What is the best alternative to&#x20;Logic Pro X?

Reaper lets users change to different themes, supports the use of a wealth of (free) extensions and has a lot of options when it comes to rendering. See More

176 36

score 458 · Answer 2

Reaper

Top Pro

Highly customizable

Top Con

Long drop down menus

There are many features that you'll find nested deep in the menu system, but it's really clunky. Everything is there but it's difficult to find. It's also really easy to accidentally click an option that you didn't intend. See More

Top Pro

Rarely crashes

Most DAWs have a tendency to crash constantly, reaper crashes very rarely. See More

Top Con

Lacks VSTis

Doesn't come with a wealth of VSTis. Plugins for things like piano, cello, guitar have to be found elsewhere. But is highly compatible with other providers of those products. See More

Top Pro

Supports unlimited number of tracks with unlimited number of effects

There are no limits on amount of tracks and effects that those tracks can be equipped with. See More

Top Con

Midi Latency is still an issue

Top Pro

Constantly updated

Alongside generally quick pace of updates, Reaper developers pay very close attention to user feedback and are constantly adding features based on their requests so much so that some even consider it somewhat of a crowdsourced DAW. See More

Top Con

The MIDI editor is not intuitive and feels very clumsy and inconsistent

It costs time and extra clicks to control the MIDI velocities. If you use the MIDI editor a lot, Reaper is just not for you. See More

Top Pro

Portable

Reaper is lightweight enough to be run off of a flash drive; the installer weights less than 20 MB and the portable installation option is included in it. See More

Top Con

Midi drum editing not so fast or easy

Cubase has more features for creating and editing midi drum tracks. See More

Top Pro

Very low cpu usage

Reaper's will tailor itself to fit your computer's processing power by automatically using the "anticipative FX processing" feature. See More

Top Con

No native groove quantize feature

Straight quantization is available, but the Reaper 4 DAW is still missing groove integration. This feature can be made available with the free SWS extension. See More

Top Pro

Auto-bridges 32-bit plugins in a 64-bit environment

When using a 64-bit installation of Reaper, all 32-bit plugins will still work alongside 64-bit plugins. On computers with an x86-64 CPU and an OS that supports multi-architecture, you can also run bridged 64-bit plugins on 32-bit Reaper. See More

Top Con

Midi dropout or inconsistent when render a track

When rendering a track with multiple vst, the midi note either having drop out issue, or not playing on time in render. Tried all render method such as offline full speed, offline 1x and online render, with both case of enabling or disabling the "allow anticipative FX processing", even tried to change the performance options on individual track, the problem still occurs. However, it is still nice to do mixing and recording with all these handful of tools. See More

Top Pro

Multiple recording and playback formats

Records in WAV, AIFF, FLAC, WAVPACK, OGG and MP3. See More

Top Con

No PFL metering

If you want to meter your input levels before your FX and volume fader, you'll need to insert a metering plugin as the first part of the chain, since there is no option for PFL metering. See More

Top Pro

Easy to install

No complex activation shenanigans. No dongle and such. See More

Top Con

Horrible GUI

The producer or composer need a good feeling when they work with their DAW. See More

Top Pro

Multi-level freezing

A freeze can be applied to a group, and then picked apart track by track. See More

Top Pro

Comes with ~300 free plugins

Top Pro

Huge community support

Top Pro

Highly affordable

The Reaper DAW offers 2 licenses. A commercial license at $225 and a discounted one at $60. Both licenses give access to the complete DAW. The discounted license is for non profits, educational programs and personal use as long as yearly gross revenue does not exceed USD $20,000. There's even an indefinite free trial with no limitations for evaluation purposes. See More

Top Pro

Free Reaplugs VST/VSTi bundle allows usage of the basic bundled like EQ's and comp plugins in any DAW

Top Pro

Notation editor added recently

Top Pro

Supports ReWire

Top Pro

Lua scripting can be done in the DAW with a built-in IDE

Top Pro

Editing audio can be done on track

You don't have to go to a separate editor to edit audio files. You can work directly on the track, and drop/drag pieces to other tracks, sew them together. It's a fun sandbox and easy peasy. See More

Top Pro

DRM-free

Essentially shareware. After your 60-day free trial runs out, the program does not enforce the end of the trial period, and you may continue using the software for further evaluation or non-revenue generating purposes indefinitely. The only "DRM" is your conscience, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the fact the program is awesome. See More

Top Pro

Simplified workflow

In Reaper, a track is a track is a track. There is no distinction among MIDI, stereo, mono, surround or any other tracks, and that means it's possible to put clips of all kinds on the same track. This approach makes the Reaper DAW seem a lot more intuitive than other DAWs. See More

Top Pro

Very full featured but basic recording and production can be learned and done in a few hours

Without prior experience with DAW, you can install Reaper, set up ASIO drivers, connect to your amp and mikes, get the hang of recording/re-recording tracks, and render an mp3 in just a few hours. You can accomplish the basics very fast. See More

Top Pro

Application is extendable

The Application itself has no limitations. Once you understand it you can progress onto the better mastering and editing qualities then all other DAW applications. See More

Top Pro

Many time-saving features

Thought has been given to many time-saving features and shortcuts which speed up workflow considerably. See More

Top Pro

Tool-less interface

Set the cursor, press a key, done. No need to switch cursor editing modes or work around "smart" cursors. See More

Top Pro

Tabbed projects

You can have open multiple projects via tabs at the top left and easily drag and drop clips, instruments and ideas between each project at ease. See More

Top Pro

Runs well on Wine in Linux

Top Pro

Native Linux support

No need to install Wine, Reaper supports Linux natively! See More

Top Pro

Clean, easy-to-read GUI

The GUI is simple and easily gets information across to the user See More

Top Pro

OSC-Support

You can control nearly everything via OSC (and Midi, too). See More

Top Pro

The software advances with you

If you want to use it as a glorified tape machine and nothing else, you'll still be able to get work done. If you want to learn all the shortcuts, scripts, custom actions and macros and really unlock what Reaper can do, you can do that as well. Either way, you'll still be able to make music. See More

Top Pro

arguably the most beautiful DAW

Just a little digging in and you'll find there's more than hundreds of themes you can choose from. If that's not enough, you can customize those themes or even make your own. See More

Top Pro

Can edit while you're recording

If you want to save time mixing See More

Specs

Compatibility:Mac, Windows, 64-bit Linux (beta)

Processing type:32-bit, 64-bit, ARM (32/64-bit, beta, Linux Only)

All the stock plugins look really nice and really show users what is being done, it's a great way to learn mixing theory for a beginner. This approach makes FL Studio easy to learn compared to other DAWs. See More

458 99

score 196 · Answer 3

FL Studio

Top Pro

Excellent for visual learners

Top Con

Not intuitive for track based recording approach

Top Pro

Free lifetime updates

With the producer or signature bundle, updates are free forever. See More

Top Con

Most controls are hidden

in the mixing console, mid, bass, and treble are not explicitly stated as they should be. See More

Top Pro

Easy to install

No complex activation shenanigans. No dongle and such. See More

Top Con

Not great for Mixing

Every channel should have input gain controller and extra plugins should be added for more creativity See More

Top Pro

Easy to learn DAW

The FL Studio DAW utilizes drag and drop, and can generally be learned quickly without any prior knowledge. See More

Top Con

Audio Recording not good as the other DAWs

Recording audio is always a problem in FL Studio. See More

Top Pro

Good for the studio

Some DAWs are good for live shows, some DAWs are good for production, but the FL Studio DAW has carved its niche in the studio recording arena. See More

Top Con

Lack of other midi keyboard brands

Top Pro

Each update is major

When Image Line releases an update, it's safe to assume that there are major improvements in there. See More

Top Con

The Browser is archaic

Every time it has to refresh, it closes the entire menu. So if you just navigated several dropdowns to find an automation parameter of a third party plugin and you want to automate a second parameter, you have to navigate back to that dropdown all over again. Searching within the browser is a slapped on feature that only shows you a single result at a time, and you have to press a hotkey to cycle through them one by one. Really, your browser in FL is the Windows File Explorer, or Finder in OS I assume. The FL Browser is workflow molasses and should be avoided at all costs except to find samples you already know the location of. See More

Top Pro

Sampler

FL Studio has a very unique sampler which allows all kinds of sounds to be experimented with, be it a siren, a water drop, or more commonly, the infamous "Progressive House" Kick. The Sampler also allows the user to retune a sample to any key he/she desires See More

Top Con

The GUI is very difficult to see.

The color scheme of GUI is terrible. They use a lot of dark and similar color for the GUI. And Not skinnable without special knowledge of hack. See More

Top Pro

Scalable interface

The interface adapts to the screen size it's used on. See More

Top Con

Has a slight tendency to crash

Always save before loading a new VST or doing something important: FL is prone to crashes. See More

Top Pro

Intuitive piano roll

Piano roll is a FL Studio's instrument step sequencer. It is considered to be among the most intuitive and flexible tools for quickly creating patterns and manipulating all aspects of each note. A single left click inserts a note, while a right click deletes it. It's possible to mute notes, splice them, stretch them, add shuffle, etc quickly. The Piano Roll caters for those new to Music Theory as well, containing an array of chords from which to choose, be it a Major, Minor, Minor 5th, Minor 9th, what have you. See More

Top Con

Not great for Mixing

Every channel should have input gain controller and extra plugins should be added for more creativity See More

Top Pro

Very comprehensive plugin suite included

You have basic and advanced plugins right out the box. See More

Top Con

The soundfont player will trash your projects, no 64-bit version available

Remember that nice project with a soundfont in it ? Yeeeah, load it again and prepare to face stuck MIDI notes and a trashed project. See More

Top Pro

Perfect for engineering because of the production style workflow

The workflow for creating beats in FL Studio is among the fastest which make mixing and mastering a breeze inserting plug-ins and routing on the mixer. See More

Top Pro

Fully open: accepts a variety of formats

Accepts VST/VSTi (v2,v3) Wav, Aiff, Rex, Acid, Apple Loop, Ogg, Mp3 as well as almost every video format including Mov and Mp4. See More

Top Pro

Inbuilt cross 32/64bit plugin bridge

You don't need to install/configure a third party bridge. See More

Top Pro

Supports resampling

Supports resampling (non stretch) which is something some DAWs don't support. See More

Top Pro

Smooth UI

Compared to other DAWs, FL's UI moves at full monitor refresh rates while others are somehow laggy. See More

Top Pro

Sample/MIDI Manipulation in the Playlist Mode

The Playlist mode comes with various tools for cutting out sections of a sample, midi arrangement, or otherwise. One can also clone, mute, solo out, and stretch a sample by any degree, although the sample's key will change. See More

Top Pro

Fully vectorial UI that will scale to virtually every screen

Because most DAWs don't scale well yet. See More

Top Pro

Can import/export 32bit audio

Just as the internal engine bit depth, there's no loss in quality. See More

Top Pro

It comes as VSTi and Rewire

So you can use it inside another DAW. There's no other DAW capable of doing that. See More

Top Pro

The only DAW with a VJ graphic generation suite (ZG Editor Visualizer)

No other DAW has that. See More

Top Pro

Unlimited creativity

With tools in the piano roll like the "Riff Machine", and the "Randomize" tool, you can literally let the computer automate the production if you want. In addition to plugins like "Gross Beat", Slicex, DirectWave, the ideas can be limitless. See More

Top Pro

Flexible internal linking engine

Its linking engine and controller plugins are very flexible and useful all across the software. For mixing and also for performance mode. See More

Top Pro

It is the only DAW where you can program real scratching sequences (Turntablism)

You can make your own scratches with the "Fruity Scratcher" or "Wave traveller". See More

Top Pro

Non-invasive DRM

Forget copy protection USB-dongles and phone-home activation. Just import a reg key file and your license is activated. See More

Top Pro

Imports video for scoring

You can open several video players. See More

Top Pro

It's possible to run FL Studio on Linux via Wine without a noticeable performance impact

Version 12 of FL Studio includes a new Generic ASIO driver that's capable of achieving same low latency performance as the native Windows version. Instructions on how to set up the DAW to run on Linux via Wine can be found here. See More

Top Pro

Patcher: Modular environment

Top Pro

Reasonable and liberal license

Buy once, and you're allowed to use it on every computer you own. See More

Top Pro

Powerful Sound Editor

Edison is a great way to record and edit samples, sound effects and is a very easy way to create sample packs and sound libraries. See More

Top Pro

Complete control over multiple Launchpad Pro animation lightshow projects

Live can, but working with more LPs is a pain. See More

Top Pro

Very flexible timeline

Top Pro

Best stretching algorithms in the market

Specs

Max number of tracks:500

LMMS works on Linux, Windows and OSX. See More

196 41

score 177 · Answer 4

LMMS

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Top Con

No merging or splicing options

There is no feature that allows you to merge or splice tracks in LMMS. See More

Top Pro

Free and open source

LMMS is available for free with source code licensed under GPL and available on GitHub allowing anyone to edit and extend the software as they see fit. See More

Top Con

Pitch bending could be more native

Sometimes you can pitch bend with the Piano Roll Editor but with many instruments you cannot and are limited to the pitch knob in the main plugin interface. See More

Top Pro

Is a great open-source alternative to FL Studio

Interface look like FL Studio interface. Has many of the same windows such as step-sequencer, piano roll, playlist, mixer, etc. See More

Top Con

Limited mixer rack

You can only add Virtual Instrument tracks into the mixing console/rack. See More

Top Pro

VST Support

Uses VeSTige as the VST plugin. It has some bugs but most VSTs work with it. See More

Top Con

Program crashes a lot

This happens more frequently when loading VST files. See More

Top Pro

Portable

LMMS is lightweight enough to be run off of a flash drive. See More

Top Con

GUI is ugly

Top Pro

LADSPA plugins support

Top Con

Limited effect plugin support

A lot of 3rd-party effect plugins don't work. See More

Top Pro

MIDI controllers support

Just plug in and play. Plug in the MIDI keyboard before opening LMMS and it'll automatically pick up that you've connected the keyboard. See More

Top Pro

JACK Audio Connection Kit support

Top Pro

Preloaded with basic VST instrument plugins and modifiers

LMMS comes with a triple oscillator, Gameboy sound emu, NES sound emu added into the software, which makes it easier to create sounds without the inclusion of external plugins. It is very accessible for beginners. See More

Top Pro

Works with many VSTs and effects

Top Pro

Multiple languages support

Top Pro

VST plugins support

Top Pro

Computer Keyboard to MIDI

You can use your computer keyboard as a MIDI controller. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

LMMS is ideal for beginners, as it is easy to use and comes with tons of ready to use instruments and samples. See More

Top Pro

Sandbox layout

All windows in the DAW can be moved around freely and are not attached to a grid. See More

Specs

Compatibility:Linux, Windows, Mac

Plugin Compatibility:VST, LADSPA

Included sounds:Yes

It has an integrated Channel Strip on every track/bus with excellent and easy to use Audio FX: EQ, Comp, Reverbs, Saturation, Console Emulators etc. See More

177 38

score 78 · Answer 5

Cakewalk

Top Pro

ProChannel

Top Con

Windows only

Top Pro

SONAR Platinum without the 3rd parties like Melodyne, etc.

It is basically SONAR for free after they shut down. See More

Top Con

Uses middleware for installation

I've come to really dislike having to use a program to install and update another program. The Bandlabs installer didn't even have the courtesy to stop and ask me where I wanted the middleware installed. See More

Top Pro

Best plugins

There are a variety of tools available, including the fantastic reverb plugin from Overloud, Breverb2. See More

Top Con

Unfinished features

Cakewalk has some buggy and unfinished features, probably due to marketing decisions and the changes of ownerships: Staff view, Matrix View, Audiosnap etc. See More

Top Pro

Basic set of instruments

Cakewalk comes with a basic set of VST instruments: A general MIDI synth, drums, e-piano, bass and a string section. See More

Top Con

Crashes too often

For a complete and free package it is amazing what Bandlab is offering here. But I too often have crashes on startup or audio engine failures. See More

Top Pro

ARA 2 integration

This feature makes working with Celemony Melodyne and other ARA compatible plug-ins a breeze. See More

Top Con

Doesn't always ask for or respect your drive assignment choices during installation

If you are squished for space on your boot drive, don't install this. It automatically sets up the Bandlab Assistant on C without giving you the opportunity to put it elsewhere. If you choose to use certain Cakewalkfeatures like the Drum replacer, it just starts installing all the drum samples onto drive C regardless of the fact that you've already set up a Cakewalk Content directory on D. See More

Top Pro

Unlimited tracks

No track and busses limitation. See More

Top Pro

32/64 bits plugin

The program itself is only 64 bits but it runs 32 and 64 bits plugin. If you still have a great plugin that never got to 64 bits this comes in handy. See More

Top Pro

Intuitive workflow

Cakewalk comes with friendly defaults and it has a similar workflow to analog studio gear. See More

Top Pro

Much improved stability of late, especially recent releases such as 2019.07

Top Pro

Updated frequently

Top Pro

Advanced comping workflow with Audio and MIDI Take Lanes and Automation Lanes

Easily create a final comp of all your recorded takes with simple drag and select gestures using the smart tool. See More

Top Pro

Compatible with touchscreens

Specs

Engine:64-bit

Touch compatibility:Yes

VST3:Yes

Very logically structured. See More

78 4

score 22 · Answer 6

Tracktion Waveform

Top Pro

Clean interface

Top Con

Not open source

Top Pro

Easy to understand

Top Con

Crashes a lot

Top Pro

Very stable

Top Pro

Creative Tools

Has a Chord Track, MIDI pattern creator and great included tools. See More

Top Pro

ARM/ARM64 support

Runs on SBC (single board computer) systems like the Raspberry Pi3, Pine64, and ODroid development boards, as well as systems like the Pinebook and Chromebooks with ARM based SoC CPU's that have been reformatted with a Linux OS. See More

Top Pro

Ideal for beginners

Self-explaining interface. See More

DAWs are notorious for crashing, especially at the peak of a workflow. ReNoise 3 is known for its outstanding stability. See More

22 2

score 44 · Answer 7

ReNoise 3.0

Top Pro

Very stable

Top Con

Interface can be confusing to people who's not familiar with trackers

Trackers are different from sequencing (arrangement) view (most DAWs) and session view (Ableton, Bitwig). See More

Top Pro

Program custom tools

Users can make their own instruments and effects using Lua . See More

Top Con

Cannot record multiple tracks simultaneously

Live musicians are limited by only being able to record on one tracks at a time. See More

Top Pro

Optimized for dual monitors

Users who have more than one monitor can view the sampler, plugins, and MIDI controls in the instrument editor, which can be moved to a second monitor. See More

Top Pro

Sophisticated effect modulation

ReNoise 3 offers a ridiculous amount of flexibility when it comes to automation. Instead automating by sliding points around, users can choose from an array of preloaded automation patterns in order to produce more interesting sounding patterns. See More

Top Pro

Requires minimum mouse input

Shortcuts and other methods are used in order to minimize the amount of work that users must do with a mouse. This can greatly increase the efficiency of a workflow. See More

Top Pro

Uses a module tracker instead of piano roll

Module trackers are preferred by some users because they help increase productivity. See More

Top Pro

Unique grid based tracker

ReNoise 3 replaces the typical piano roll with a tracker, which is claimed to be "the most powerful tracker in existence". The difference between piano roll and tracker is that piano roll moves horizontally, while trackers move vertically. Users may find this confusing at first, but trackers make it simple to customize every individual note. See More

Top Pro

Highly customizeable effect chains

Effects can be applied to samples in Instrument Editor in addition to being sent through track input. This is highly useful when dealing with multi-sample instruments, as each sample can have one or more effect chains. See More

Top Pro

Limitless sampler

The sampler is deeply embedded in the way the whole DAW works, and it allows the user to build complex synth sounds with ease. See More

Top Pro

Advanced pattern command

The Pattern Command called "MaYbe" guesses which note will be next in a progression based on the user's habits. See More

Specs

Compatibility:Mac, Windows, Linux

Everything that is needed is within easy reach, no deep diving in menus or pop up windows. See More

44 5

score 45 · Answer 8

Tracktion 7

Top Pro

Single screen interface

Top Con

Cluttered interface, not user friendly

Top Pro

Very compatible

Tracktion 5 is now compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. See More

Top Con

Lack of drivers for Linux

There are no official drivers for any multi-channel audio interfaces, putting Linux users at a disadvantage. See More

Top Pro

Racks

Self contained modular environment for hooking up processing chains of plugins or instruments in any way you want. See More

Top Pro

Bundles with Melodyne for no cost

Melodyne is a pitch correction software that now comes free with Tracktion 5. At $60, Tracktion 5 with Melodyne costs about half as much as the standalone version of Melodyne. See More

Top Pro

Multi-channel MIDI support

Multiple MIDI instruments can be recorded in different tracks at the same time. See More

Top Pro

MIDI to audio feature

Traktion 5 now has a MIDI to audio function so users can quickly freeze MIDI notes and manipulate them as audio clips. See More

Specs

Compatibility:Mac, Linux, Windows

Not unlike Pro Tools, you have to have a dongle containing your license plugged into your computer or you can't use the software. See More

45 7

score 111 · Answer 9

Cubase 10

Top Pro

Great MIDI editing options

Top Con

Annoying dongle

Top Pro

Powerful range of audio editing tools

Top Con

Quite expensive

This costs significantly more compared to other DAWs. See More

Top Pro

Supports chord tracks

Top Con

Runs poorly

Top Pro

All takes can be shown in a single track

When in stacked mode, all of your takes can be shown in a single track side by side. You can then select what parts of which take you need. If you are recording MIDI, the Cubase DAW allows creating a pattern that can overlap and be re-used as many times as needed. See More

Top Con

Installs third-party software on your computer (e-licenser)

Top Pro

Great summing engine

The summing engine is responsible for processing tracks and combining them into the correct output. In comparison to other DAWs, Cubase's summing engine is excellent. See More

Top Con

Confusing pages

The Cubase DAW displays pages that tend to confuse users. See More

Top Pro

Large selection of time stretching methods

The Cubase DAW offers 11 different kinds of time stretching methods. See More

Top Con

Not what it used to be

The new updates kind of ruin the old classy feel. See More

Top Pro

Quantize can automatically tighten MIDI inputs

Automatically tightens your MIDI inputs to be on time. Quantize has two modes. Hard Quantize will adjust based on strict settings (precisely on beat by default) and Iterative Quantize will adjust in increments. Excellent for keeping the human element in recordings. See More

Top Con

Poor sample editing

The sample editor isn't too great and there's no option to launch external sample editors. See More

Top Pro

Powerful, time-saving Logical Editor

Logical Editor allows customizing MIDI data according, in order to set rules to save time. See More

Top Con

Lack of built-in noise reduction

There's no built-in noise reduction FFT profiler like you might see in some other DAWs. There's noise gate but it's not the same. If you're on Windows, then you can get around this by downloading ReaFir. See More

Top Pro

Recent updates have added some great features

Top Con

No sampler

To many producers, sampler is one of the most important tools in a DAW. Cubase does not come with a sampler tool. See More

Top Pro

Allows changing a pattern in one place to effect each instance of it

Using Parts, the Cubase DAW allows creating patterns that can be re-used as many times as needed, and can be edited in a single place. See More

Top Con

Not the DAW for tech savvy users

Top Pro

Batch export

You can pick separate tracks to export in one pass. You can even have them open up a new project or drop in the same project automatically. Huge time saver and DSP Saver. See More

Top Pro

Incredible and well integrated EQ

Top Pro

Pro edition is exellent for audio mixing also.

It provides all the industry requirements and features an optimized workflow for mixing See More

Top Pro

Sampler Track

Has an awesome and easy to use sampler. See More

Top Pro

The industry standard for MIDI sequencing and arranging

Top Pro

Superior sample editing

Lot's of options to edit samples on the fly with direct offline processing you can apply effects without sacrificing performance. You can even use Wavelab as an external wave editor. See More

Top Pro

More features than any other DAW

Specs

Max number of tracks:Unlimited MIDI and Audio Tracks (Pro), 128 MIDI and 64 Audio tracks (Artist), 48 Audio and 64 MIDI tracks (Elements)

Seq24 can be used and edited by anyone for free. See More

111 15

score 4 · Answer 10

Seq24

Top Pro

Open source

Top Con

MIDI only

Seq24 only has MIDI capability, no audio clips allowed. See More

Top Con

Low compatibility

Seq24 only runs on Linux and win32. See More

Specs

Compatibility:Windows, Mac

4 1

score 141 · Answer 11

Bitwig Studio

Top Pro

Supports expressive MIDI - MPE

Makes use of the Seaboard, Linnstrument, Continuum and other modern expressive controllers. See More

Top Con

Unreliable for professional production

Full of random bugs. Bad performance when using many tracks. See More

Top Pro

Cross platform and highly compatible

The Bitwig DAW runs on Mac, PC, and, Linux. This DAW also has the distinction of being one of the only DAWs that can run 32 bit and 64 bit plugins at the same time. See More

Top Con

Pricey

Pricey in comparison with other major DAWs. See More

Top Pro

Highly modular

Top Con

Very bad performance when working with several tracks

Top Pro

Very intuitive/user-friendly

Top Con

UI gets frozen, VSTs crash all the time

Very frustrating to work with. See More

Top Pro

Supports multiple midi instruments on one track

Being able to add multiple midi instruments on the same track is a nice feature. It allows for much easier setup for VSTs like Cthulhu. It's also nice to be able to have multiple instruments setup that can be toggled. See More

Top Pro

Great modulation system

Top Pro

Open multiple projects

Top Pro

Very efficient preset browser

Top Pro

Touch screen support

Top Pro

Powerful devices/presets/sample browser

Top Pro

Very active development

Top Pro

Ableton Link Support

Top Pro

Many high quality free sound packs

Top Pro

Very good integration with Eurorack

Top Pro

You can write your own controller support in Java

Top Pro

Very powerful voice stacking mechanism

Top Pro

Plugin Crash Protection

Plugins can be sandboxed See More

Top Pro

State of the art time stretching

Specs

Compatibility:Mac, Linux, Windows

As of version 9.5, Reason now supports VSTs. See More

141 35

score 42 · Answer 12

Reason

Top Pro

Now supports VST

Top Con

Dated low resolution graphics (GUI/UX does not scale for 4K displays or higher)

Rack and mixer are still low resolution, designed for displays in the "pre-4K" era. Even on 1080p HD displays, the rack and mixer can be difficult to see and work with. See More

Top Pro

Easy to learn

Reason may look intimidating at first, but it is just as easy to learn as any DAW, if not more so, yet has incredible depth once you delve deeper, with some options that are just not possible in other DAWs. See More

Top Con

Still not performing well using VST's

Everything seems to work fine for VSTs now, works like a charm with my akai mpk mini and rstouch reason studios controller on my ipad, which was just updated for reason 11. See More

Top Pro

Easy and intuitive while being feature rich

You can go really deep into creating sound and routing. Find possibilities you cant do with any other DAW. See More

Top Con

Mix only by ear

You can not type in a value in the mixer. See More

Top Pro

Modular enviroment

Synths, effects, and utilities can be modularly wired via audio and CV. See More

Top Con

GUI not for everyone and complicated

Top Pro

Offers an easy way to quantize and slice audio

Reason makes it easy to stretch audio or slice it up for glitchy sound effects. When audio is loaded, it is analyzed so slice markers can be placed at the beginning and end of each note. Slice markers appear when the audio sample is double clicked. See More

Top Pro

Mimics true hardware through a skeuomorphic GUI/UX

Reason's rack and mixer visually emulate real studio hardware through a skeuomorphic GUI/UX, allowing you to route audio cables and CV very intuitively. Hit "tab" on your computer keyboard, and you can see the rear of the rack, making routing very easy to understand. See More

Top Pro

Great built in instruments and effects

Mulitple high quality built in synthesisers, drum loops, samplers and effects with plenty of pre-built patches to explore plus the ability to create your own unique sounds. See More

Top Pro

Massive free video tutorials content

Professionally produced tutorial videos often released by Propellerhead that show you how to use the software. Reason also has a thriving user base that offers video tutorials showing you how to do almost anything you need. See More

Top Pro

Built in Audio Pitch Editor

Reason's Audio Pitch Editor easily can hold its own to Melodyne Essentials. Makes editing vocals and other monophonic sound very easy. See More

Top Pro

Amazing automation arrangement

Using clips makes it very easy to automate precisely. See More

Top Pro

Multi FX presets

The multi fx are very nice. Great for transitions and complete sound management. See More

Top Pro

Can convert audio to REX files

REX files record effects and slices on top of the original file, and will play audio at the tempo of a project. REX files provide many uses and are a great addition to Reason. See More

Top Pro

Supports MIDI out

MIDI out is a new addition in Reason, allowing feedback to MIDI devices. See More

Top Pro

Loop, convert and overdub on the fly

Top Pro

Great for live peformances

Specs

Compatibility:Mac, Windows, Linux

Max number of tracks:UNLIMITED

42 13

score 162 · Answer 13

Ableton Live

Top Pro

Great creative DAW workflow

Ableton's session view gives a much quicker, more flexible way of experimenting with ideas than a typical linear interface. In session view, each instrument part is a separate entity that can be mixed and matched with other parts without having to rearrange anything. Any and every effect is consolidated into one clean looking interface. It allows users to experiment with effects and other manipulations very quickly. Because of this, Ableton is known as one of the most creative DAWs out there. See More

Top Con

Expensive

At around $749, the Ableton Live Suite DAW is more expensive than other DAWs. Ableton Live Standard can be bought for $449, and Ableton Live Intro can be bought for $99. See More

Top Pro

Advanced automation

You can add curves to automation. Additionally, Ableton lets users duplicate certain automations quickly. See More

Top Con

No comping / playlist feature when tracking

Top Pro

Great for sampling

The Ableton DAW offers a great sampling experience, which can be approached in many different ways. Audio can be directly chopped, quantized, warped, and even chopped into MIDI clips. Ableton's built in sampler also allows clean pitching along with useful loop functions. See More

Top Con

Interface looks terrible

It really looks shoddy. The fonts are much too small to be comfortable and there is no return to beginning button included in the navigation controls. (But font size can be increased) See More

Top Pro

Optimized for playing live music

While all DAWs are capable of playing music live, Ableton Live is the most DJ friendly DAW out there as it allows mixing and mashing various MIDI or audio clips together in real-time while still making sure that they're in sync. See More

Top Con

Plugins on frozen tracks are loaded and unloaded as the session opens slowing down opening and creating DSP limitations.

For example: If you freeze more than the allowed number of plugins on a UAD DSP device, when you open your session, Ableton will open and close all the frozen plugins on every channel even though they are not active in the session. The UAD control panel application displays the DSP usage of the hardware. During loading the levels (bars) will fluctuate by extreme amounts and typically will produce errors once the Ableton session is loaded. After the session is loaded, UAD plugins that should be running are disabled because there wasn't enough DSP available during load. The user then has to open and look at each UAD plug in to see if they are disabled and turn them off and on again to enable them. This illustrates there is enough room for the DSP load for unfrozen plugins, but that the loading process was at fault. See More

Top Pro

Max for Live lets users build custom tools

With Max for Live, users can create custom synthesizers, audio effects, sequencers, samplers, and more. Max for Live is a feature that is available starting with Live 9 Suite. See More

Top Con

Limited routing

Tracks can go into groups and sub-groups (as of Live 10), and sends are available, but that's the extent of routing. See More

Top Pro

Dual monitor support

Starting with Live 9, users can see session and arrangement views at the same time with dual monitor support. See More

Top Con

Not very stable

Plug-ins can crash the whole process. See More

Top Pro

Advanced content browser

The browser lets users choose from live Sets, tracks, clips, devices, presets, samples, etc. There is also an auto-play function for audio clips that enables users to browse samples quickly. The search function is also handy, but only for clips that are labeled appropriately. See More

Top Con

Can't save keyboard shortcuts globally

Shortcut keys have to be set per project, for every project (Cmd-K on Mac) and shortcuts can't be exported to other projects unless you set it up in one and save that as a template, but if you ever add another key, you have to add that individually to all hundreds of your other projects. See More

Top Pro

Many software specific controllers

Many MIDI controllers have been developed for the exclusive purpose of being used with Ableton. Some popular Live controllers include Push, APC40, and Launchpad. See More

Top Con

No VST3 Support

VST3 is now supported in 10.1 and later See More

Top Pro

Minimum skeuomorphism

Skeuomorphism is described as retaining antiquated aesthetic features on an updated version of a device. For DAWs, this happens when an interface is littered with analog nobs, wires, and other things that are reminiscent of older technology. While this can be considered a stylistic choice for some DAWs, it tends to block progress towards better practices in music production. See More

Top Con

Sometimes very slow reaction, if you switch from one track to another with APC- or Push-Controller

Top Pro

Outstanding EQ

Ableton's new EQ includes an integrated spectrum analyzer so users can see exactly which frequencies need to be adjusted. Additionally, this EQ cuts by 48 db. Up until Ableton Live 9, the EQ only cut by 12 db. See More

Top Con

Max makes startup longer

Top Pro

Comes with 70GB included sounds, 15 software instruments, 55 audio effects and 17 midi effects.

Top Con

Worst punch-in ever

You can't start recording other than where you start playing. This absurdity causes everyone to use the work around of making extra tracks just to punch in a part. Huge waste of time and design flaw. Do Ableton designers use their own product? See More

Top Pro

Exemplary time stretching facilities

Not only can the time stretching can be done in real-time, there are about a dozen of TC/E algorithms to choose from. See More

Top Pro

Endless creativity

After some training this daw can be used for doing anything. There are basically no limits. See More

Top Pro

Supports "scales" plugin

If you want to write in a specific scale, choose it from the scale plugin and your music will automatically be configured to be that key. See More

Top Pro

Multiple "workflows" or ways of achieving an outcome

Not everyone realizes this, but anything can be done in multiple ways in Live. Multiple ways of playing samples, multiple ways of slicing samples, multiple ways of sequencing MIDI, etc. See More

Top Pro

Multitude of tutorial videos online

For any question there are many videos on youtube that will tell you how to do it. See More

Top Pro

Can play a midi note from the middle

Since Live 10, you can play a midi note without having to play it from the start. See More

Top Pro

VST3 support as of Ableton 10.1

Specs

Ardour is open source, so it can be downloaded and modified without restriction. See More

162 41

score 265 · Answer 14

Ardour

Top Pro

Open source

Top Con

Too many plugins

It is hard to find good useful plugins. It looks like every developer's plugin has ended up in the list. See More

Top Pro

Compatible with Linux, Windows 7/8.1/10 and macOS

Ardour is cross-platform and works on Windows & macOS. See More

Top Con

Clunky, quirky UI and navigation; dead-end restrictive and obsolete core

Top Pro

LV2 plugins support

Top Con

Not user friendly

Ardour is very difficult to install and use. See More

Top Pro

Clean linear interface

Top Con

Builds are paid

Pre-built releases are paid and the only way to get the program for free is to build it yourself. See More

Top Pro

Multi-display support

Top Con

No support for VST plugins for OS X

Plugins can be used on OS X only if they are downloaded in AU format, which is supported. See More

Top Pro

Inline mixing console

You can view and edit plugins directly from the console's mixing channels. See More

Top Con

No 'scenes'

Ardour doesn't have 'scenes' like Ableton does (would be very handy for live-preformances). See More

Top Pro

Linux version has JACK support

On Linux, you can use JACK to freely route audio and MIDI to and from other software as hardware. See More

Top Pro

Free version with minimal limitations

Unlike some other DAW's which often limit saving, exporting, or advanced features, Ardour permits you to try all the features for free, with the only limitation being ten minutes of project length maximum. Demo. See More

Top Pro

Excellent support community.

Top Pro

LADSPA plugins support

Specs

Price:0

Compatibility:Linux, Mac, Windows

The Pro Tools DAW is know for making clip manipulation a fun and productive experience. See More

265 65

score 30 · Answer 15

Pro Tools 2018.7

Top Con

Too damn expensive

Top Pro

Very fast precision editing

Top Con

No RTAS or VST plugin support

The Pro Tools 11 DAW dropped RTAS support in favor of their own AAX (Avid Audio eXtension) format. Without AAX availability, a VST wrapper is required. See More

Top Pro

Mature editing and mixing facilities

As the Pro Tools DAW was originally developed to be an audio-only system with recording, editing and mixing in mind, these core features have been the most developed over time. It can be argued that the Pro Tools DAW has the best editing and mixing capabilities of any DAW, and for these reasons is considered by many to be an industry standard. As such it is an excellent DAW for multi-track mixing and recording. See More

Top Con

MIDI and composition tools are a bit dated

Top Pro

64 Bit

This long awaited feature has finally been added. See More

Top Con

Slow, old, outdated

Highest processor usage of any DAW, poor software optimization and patching of outdated code has left a slow bloated husk of a DAW that struggles to run smoothly on even the highest end modern computers. See More

Top Pro

Extremely clean DAW interface

The Pro Tools DAW is known for being simple and easy to use. The UI is straightforward and isn't weighed down with useless features. See More

Top Con

No built-in pitch correction

While some other DAWs are equipped with pitch correction, the Pro Tools DAW is missing this feature. In order to use pitch correction, it must be added as a plugin. See More

Top Pro

Clean, Uncluttered Interface

The UI is very clean and uncluttered so there's not too much going on onscreen to have to try to focus on, do wish they would implement a theme system though, so you could change the colors of the UI, I prefer a dark theme as they are easier on the eyes See More

Top Con

No batch export

You can not pick separate tracks to export in one pass that gives you separated files. See More

Top Pro

Free version available

The new version of Pro Tools is called Pro Tools First. It is free with some limited features. Pro Tools First allows four track inputs and three projects. See More

Top Con

Audio Drivers and ASIO

You cannot change the audio outs in ASIO on the fly, like in some other software, without having to save and restart the entire program, plus it's very finicky about audio drivers See More

Top Pro

Comes with 8GB of included sounds and 55 included effects

Top Con

Prone to crashes

While it might be the "Industry Standard" for recording award winning albums, Avid has focused more on anti piracy and security while sacrificing stability, it seems to me they just change their plugin standard and slap a new version number on it and rush it to market. See More

Top Pro

Much faster than Pro Tools 10

The improvement from the Pro Tools 10 DAW to the Pro Tools 11 DAW is highly noticeable. See More

Top Pro

If you're an audio engineer, you already know how to use it

Top Pro

Easy to understand file system

Top Pro

Designed with proper session organization habits in mind

Top Pro

Constantly updated software to accommodate Post/Film industry requirements

Top Pro

A signal flow that makes sense when working with a hybrid setup

Specs

VST:AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite

MIDI?:512

Max number of tracks:256

Acid Pro 7 is 32-bit only and cannot use 64-bit plugins. This also limits the size of a project. See More

30 24

score 10 · Answer 16

Acid Pro 7

Top Con

32-bit only

Top Pro

Supports multi-track recording

Multi-track recording is an option provided by Acid Pro 7 that can be especially beneficial for live performances. Each instrument can be recorded live with its own effects and input monitoring. See More

Top Con

Soon to be discontinued, no updates, MAGIX doesn't seem to care

Top Pro

Ideal for LOOP or SAMPLE based music

Top Con

PC only

Acid Pro 7 is not compatible with Mac. See More

Top Pro

Zoom function changes the size of all tracks simultaneously

Resizing is easy with Acid Pro 7, and can be done to every track at the same time with one master slider. See More

Top Pro

It does not get any easier than this if you're an absolute beginner

Top Pro

Freezes MIDI to WAV and can revert WAV to MIDI

In order to reduce CPU load, Acid Pro 7 offers the ability to bounce clips to WAV. This DAW stands out by letting users revert back to MIDI if further editing is required. See More

Specs

Compatibility:Windows

Built using Google WebAssembly Threads. See More

10 0

score 7 · Answer 17

Soundation

Top Pro

Performance

Top Pro

Free

Free version available (registration required). See More

Top Pro

Share music

Music can be shared as links: Example by HONESTandBLUNT. See More

Top Pro

Sound library

Extensive library with ready to use sounds. See More

7 0

score 17 · Answer 18

ScoreCloud

Top Pro

Understands MIDI and audio input

In addition to being able to convert MIDI to sheet music, ScoreCloud can analyze single-instrument audio to derive music notation from that. See More

Top Con

Transcription not always precise

Although very impressive, the results aren't always 100 %. The easy-to-use editor helps this though. See More

Top Pro

Transcribes polyphonic audio to sheet music

Being able to transcribe an acoustic piano straight into sheet music is a time saver! See More

Top Con

Only the pro plan allows saving files locally

ScoreCloud service is tied to their servers to a degree where it's not possible to save files locally without a $19.99 / month subscription. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

Top Con

Free plan doesn't allow exporting MIDI

17 1

score 15 · Answer 19

Zynewave Podium

Top Pro

Excellent navigation

Using the navigator at the top of the screen, Podium users can click and zoom, adjust the edges of the viewed area, or click a programmable button to the left of the navigator that jumps to a selected view. See More

Top Con

Low compatibility

Podium is for Windows only. See More

Top Pro

Works with advanced mice

Mice with 4-way scroll wheels are compatible with Podium. See More

Top Pro

Embedded editor

Zynewave plugins use custom editors that are built in to the inspector's rack panel, allowing users to adjust settings without having to open a new window. See More

Specs

Compatibility:Windows

15 1

score 27 · Answer 20

MuTools MuLab

Top Pro

Allows creating own synths and effects patches

MuLab includes MUX Modular, a modular synth and effect engine, that can be used to create and edito own synths and effects patches. See More

Top Pro

Portable

Can be installed and run on a portable device such as a USB stick. See More

Top Pro

Free version and affordable full version

MuLab is available in a free version and the full version is highly affordable at only 69 euro all in. See More

Top Pro

No-clutter interface

MuLab has a clean, minimalistic interface that uses highly distinct icons sparingly making it easy to overview. Much of the functionality can be found in right-click menus. See More

Top Pro

Low system requirements

In addition to having generally low resource consumption, MuLab is capable of taking advantage of multi-core CPUs and relieving the strain on machines even further that way. See More

Top Pro

Capable oscillators

MuLab includes oscillators with 300 selected waveforms and support for user waveforms. See More

Top Pro

Comes with high-quality synths, samplers and effects

Having a variety of integrated synths, samplers and effects removes the need for new user to search for and buy extra VST plug-ins in order to make sound. See More

Top Pro

Integrated multi-functional browser

Top Pro

REX file support

Top Pro

Multi-screen support

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Works on OSX and Windows. See More

Specs

Controller Support:Only Midi. No Mackie control

Features:Mixer GUI very limited