When comparing Pro Tools 2018.7 vs Pro Tools, the Slant community recommends Pro Tools for most people. In the question“What are the best DAWs for beginners?” Pro Tools is ranked 9th while Pro Tools 2018.7 is ranked 13th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Very high performance, and very powerful
This software is very powerful, and has great audio editing, midi editing, automation, pan etc, but It only supports AAX plugins, no VST.
Pro Very fast precision editing
The Pro Tools DAW is know for making clip manipulation a fun and productive experience.
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.
Pro 64 Bit
This long awaited feature has finally been added.
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.
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.
Pro Free trial available
You can get a free trial of Pro Tools for 30 days.
Pro Comes with 8GB of included sounds and 55 included effects
Pro Much faster than Pro Tools 10
The improvement from the Pro Tools 10 DAW to the Pro Tools 11 DAW is highly noticeable.
Pro If you're an audio engineer, you already know how to use it
Pro Easy to understand file system
Pro Designed with proper session organization habits in mind
Pro Constantly updated software to accommodate Post/Film industry requirements
Pro A signal flow that makes sense when working with a hybrid setup
Pro Great stock plugins
Pro Seamless integration with UAD
Pro Industry standard
Pro Cross platform
Available both on Windows and MacOS.
Pro Frequent updates
Pro Great support
Pro Excellent UI
Especially for DAW veterans and Og's.
Pro Dark Mode
Finally Pro Tools Can be in dark mode.
Pro Wide audio format compatibility
Ease of integrating audio of different formats, sample rates; equal ease of exporting.
Pro Video editing tools and capabilities
Pro Exceptionally deep shortcuts and workflow
Pro Track freezing abilities
Pro Advanced metering options with Peak, VU (Volume Unit), and Spectrograph views
Pro Option for external DSP from Avid to help free up CPU
Pro Customizable interface
Create and save youe own workspace layouts. and change the tone of the skin dark and classic
Pro Excellent and pro mixing and recording tools
As the name tell
Pro Fast 64-bit recording and mixing engine
Pro Native integration with Avid’s control panels
Pro Optimized for multiple screens
Pro Broadest hardware compatibility
Pro Great Import / export features
Pro Excellent cloud collaboration integration
Pro Interfaces easily with HDX and Pro Tools | Carbon
Pro All languages supported
Pro Unlimited tracks, buses, inserts, sends, returns, virtual instruments
Pro Tools effects, all customizable.
Pro Automatic delay compensation
Used to fix timing issues between different tracks during mix down.
Cons
Con Too damn expensive
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.
Con No batch export
You can not pick separate tracks to export in one pass that gives you separated files.
Con Only subscription now
Just recently, pro tools has switched to a subscription only basis, you cannot get an upfront payment without using an external vendor.
Con MIDI and composition tools are a bit dated
Con No ARA (audio communication, e.g. with Melodyne / VocAlign)
Replaced by the commit function.
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.
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.
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.
Con Proprietary
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.
Con Subscription based
Con Random crashes
Con Quite expensive
Compared to other DAW subscription models.
Con Ilok license manager
Con CPU hungry
System usage can be excessive.
Con Very steep learning curve
Con Could benefit from more robust composition tools
Con Lack of instrument bundle, despite two new additions
Con Pro Tools isn't compatible with VST or AU plugins
Only AAX.
Con Not amateur|Beginner friendly
Con Hard and complicated shorcuts
Not easy to memorise them.