better interface will.
Where it costs you
- No gain figure, as above. Pair it with a hot microphone or accept the risk.
- Drivers. The weakest experience in this group, historically. On Windows this is the thing people actually complain about, and Steinberg's UR22C is the opposite end of that spectrum.
- Build. It reflects the price, and this is a box you plan to replace rather than keep.
- No voicing, no loopback, no MIDI. Fine for recording; limiting if you also stream — see best audio interfaces for streaming.
Both interfaces, plus the middle option
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (4th Gen)
Top pickFocusrite · The most gain per dollar in a two-input box
The default answer for someone buying an SM7B or PodMic: it supplies enough clean gain that you never need a booster, which makes it the cheaper total purchase even when it is not the cheaper box. Look elsewhere only if you need MIDI or four outputs.
Why it is here
- 69 dB is the most gain of any interface at this price, and enough for an SM7B with headroom to spare
- 120 dB dynamic range means the converters are not the weak link
- Two inputs, so a second person does not mean a second purchase
What it costs you
- Air mode is a fixed voicing, not an EQ you can dial
- Plastic-and-metal build feels less solid than the SSL or Audient competition
- No MIDI, which matters if you also play keys
Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD
Behringer · The floor of the category, honestly described
Buy it when the alternative is not recording at all, and plan to replace it. With no published gain figure it is a gamble with any low-output dynamic — pair it with a hot mic or not at all.
Why it is here
- Cheapest two-input interface worth plugging a real mic into
- Two combo inputs and phantom power at a price nothing else matches
- Inserts on the inputs, which is unusual this low
What it costs you
- Behringer does not publish a maximum gain figure, so you cannot plan a gain budget from the spec sheet
- Driver experience is the weakest in this group
- Build reflects the price
Audient EVO 4
Audient · Anyone who keeps getting gain-staging wrong
The pick for a second host on a budget, or for anyone whose recordings keep coming back too quiet. Not the pick if your mic is an SM7B, where the gain ceiling forces a booster.
Why it is here
- Smartgain removes the single most common beginner mistake in one button
- Two mic preamps at the price of most one-input boxes
- Genuinely small and bus-powered
What it costs you
- 58 dB again falls short of an SM7B's appetite
- Single encoder for everything means more button-pressing than knob-turning
- Plastic build
The option between them
The Audient EVO 4 sits between these two on price and publishes 58 dB of gain with two mic preamps and Smartgain, which sets input levels automatically. 58 dB is not SM7B territory, but it is a published number, and Smartgain removes the most common beginner mistake. If the Scarlett is out of reach and the Behringer's uncertainty bothers you, that is the box to look at. Are cheap audio interfaces worth it makes the broader case for where the floor actually is.
What else you need either way
- A microphone matched to the gain you have. Best XLR microphones under $100 lists the hotter dynamics that work on modest preamps.
- An XLR cable. Neither includes one. Best XLR cables.
- Closed-back headphones if you record with a live microphone. Best closed-back headphones for recording.
