According to the modulation signal applied on laser diodes, wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) can be divided into continuous wave (CW) WMS and quasi-continuous wave (QCW) WMS. In order to deeply compare CW-WMS and QCW-WMS, we used a specific software-realized lock-in amplifier for continuous and quasi-continuous modulation signal demodulation. The invalid signal in quasi-continuous modulation spectrum was filtered off, and then the effective detection signal was demodulated to obtain the second harmonic signal (WMS-2f). It was compared with the 2f signal demodulated continuous laser modulation spectrum with software. The results show that while the same system parameters are set, the signal-to-noise of the quasi-continuous modulation spectrum is 5% higher than the continuous modulation spectrum with software demodulation measurements, and the detection limit is 11.3% lower. And without the invalid signal in quasi-continuous modulation spectrum, the standard WMS-2f signal can be demodulated, which has potential to be used for the investigation of gas absorption profile. This work has provided accurate reference for selections of the laser modulation spectroscopy.