Daws reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 462 Reddit reviews across 30 subreddits and 61 posts to rank the best Daws brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/musicproduction, r/WeAreTheMusicMakers, r/livesound, r/edmproduction, r/composer. Top-rated brands include Reaper (4.6/5), Logic Pro (4.3/5), FL Studio (4.1/5).
Stats
Reviews462
Subreddits30
Posts61
Brands73
Products13
462 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Reaper
4.6
(111)
"Reaper being the most stable one."
"Stable? reaper."
"Reaper is my go to."
"I’ve been using Reaper and FL Studio without issue."
"Reaper is good and reliable."
"I trust reaper the most with stability."
"Reaper 100%."
"I’ve had both Reaper and Logic automatically save a multitrack session."
"I’ve used both reaper and Pro Tools with success."
"Reaper."
#2
Logic Pro
4.3
(41)
"Logic Pro."
"I use logic on mac since 2009 both for record and playing and had zero problems all this time."
"The free upgrades for life is what sold me on it. Paid for it once a couple decades ago and still upgrading it for free on a regular basis. Does everything I need it to do and does it well."
"If you already have a Mac definitely get Logic. If you don’t, buy a Mac and get Logic."
"For me, logic always has had the most value, paid +-200 for it close to 10 years ago now.. and I'm still getting the latest updates"
"Another vote for Logic, it's powerful and has a similar interface to Garage Band and supposed to be compatible with Garage Band projects"
"+1 for logic. It has the best bang for buck. The included plugins, samples, and ease of workflow are great."
"You want Logic. It’ll feel familiar and it’s a powerful program. Apple provides a free trial."
"Logic Pro X comes with a lot of great features for the money. But you need a MAC."
"Logic is a no brainer."
#3
FL Studio
4.1
(30)
"People hate on it but fl studio is very powerful."
"FL Studio hands down - the free version is all you need until you get serious."
"It is a pro Daw. If you think it's for DJ's that means you haven't learnt it well enough."
"Been using fl studio all my life since fruity loops days n i haven't regret it once!"
"The most awesome piano roll."
"That’s what i use."
"FL studio fosho. I use it and it’s great imo"
"Fl studio is quite good, free trial is unlimited but once you exit a file you can’t really recover what you worked on."
"Fl studio has a great demo. You can’t reopen files, but you can export stuff."
"FL is also popular for EDM."
#4
Ableton Live
4.3
(25)
"If you want to do this second kind of music, the flexibility Ableton has is at the top of the market right now."
"Is your best friend."
"Ableton has really nice plugins from the get-go, so much so that Skrillex seems to use them heavily."
"Your top picks for writing EDM are probably Ableton Live or FL Studio."
"Ableton 90 day free trial is great! Just try it"
"Ableton is THE BEST for automation imo."
"3 month Ableton free trial. Btw I used garageband lightly for like 5 years before I got ableton, and I wouldv greatly preferred just starting with ableton ngl"
"Any of the professional DAWs are fine."
"If your focus is electronic music then Ableton/Bitwig and similar lean a little more in that direction"
"Most people I've met irl use Ableton especially EDM producers"
#5
Studio One
4.3
(20)
"Studio One has been my go to since it's released."
"Using presonus studio one on a 2008 black dual core MacBook."
"I've been using studio one for years doing live tracking."
"Highly recommend!"
"Never looked back."
"Studio one or logic. But all options now a days are pretty solid."
"Studio One - works great with PreSonus hardware"
"I've been on Studio One for ages and like it, but only because I'm so used to it."
"Look into presonus studio one. It's got a similar workflow to logic."
"I've used, FL, Ableton, and Now I'm using Studio One."
#6
Cakewalk
4.7
(15)
"Cakewalk is the best check it out."
"Bandlab's Cakewalk used to be an option."
"Surprisingly good daw for absolutely free."
"I recommend this. It's free."
"Cakewalk is free if you want to try a DAW."
"Cakewalk and Tracktion Free are free."
"Bandlab Cakewalk. free for windows."
"Cakewalk is a great free DAW for windows."
"Cakewalk, Akai beats , Waveform and Studio one Prime all great free DAWs"
"Cakewalk is free."
#7
Apple
4.9
(13)
"GarageBand. This is the gateway to Logic Pro."
"Stick with Garageband. Much easier to work with on the iPad."
"GarageBand is free and stupid easy to use I promise"
"GarageBand."
"GarageBand if you’re on a Mac. The Dream and Tricky Stewart used it to make Rihanna’s Umbrella so it can’t be that bad"
"Logic has a 90 day trial. Reaper has a trial. Both programs are excellent. If on Mac - I’d recommend Logic Pro."
"GarageBand"
"GarageBand. It was made for you, where you are right now."
"GarageBand. It’s so simple and easy to use. You’ll go far. My whole album was recorded in GarageBand."
"GarageBand is free on Apple."
#8
GarageBand
4.2
(15)
"GarageBand is unbeatable."
"GarageBand/Logic feel most intuitive to me!"
"If you have a mac, garageband is fantastic for starting out."
"I’ve recorded 3hr band practices no issues with GarageBand, Reaper, and Logic."
"I always push GarageBand as a free DAW if you have MacOS or iOS."
"GarageBand: Good choice for small bands who don't want to put a lot of effort into production"
"I use a free DAW called GarageBand and it is totally possible to make good music with that and it’s user friendly"
"GarageBand is free and very good."
"Yep, gonna echo GarageBand."
"Garage band is already on it."
#9
Ableton
4.1
(14)
"Ableton hands down."
"If you want a "solid EDM DAW" then use Ableton"
"I switched to Ableton and in 1 week I was flying."
"I’ll wholeheartedly submit ableton for that honor."
"A lot of gear comes with a key to the entry level Ableton"
"Ableton is just as good and intuitive."
"Ableton workflow clicks better for me, reaper is my side piece now"
"I personally use ableton with many orchestra libraries from spitfire audio."
"If you’re on PC I recommend Ableton."
"Ableton"
#10
Cubase
4.2
(13)
"Great midi capabilities and workflow is wonderful."
"Probably the most popular one here in LA."
"A friend who is an audio supervisor for reality tv shows uses cubase."
"Logic, cubase, and traditional DAW is probably a great place to start as they do everything very well."
"Cubase / Nuendo -Most features and ways to work if doing EDM and hip hop has the best timing and plays well with other gear"
"Cubase/nuendo for windows"
"Cubase is kind of the de facto DAW for composers."
"Cubase is powerful and a lot of people use it."
"Personally I use Cubase."
"I use both Cubase and Logic. I’d ditch GarageBand if you want to get serious about being a composer."
#11
Bitwig
4.4
(12)
"I'd DEFINITELY suggest bitwig."
"Bitwig studio."
"Bitwig for EDM. Studio One for Tracking and Mixing."
"If you want a "solid EDM DAW" then use Bitwig"
"Bitwig studio, it's made by ex- Ableton devs, and imo is better than Ableton."
"Bitwig is awesome if you want a DAW similar to Ableton Live."
"Bitwig, Reaper, Tracktion Waveform, Zrythm, Renoise, Ardour."
"Bitwig is what I use, it's pretty great, but not the most conventional DAW."
"Bitwig if you want to spend some money for a fully fledged system that feels a little bit like Ableton."
"If you want to learn, I would say Bigwig. Is a great option due to its modular approach."
#12
Audacity
3.6
(11)
"Audacity is the fastest you can get to 'Let's record' with free legal software."
"Audacity. Free. Open source. Runs VST plugins."
"Audacity"
"I use audacity since they added a bpm grid."
"For free, you can't beat Audacity which is just an audio editor but you can apply effects, have multiple tracks."
"Audacity, Reaper, Cakewalk."
"Audacity is the staple for a free DAW."
"Tracks Live, Audacity. Those are the two simplest options I can think of."
"AUDACITY will get the material into the computer."
"Audacity is also good and straightforward but I don’t like it’s appearance."
#13
Pro Tools
3.9
(10)
"I mainly use Pro Tools, it’s amazing for recording and producing acoustic and recorded (real instruments) music, it’s the best thing ever imho"
"I use Pro Tools more from familiarity but I’ve never had an issue with it."
"Been using pro tools or tracks live (even on M1) without fail."
"I used ProTools for a long time and it’s really good, but it’s just so expensive and is SaS now."
"If I wanted to start producing these days I probably would pick something like pro tools honestly, the only reason being that it’s pretty much what everyone inside the industry uses."
"ProTools: Good for larger bands / lots of music ma"
"Pro Tools is a common industry standard DAW, Ableton i personally use for production bc I like the work flow for electronic music."
"Pro Tools"
"If you're doing it as a career, maybe learn Pro Tools? (yuck.)"
"GarageBand is sooo much easier and more intuitive."
#14
Cakewalk by BandLab
5.0
(7)
"Cakewalk from bandlab. Platinum edition costed around 1k before bandlab bought it and made it free."
"Cakewalk by Bandlab is still a FREE professional full-fledged DAW"
"Cakewalk by Bandlab. Great to learn on, free, pretty powerful and capable."
"Cakewalk by Bandlab is awesome."
"Cakewalk by Bandlab."
"I use Cakewalk by Bandlab. It’s free and has everything you need."
"Cakewalk by BandLab is free, check it out."
#15
LMMS
3.9
(8)
"Another vote for lmms and audacity"
"LMMS. Can’t beat free."
"It’s a lot like FL Studio."
"I recommend both, along with a handful of plugins."
"Try LMMS. It's opensource."
"LMMS is our champ."
"LMMS is free. It has an extremely steep learning curve."
"Any DAW that you have put the time into to know it's idiosyncrasies/workflow will work. I started with LMMS and made some stuff but it was also ground zero for me in learning music production."
#16
Cockos
4.4
(7)
"I'm a Reaper guy myself, though for strictly audio projects, Audacity is my boy..."
"Personal preference:- Reaper(not free, but also not expensive). Best $60 I've ever spent."
"Reaper is free but it’s so good that I bought it anyway."
"I love Reaper. That's all."
"Reaper is amazing and so affordable, cheaper than most VST plugins"
"Cakewalk is free and reaper is free if you never stop evaluating."
"I hate using Reaper. It’s definitely for the engineering-minded user. Poor UX on an otherwise amazing platform"
#17
Waveform
4.3
(7)
"I personally enjoy using waveform the most."
"Waveform is wonderful.. and free."
"Traktion Waveform (Free but not Open Source) is worth a try."
"Waveform by tracktion. Very simple, full version free downloadable. You should definitely look at it."
"I use waveform. It's really good and not hard to use."
"Tracktion's Waveform works pretty well for me as a DAW."
"Waveform or cakewalk or akai beats or soundbridge or Lmms all free and capable."
#18
Ableton Live Lite
4.0
(7)
"If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can get Ableton Note for $10. Which comes with a license for Ableton Live Lite that will run on Mac or PC."
"There’s also tons of ways to get a Ableton Live Lite copy for free/cheap."
"Used a free copy of Ableton Live Lite ... Just recently switched to Studio One. Liking it alot so far."
"A lot of the times midi keyboards will come with a code for a free download of some sort of DAW. Mine came with a code for Ableton Live Lite."
"If you have an iOS device, Live Lite comes for free with a purchase of Koala Sampler."
"A lot of midi keyboards come with Ableton lite so you can use that and decide if you want to stick with the software."
"You should be able to find live Lite for next to nothing. You can build out with free VST's like Vital and there are lots of techniques to help with the 8 track limit on Lite."
#19
BandLab
4.6
(5)
"Bandlab is amazing for beginners and has an amazing sample library I use all the time!"
"You should really try out BandLab again. I don't think that it limits creativity at all, you can make some seriously impressive music on there."
"I just use bandlab gets the job done completely free."
"Bandlab is good if you wanna start on your phone."
"I found BandLab and it's been great."
#20
Ardour
4.4
(5)
"Ardour is the best native, complete and well developed and supported DAW in Linux."
"I'd highly recommend Ardour."
"Check out Ardour or Reaper."
"Ardour is pretty cool."
"Ardour"
#21
Bitwig Studio
4.2
(5)
"If you're doing it for YOU, do yourself a favor and try Bitwig. It's such a joyful and creative app."
"Bitwig Studio, Reaper, Re-Noise, Presonus one, Ardor, LMMS are the ones I can think of off the top of my head."
"Although it is not per se a beginner DAW I'd say it is still beginner friendly and works flawlessly for me on Linux."
"I use bitwig though. Better for electronic."
"Logic Pro, Ableton, Bitwig."
#22
Steinberg
4.0
(5)
"If you want a "solid EDM DAW" then use Cubase"
"I think I saw cubase on splice for rent to own it's not free it's like $10 or some like that a month but you get to use the DAW right away"
"I used to use FL Studio, but I switched to Cubase, because it is better for mixing tracks."
"I used Cubase SX 3 for more than a decade because I knew it and it was familiar."
"Cubase. The others are marketing scams."
#23
Tracktion
4.5
(4)
"Tracktion Waveform Free - that's all you need."
"Waveform Free is excellent."
"Hopefully Waveform 13 fixed most of the bugs and crashing I constantly had with previous versions whereas other DAWs never had that issue on my PC."
"Waveform by Tracktion is popular and free."
#24
Bandlab
4.7
(3)
"Bandlab. Not the online version that runs in a browser but the download package that is the old cakewalk software."
"You could also try Cakewalk by Bandlab. It's totally free."
"Cakewalk / Bandlab"
#25
Tracktion Waveform
4.3
(3)
"If I needed a free DAW on windows I would 100% use Traction Waveform."
"Tracktion Waveform is free on PC."
"I’ve used Waveform because it is free for this purpose."
#26
Ableton Live Suite
4.0
(3)
"Ableton demo check your budget can stretch to the Suite version as it is the ONLY one you can demo and is expensive."
"I bought ableton suite with a friend and we were both beginners. Puts some skin in the game, helped me really try and get the most out of it and learn"
"So I got ableton live 10 suite almost a year ago. Funny, the thing that makes it best for electronic music, I haven't really used too much."
#27
Image-Line
4.0
(3)
"Cracked FL studio is the life force of beginner producers."
"Fl studio, Mix craft, BandLab those I preferably suggest to intermediate, beginner friendly."
"FL Studio by far is the most popular beginner DAW, because it isn't as hard to use. It is very beginner friendly."
#28
Studio One Artist
4.0
(3)
"Studio One Artist is kind of great."
"It’s 90, or 50 with the student discount."
"I will always stump for Studio One as the Artist version is great and less than $100, but in your situation just go with Reaper."
#29
MPC Beats
4.0
(3)
"It can run inside 10 years old arm chip."
"Akai MPC Beats is free to use."
"Mpc beats."
#30
Reason
4.0
(3)
"I love and use Reason, and have been for 20+ years."
"I'm a Reason user. You can try their subscription model for a month or two (reason+) and cancel if you don't like it."
"Reason"
#31
Waveform Free
4.0
(3)
"Waveform Free is an excellent DAW that can do it all for free."
"Otherwise, just get Waveform Free. Very straightforward, left-to-right, then down."
"Tracktion Waveform Free."
#32
Nuendo
4.0
(2)
"I like Nuendo Live because it’s dumb simple."
"I've heard Nuendo is a popular choice among composers."
#33
Renoise
4.0
(2)
"My favourite DAW, which I use on mac and linux, is Renoise."
"Aside from what other said, renoise has amazing free trial. its a bit less known but its a banger of a software."
#34
Digital Performer
4.0
(2)
"Unique features for film and tv composers."
"I really like Digital Performer."
#35
Avid
4.0
(2)
"I use Protools with my MPC... Industry standard that will be in any major studio you go to."
"Pro Tools is popular among audio engineers and used in studios. For its ability for recording, mixing, and mastering."
#36
Nuendo Live
4.0
(2)
"Nuendo live and reaper. I use both."
"Nuendo live has yet to do me dirty."
#37
Tracks Live
3.5
(2)
"My choice: Tracks Live from Waves. Easy for recording."
"Tracks Live, Audacity. Those are the two simplest options I can think of."
#38
Studio One Professional
5.0
(1)
"Currently Studio One 4 Professional is my daily driver."
#39
Logic Pro X, Garageband
5.0
(1)
"Garageband is a great daw to learn how to make music with software. it is immensly capable and if you see yourself hitting the limits of the programm you can then purchase logic."
#40
SSL UF8 and UC1
5.0
(1)
"I have the SSL UF8 and UC1 and very happy with them. They work across most daws."
#41
SSL UF8
5.0
(1)
"SSL UF8 to my knowledge has the fastest programmable solution (you can essentially create macros) and it has 3 layers for switching between daws."
#42
Reaper, Fruity Loops
5.0
(1)
"Reaper is pretty amazing. You can customize it any way you want. Fruity Loops used to be written off as a t"
#43
Live Lite
5.0
(1)
"Ableton Live Lite"
#44
Tracktion Free
5.0
(1)
"Cakewalk and Tracktion Free are free."
#45
Icon Q-Con Pro G2
5.0
(1)
"I'm a big fan of the Icon Q-Con Pro G2. It's compatible across multiple DAWs which are easily selectable on startup."
#46
Harrison
5.0
(1)
"Been using Harrison Mixbus 32C for mixing on Linux for years."
#47
Multitrack Studio
5.0
(1)
"Multitrack Studio for iPad. Nice, clean and powerful."
#48
Logic
5.0
(1)
"Logic is probably the best, but it is mac only."
#49
Audiotool
5.0
(1)
"Online, browser based DAW. Free. I personally used it for 10 years."
#50
Mixcraft
4.0
(1)
"If you're a Garageband dude I'd look into Mixcraft."
#51
Ableton, FL Studio, Studio One
4.0
(1)
"Like some are saying, demo some programs. Don’t just stop at ableton. Try fl, studio one etc."
#52
Ableton, Logic
4.0
(1)
"Give each DAW a little whirl — Ableton, Logic, FL, or any others. They all have free trials."
#53
Reaper, Cubase
4.0
(1)
"Professionals probably make the weirdest choices regarding their daws. Haywyre uses Reaper. Zedd is an advocate for Cubase."
#54
Logic, Ableton, FL Studio, Reaper
4.0
(1)
"The three most popular DAWs are Logic, Ableton, and FL Studio. They all have their positives."
#55
FaderPort 8
4.0
(1)
"I’ve got a Faderport 8. Works with several DAW’s."
#56
Mixbus
4.0
(1)
"Easy to use, without getting too technical and its integration UI looks like real console - it makes mixing more comfortable"
#57
Cubase Elements
4.0
(1)
"I had a scarlett a while back and it came with Cubase Elements."
#58
Soundbridge
4.0
(1)
"Try Soundbridge. It's easy to use, and it works very well with Neural plugins."
#59
Cubase Lite
4.0
(1)
"Cubase Lite, or LE, or Cubasis."
#60
Mixbus 10
4.0
(1)
"Mixbus is the commercial version of Ardour and on Black Friday, was on sale for US $15."
#61
LiveTrax
4.0
(1)
"LiveTrax. No fuss, no muss, $15 USD."
#62
Live Trax
4.0
(1)
"Harrison Live Trax is great and designed for exactly this."
#63
Reason Studios
4.0
(1)
"I use Reason and Logic. Any choice of DAW is totally subjective"
#64
Luna
4.0
(1)
"Luna"
#65
Pro Tools First
4.0
(1)
"Protools has a version called First that is free to download. I prefer PT to logic but mostly because I learned on PT."
#66
Ableton Live Intro
4.0
(1)
"I'm still rocking Ableton Live Intro 11. Less than a hundred bucks, which leaves some room to get a few plugins or a budget audio interface."
#67
Korg Gadget 2
4.0
(1)
"Don’t underestimate apps like Korg Gadget 2 and Koala Sampler for iOS!"
#68
Native Instruments
4.0
(1)
"If you’re new get a Maschine Mikro. Hardware and software in one purchase."
#69
Cubasis
4.0
(1)
"Cubasis is the default buy-once option."
#70
Studio One Pro
4.0
(1)
"I use Studio One Pro. I’m just so used to it by now it’s what’s comfortable to me."
#71
Piapro Studio
4.0
(1)
"If you're planning on getting Miku, she will by default come bundled with Piapro Studio."
#72
SoundTrap
3.0
(1)
"If you're looking for a browser based DAW, SoundTrap's good. Only con is that there is limited access to the instruments cos u gotta pay for premium if u wanna use them."
#73
Vocaloid 4
3.0
(1)
"Vocaloid 4 and earlier only run as standalone programm, not as a VST."
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