It’s amazing how many free Digital Audio Workstations (DAW for short) are available these days for recording, creating, editing and mixing music from a simple home computer setup.
Traverso DAW (digital audio workstation) is an easy to use, open source multitrack audio recording and editing suite with a great user interface. The open source cross-platform DAW. Just download and run Ardour on your Linux, macOS or Windows computer. Cross-platform free DAW software, Stagelight is very easy to use. It is a great tool for music education. From teaching, learning, creating, to sharing music, Stagelight offers it all. This is one of the best DAW for beginners for making beats, mixing loops and creating complete multi. Alternatives to Web Audio DAW for Self-Hosted, JavaScript, Software as a Service (SaaS), Windows, Mac and more. Filter by license to discover only free or Open Source alternatives. This list contains a total of apps similar to Web Audio DAW. List updated: 8/29/2016 5:05:00 PM. Free, open source and cross-platform Audacity is available for free on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux with source code available here.
When I first started getting into recording music from home, I thought it was pretty much required to spend a few hundred dollars (at least) on music recording software, but it turns out that’s not the case at all.
In fact if you’re a beginner just starting out, you’re much better off not buying a DAW right away.
It’s better to test a few different DAWs at first, some free versions and demos, to find out what fits your style and workflow the best.
There’s nothing worse than spending several hundred dollars on software that you later find out that you don’t like, so it’s important to take some time when it comes to choosing a DAW.
If you’re looking for a new DAW or are just starting out, here’s a list of the best free Digital Audio Workstations that are currently available to download and try out.
Pro Tools First
Pro Tools has been one of the top Digital Audio Workstations for a long time. It is used in many professional studios and is considered the industry standard in some circles. But Pro Tools also receives a lot of criticism for the way Avid chooses to handles things.
Avid released a completely free version of Pro Tools earlier this year called Pro Tools First. It has a lot of good things going for it, with a couple of significant drawbacks. The free version is a great way to try out Pro Tools without having to commit to spending a fortune on a full license or a subscription plan.
Here’s a comparison chart that lists the differences between the free and paid versions of Pro Tools.
Pros
- Supports recording 16 mono/stereo audio and instrument and MIDI tracks.
- Supports ReWire.
- Comes with Xpand!2, a virtual instrument plugin with 1000’s of built-in sounds for drums, strings, pianos, loops, synths, etc; plus over 20 Pro Tools plugins are included.
Cons
- Plugins can only be purchased through Avid’s marketplace; you can’t install plugins from outside sources.
- Supports just three projects at one time.
- Projects are stored in the cloud (with offline caching).
Studio One 3 Prime
The other big-name free DAW up for the taking that works with Mac and PC computers is Studio One Prime. Unlike most other free DAWs it offers unlimited audio tracks, MIDI tracks, buses, and FX channels. The main limitation is you can’t load 3rd party plugins with the free version because there is no VST support—and that’s a pretty big issue.
The $99 PreSonus AudioBox USB audio interface comes with a free download of Studio One 3 Artist, which sells for $75 separately. It’s a step-up from the free version and adds a number of additional features, but VST and ReWire support costs an extra $79 as an add-on.
Here’s a comparison chart at PreSonus listing all the different features between each version of Studio One.
Pros
- Impressive interface and workflow, with advanced multi-track editing and comping, automation, and full MIDI support.
- Supports unlimited audio tracks, MIDI tracks, buses, and FX channels.
- It comes with 9 high-quality effects, including Ampire, Beat Delay, Chorus, MixVerb, EQ, Presence XT sampler, etc.
Cons
- No VST plugin support.
- Just one virtual instrument included.
Podium Free
One of the better options for a free DAW is Podium Free, the freeware edition of Podium. It’s a fully-functional DAW for Windows that supports recording and editing audio and MIDI, and it can load VST plugins as well.
Pros
- VST plugin support.
- Identical to the commercial version of Podium, with a few limitations.
- Can download and use freely, registration optional.
Cons
- Windows only.
- Plugin multi-processing is disabled on free version.
- ReWire and 64-bit mixer engine disabled on free version.
Tracktion T5
If you truly want to go the free DAW route, Tracktion 5 is one of the best options. It’s not encumbered by the usual limitations like other brands. It’s a fully-operational DAW, complete with VST and ReWire support and unlimited tracks. T5 also supports automation and it has audio comping, latency management, track freeze, MIDI learn, and more.
Pros
- Supports unlimited VST/AU plugins and ReWire.
- Unlimited number of audio and MIDI tracks supported.
- Works with Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Cons
- Single window user interface.
- Less overall features than the big name stuff like Pro Tools First.
DarkWave Studio
DarkWave Studio is another freeware DAW that is available for Windows. It’s designed with an emphasis on creating electronic music. It supports VST and VSTi instrument and plugin effects. DarkWave Studio features a modular approach and it comes with a bunch of bundled plugins.
Pros
- VST plugins supported.
- Multi core & multi CPU support.
- Regularly updated.
Cons
- Windows only.
- Not well known, not much info.
Reaper
Reaper is a popular DAW that’s loaded with tons of features and a very user-friendly license policy. There’s an older free version of Reaper available, v0.999. It hasn’t been updated in 10 years and won’t be updated again, but it still has a number of useful tools for recording and editing music.
However, it doesn’t really make any sense to even bother with the free version of Reaper because the full version only costs $60. Don’t let the price fool you. It’s a full DAW with the same level of features as the expensive stuff. Plus it has a 60-day trial period to demo the full software.
Additional Options
Audacity – It’s not a DAW precisely but Audacity is highly-capable open source audio software for multi-track recording and editing—it even supports VST plugins. It works with Windows, Mac, and Linux and it’s free.
LMMS – While it does not offer any type of external audio recording, LMMS is free open-source software for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It comes with some included effects and instrument plugins. It supports MIDI and 3rd-party VST plugins.
Ableton Live Lite 9 – A fully-functional DAW that’s main limitation is it only supports 8 tracks/scenes. It’s not free exactly but it does come free with a number of MIDI and audio interfaces. One of the best and most capable free software add-ons if you can get a hold of it.
MuLab Free – A free version of MuLab that supports four tracks and eight VST plugins per project. Works with Windows and Mac OSX.
Ardour – A fully functional DAW for OSX and Linux. It’s not free but it can be purchased for as little as $1.
Wavosaur – Wavosaur is a free audio editor and audio recorder program that supports wav and mp3 files. Wavosaur can install VST plugins for real time effects processing. The program is freeware for Windows computers.
When you want to edit an audio file or when you want to create or record your own music, you need a capable audio editing software that has all the features, can handle long sessions of recording, and even lets you make and manage music. In our previous articles we covered free audio editing software, but most of them contain ads, upgrade prompts, and even limitations. To deal with that, here are some of the best free and open-source audio editing software.
Read: 7 Best Audio Editor for Android (2018)
Open Source Audio Editors
1. Audacity
Audacity is one of the best in terms of features, accessibility, and plugins. I use Audacity from time to time for some minor tasks like converting M4A format to MP3, Splitting MP3 files, removing noise from old audio files, etc. The user interface is traditional and looks a bit dated but it is very user friendly and gets the job done without any hiccups.
We use audacity to edit audio for our YouTube channel
Audacity supports a wide range of audio formats including but not limited to WAV, FLAC, AIFF, AU, MP3, etc. When it comes to editing, you can do things like recording, import and export, scrubbing and seeking, cut, copy, paste, mix multiple tracks, etc. It also lets you undo without any limits, has automatic crash recovery, sync-lock tracks, and much more useful features.
Read: How to Improve Your Voice Over With Audacity
You can also add various included effects, reduce noise, change pitch and tempo, isolate vocals, generate tones, etc. The best part is, Audacity supports external plugins to improve and/or add extra functionality. Simply put, no matter who you are, just download and install Audacity. It will come in handy from time to time. After all, Audacity is completely free.
Pro Tip: You can also use Audacity to record audio coming out of the computer.
Platform support: Audacity supports Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Install Audacity (free)
2. Traverso DAW
Traverso DAW is a powerful audio editing and audio recording software for Linux users. You can edit multi-track audio with layers and effects. If you want to, you can record the complete band and burn it to a CD or DVD directly from Traverso DAW, no need of yet another software. Just like Audacity, the user interface looks dated but once you get comfortable, it is very user-friendly. You can connect multiple instruments to Traverso DAW and record them in multiple tracks with ease.
Traverso DAW is officially only available to Linux users and you need to know how to compile Traverso DAW from the source and then install it. That being said, on some distributions, like on Ubuntu and its derivatives, you can install Traverso DAW with a single command. Optionally, you can check for its availability on the included app store.
If you are looking for a scalable professional audio editing software that can effortlessly manage recording multiple instruments then try Traverso DAW.
Platform support: Traverso DAW is available for Linux.
Install Traverso DAW (free)
3. Ardour
Ardour is a professional open-source audio editing workstation for Windows, Mac, and Linux users. One of the best features of Ardour is its Flexible Recording. Using which you’ll be able to set layered, destructive, and non-layered modes on per track basis. You can even manage individual monitoring options per track by simply clicking on the individual monitor buttons. The Mixer section of Ardour is one of the best compared to other software on this list. It has a ton of options with a friendly user interface.
Other features of Ardour include but not limited to non-linear and non-destructive track editing, unlimited multichannel tracks, ability to extract audio from video, lock audio and MIDI regions, blank frames, automation, mixing, support for external plugins, ability to import and export, etc. The source code is available for free but you’d need to compile it manually on your computer, however, you can simply donate a small amount to the dev and download the compiled file directly.
Platform support: Ardour supports Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Install Ardour (free)
Open Source Daw Mac
4. Mixxx
If you are into DJing then Mixxx is the one to go for. The software is designed to be friendly for both beginners and professionals alike. Gettings started with Mixxx is easy, simply drag a song into Mixxx and you can start manipulating it using beats, cue points, and scrollable and scratchable waveforms among other things.
You will also have access to various features like sampler decks, pitch, and key control, master sync, beat looping, chained effects, built-in music library, key and bpm detection, recording, live broadcasting, etc. There is also a fun feature called Auto DJ which can take over your job in the time of need. All you have to do is point it towards a playlist and you are good to go.
Of course, being a DJ software, it has multiple skins with a customizable layout. If you not a fan of the default layout then you only limited by your imagination when it comes to layout customization.
Platform support: Ardour supports Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Install Mixxx (free)
5. Qtractor
Qtractor is an Audio and/or MIDI multi-track sequencer application. Unlike all the other applications shared in this list, Qtractor is designed for professionals. Also, it gives you the power of the Jack Audio Connection Kit. In fact, you need to have Jack Audio Connection Kit in order to work with Qtractor on your Linux machine. Unfortunately, though Qtractor is easy to use and has support for Jack Audio Connection Kit, it is not as complex or flexible as Ardour.
Features of Qtractor include but not limited to unlimited undos and redos, built-in connection patch bay control, multi-select, drag and drop, multi-track tape recorder, loop recording, unlimited location markers, MMC control surface, session or project description files, support for non-destructive and non-linear editing, Jack Audio Connection Kit transport sync, etc.
Free Mac Daw
Platform support: Linux only.
Install Qtractor (free)
Final Words
Best Free Daw Mac
These are some of the best open-source audio editors out there. Unless you have a specific need for a special feature, Audacity works just fine for most people. However, if you have a better alternative that is not listed here, let me know in the comments below.
Open Source Daw Windows
Read: Best Audiobook Apps for Android