When comparing Pro Tools 2018.7 vs LMMS, the Slant community recommends LMMS for most people. In the question“What are the best free music making software tools?” LMMS is ranked 3rd while Pro Tools 2018.7 is ranked 6th. The most important reason people chose LMMS is:
LMMS is available for free with source code licensed under GPL and available on [GitHub](https://github.com/LMMS/lmms) allowing anyone to edit and extend the software as they see fit.
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 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.
Pro Cross-platform
LMMS works on Linux, Windows and OSX.
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.
Pro Portable
LMMS is lightweight enough to be run off of a flash drive.
Pro VST Support
Uses VeSTige as the VST plugin. It has some bugs but most VSTs work with it.
Pro LADSPA plugins support
Pro VST plugins support
Pro Sandbox layout
All windows in the DAW can be moved around freely and are not attached to a grid.
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.
Pro JACK Audio Connection Kit support
Pro Multiple languages support
Pro Works with many VSTs and effects
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.
Pro Computer Keyboard to MIDI
You can use your computer keyboard as a MIDI controller.
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.
Pro No Scanning VST instruments/FX in LMMS
You can load a VST Instrument plugin directly from your desktop if you want to and it supports most of the ddl plugins, both 32-bit 64-bit. FX plugins need to be placed into your directed plugin folder e.g C :/Program files/LMMS/Plugins.
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 No merging or splicing options
There is no feature that allows you to merge or splice tracks in LMMS.
Con Cannot listen other tracks while recording
Can't listen to other track while record or playing other track .
Con Limited mixer rack
You can only add Virtual Instrument tracks into the mixing console/rack.
Con Program crashes a lot
This happens more frequently when loading VST files.
Con Limited effect plugin support
A lot of 3rd-party effect plugins don't work.
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.