What Are The Best Daws?: 59 1.6K 16 Mins

26/07/2019 53 Best DAWs as of 2019 - Slant
What are the best... Log in • Sign up
•••
What are the best DAWs?

59 1.6K 16 mins
OPTIONS CONSIDERED USER RECS. LAST UPDATED
THE BEST 2 OF 53 OPTIONS WHY?
92 EXCELLENT •••
Reaper
ALL 55 EXPERIENCES 17 PROS 30 CONS 7 SPECS
TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••
Highly customizable Long drop down menus G

Reaper lets users change to different themes, There are many features that you'll find g
supports the use of a wealth of (free) nested deep in the menu system, but it's m
extensions and has a lot of options when it really clunky. Everything is there but it's S
comes to rendering. difficult to find. It's also really easy to
FREE - $225 273 60
AD
I RECOMMEND...
NordVPN
https://www.slant.co/topics/1835/~best-daws 1/14
TOP PRO TOP CON
No logs are kept Speed can flucuate

This aspect of their service is fairly Most of the time download speeds are great,
straightforward - no logs are kept, however when rush hours occur (for instance,
whatsoever. during the weekend), speed drops drastically.
$2.99/MONTH
92 EXCELLENT •••
Studio One 4
Easy to use DAW interface No snap to zero crossing E

All components are laid out in an Snap to zero crossing lines up audio's c
understandable fashion and almost waveform at the optimum position so it won't o
everything is drag and drop. sound glitchy. The Studio One DAW does not t
directly offer this feature. IS
FREE - $358.99 121 16
51 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED
87 •••
I RECOMMEND...
FL Studio
Excellent for visual learners Not intuitive for track based recording H
All the stock plugins look really nice and really approach B
show users what is being done, it's a great m
way to learn mixing theory for a beginner. This S
approach makes FL Studio easy to learn
$99-$899 140 32
86 •••
Cubase 10
Great MIDI editing options Annoying dongle I

Not unlike Pro Tools, you have to have a d
dongle containing your license plugged into b
I RECOMMEND... b
your computer or you can't use the software.
S
$549.99 81 12
85 •••
Logic Pro X
High quality instruments and effects Only compatible with Mac M

Good range of high quality synths: analog, FM, No Windows or Linux versions are available. S
wavetable, string modulation, sampler, organ,
clarinet, epiano.
$199 100 26
85 •••
LMMS
I RECOMMEND...

Has the possibility to become a great open- No merging or splicing options I

source alternative to FL Studio There is no feature that allows you to merge f
-Interface look like FL Studio interface. -Main or splice tracks in LMMS. a
workspace for composing and editing e
melodies and harmonies is piano roll. o
S
FREE 55 5
83 •••
Ableton Live
Great creative DAW workflow Expensive I

Ableton's session view gives a much quicker, At around $749, the Ableton Live Suite DAW is s
more flexible way of experimenting with ideas more expensive than other DAWs. Ableton f
than a typical linear interface. In session view, Live Standard can be bought for $449, and e
each instrument part is a separate entity that Ableton Live Intro can be bought for $99. V
S
$99-$749 129 33
81 •••
Bitwig Studio I RECOMMEND...
Supports expressive MIDI - MPE Unreliable for professional production I

Makes use of the Seaboard, Linnstrument, Full of random bugs. Bad performance when D
Continuum and other modern expressive using many tracks. S
controllers.
$399 67 18
81 •••
Cakewalk by Bandlab (Sonar)
Highly customizable UI 64-bit Windows only A

The Sonar DAW comes with a new and This DAW is not available on any operating C
improved UI with extra focus on being system except for Windows. However, many t
I RECOMMEND... S
customizable. Mac users operate the Sonar DAW in a dual
FREE 47 8
80 •••
Acoustica Mixcraft 8 Pro Studio
High capacity tracks Crashes a lot O

Each track can receive an unlimited number i
of VST, aux, and audio inputs. P
S
w
S
$89-179 41 3
73 •••
Ardour
I RECOMMEND...

Open source Too many plugins O

Ardour is open source, so it can be It is hard to find good useful plugins. It looks O
downloaded and modified without like every developer's plugin has ended up in c
restriction. the list. d
b
S
$1-INFINITE (DONATION REQUIRED) 21 8
-- •••
ReNoise 3.0
ALL 13 PROS 10 CONS 2 SPECS
Program custom tools Interface can be confusing to people who's C

Users can make their own instruments and not familiar with trackers M
effects using Lua . Trackers are different from sequencing M
(arrangement) view (most DAWs) and session P
view (Ableton, Bitwig). S
$89 11 1
67 •••
Reason I RECOMMEND...
Easy to learn Dated low resolution graphics (GUI/UX does R

Reason is as easy to learn as any DAW, yet has not scale for 4K displays or higher) d
incredible depth once you delve deeper, with Rack and mixer are still low resolution, p
some options that are just not possible in designed for displays in the "pre-4K" era. Even y
other DAWs. on 1080p HD displays, the rack and mixer can sS
$399 36 13
-- •••
Tracktion 7
Very compatible Cluttered interface, not user friendly C

Tracktion 5 is now compatible with Windows,
Mac, and Linux.
I RECOMMEND...
GET IT HERE 9 3
62 •••
Audacity
TOP CON ••• TOP PRO •••
Not seen as a full DAW Free, open source and cross-platform S

Audacity doesn't have the capabilities of Audacity is available for free on Windows, l
popular DAWs and generally isn't considered Mac OS, and Linux with source code available S
to be good option. here. a
rS
GET IT HERE FOR FREE 21 10
-- •••
Acid Pro 7
I RECOMMEND...

TOP CON ••• TOP PRO •••
32-bit only Supports multi-track recording B

Acid Pro 7 is 32-bit only and cannot use 64- Multi-track recording is an option provided by r
bit plugins. This also limits the size of a Acid Pro 7 that can be especially beneficial for D
project. live performances. Each instrument can be p
recorded live with its own effects and input sS
GET IT HERE 8
-- •••
MOTU Digital Performer 8
64 bit compatibility Substandard audio stretching C

Digital Performer 8 does away with low RAM DP 8 supports audio stretching, but the
limits by including 64 bit compatibility. quality often doesn't remain after the sound
has been modified.
GET IT HERE 11 3
-- •••
Pro Tools 2018.7

I RECOMMEND...
Very fast precision editing Too damn expensive T

The Pro Tools DAW is know for making clip j
manipulation a fun and productive t
experience. f
S
FREE - $699 21 20
-- •••
Sequel 3
Designed to be easy to learn Outdated C

Sequel 3 was made by the folks behind
Cubase, and it is meant to be lighter and
I RECOMMEND...
easier to learn. This program's focus on loops
and computer generated drum patterns
GET IT HERE 6
-- •••
Magix Samplitude
Object based editing Some 32 bit plug-ins fail R

No other DAW provides Object FX S
automation.
GET IT HERE 13 4
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I RECOMMEND...
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26/07/2019 53 Best DAWs as of 2019 - Slant

What are the best... Log in • Sign up

What are the best DAWs?

THE BEST 2 OF 53 OPTIONS WHY?

ALL 55 EXPERIENCES 17 PROS 30 CONS 7 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Highly customizable Long drop down menus G

comes to rendering. difficult to find. It's also really easy to

FREE - $225 273 60

TOP PRO TOP CON

No logs are kept Speed can flucuate

ALL 36 EXPERIENCES 10 PROS 16 CONS 9 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Easy to use DAW interface No snap to zero crossing E

FREE - $358.99 121 16

51 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

ALL 42 EXPERIENCES 3 PROS 32 CONS 6 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

approach makes FL Studio easy to learn

ALL 32 EXPERIENCES 4 PROS 17 CONS 10 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Great MIDI editing options Annoying dongle I

ALL 33 EXPERIENCES 6 PROS 16 CONS 10 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

High quality instruments and effects Only compatible with Mac M

ALL 23 EXPERIENCES 6 PROS 12 CONS 4 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Has the possibility to become a great open- No merging or splicing options I

ALL 34 EXPERIENCES 5 PROS 17 CONS 11 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Great creative DAW workflow Expensive I

Bitwig Studio I RECOMMEND...

ALL 24 EXPERIENCES 1 PROS 18 CONS 4 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Supports expressive MIDI - MPE Unreliable for professional production I

Cakewalk by Bandlab (Sonar)

ALL 35 EXPERIENCES 8 PROS 21 CONS 5 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Highly customizable UI 64-bit Windows only A

Acoustica Mixcraft 8 Pro Studio

ALL 26 EXPERIENCES 3 PROS 17 CONS 5 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

High capacity tracks Crashes a lot O

ALL 19 EXPERIENCES 2 PROS 10 CONS 6 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Open source Too many plugins O

$1-INFINITE (DONATION REQUIRED) 21 8

ALL 13 PROS 10 CONS 2 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Program custom tools Interface can be confusing to people who's C

ALL 26 EXPERIENCES 6 PROS 15 CONS 4 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Easy to learn Dated low resolution graphics (GUI/UX does R

ALL 9 PROS 6 CONS 2 SPECS

TOP PRO ••• TOP CON •••

Very compatible Cluttered interface, not user friendly C

ALL 12 EXPERIENCES 3 PROS 4 CONS 4 SPECS

TOP CON ••• TOP PRO •••

Not seen as a full DAW Free, open source and cross-platform S

GET IT HERE FOR FREE 21 10

ALL 10 EXPERIENCES 1 PROS 5 CONS 3 SPECS

TOP CON ••• TOP PRO •••

32-bit only Supports multi-track recording B