Music Production Software reviews from Reddit

Summary

We analyzed 385 Reddit reviews across 24 subreddits and 45 posts to rank the best Music Production Software brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/musicproduction, r/WeAreTheMusicMakers, r/linuxaudio, r/ipadmusic, r/Music. Top-rated brands include FL Studio (4.4/5), Ableton Live (4.3/5), Apple (4.7/5).

Stats

Reviews385

Subreddits24

Posts45

Brands73

Products18

Top communities

r/musicproduction197 r/WeAreTheMusicMakers30 r/linuxaudio26 r/ipadmusic24 r/Music20

385 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

FL Studio

4.4

(52)

"FL Studio"

"FL is amazing, and with little dedication one can learn it effectively."

"FL first and foremost - it is the most user friendly full strength DAW."

"Try FL Studio, In my opinion it has the most user friendly interface."

"If you’re just starting out 100% FL studio, just as professional as other applications."

"FL studio, Ableton"

"FL studio"

"A lot of us use Ableton (like myself), FL Studio, and Logic seems to be very similar to GarageBand."

"I definitely recommend FL if you're not recording in from a microphone."

"FL Gang right here. I learned super fast with YT."

Ableton Live

4.3

(51)

"If you're going to make EDM, I would recommend Ableton."

"Ableton for electronic and Pro Tools for pro stuff."

"I think if I could go back in time and start over I’d pick ableton."

"Ableton all day long for me."

"A lot of us use Ableton (like myself), FL Studio, and Logic seems to be very similar to GarageBand."

"Honestly the most professional one I used yet was Ableton."

"Ableton is 100% the way to go if you're serious about music and composition."

"Imo, Ableton is the most 'playful' and musical of the DAWs."

"Ableton my brother."

"Ableton for the shear amount of tutorials available on YouTube for a beginner to learn from."

Apple

4.7

(41)

"Garageband for Apple"

"Garageband if you have apple"

"Garage band"

"If you have Mac then logic pro."

"Plus you can upgrade from GarageBand to Logic which is 100% professional."

"I second Garage Band."

"Garage Band is great for recording."

"Start free with GarageBand, and extend its usefulness with (free or cheap) AuV3 plugins."

"Logic FTW"

"Definitely start with GarageBand. Free. Get food at that and then grow into Logic Pro."

Reaper

4.4

(41)

"I'd add reaper if you have access to a laptop."

"REAPER. For about 60.00 you get more effects then you need."

"Download reaper. If you getting into something new it will be your best option."

"I have been working with Reaper for 5 years, its "free" ( you can use it without paying as long as you want) and works great on Windows."

"REAPER! Dont search any more,the best free DAW by far."

"I see a lot of reaper in here and I agree."

"Agreed, Reaper is the best bang for you buck and beyond!"

"Reaper for production, Musescore for scores."

"Reaper, have used it for years really good and flexible DAW."

"I would say just go with Reaper and follow along with any of the excellent YouTube tutorials."

Bitwig Studio

4.2

(17)

"Bitwig Studio 8-Track is free, they ninja updated the bottom paid tier to 16-Track."

"You can try bitwig for free with all features for 30 days..."

"Bitwig Studio is amazing, and runs natively on Linux."

"I just started using bitwig studio its really intuitive."

"Bitwig. Ableton is hands down the least beginner software there is."

"I recommend Bitwig."

"I use Bitwig, it has a native version."

"Personally if you have the money I think Bitwig is the most intuitive."

"Bitwig is really good. It isn't cheap, but it's very sophisticated and runs solid."

"Bitwig, Addictive Drums, and GSI VB3 (organ)."

BandLab

4.3

(16)

"Cakewalk by bandlab for windows."

"Bandlab if you have samsung"

"Bandlab, it's free and has a web app so no need to jump through complicated set ups."

"Try bandlab. It's pretty fuckin cool."

"If you are a starter i recommend bandlab its free its has ai too..."

"Bandlab/Cakewalk."

"Consider BandLab."

"Bandlab"

"Bandlab web version"

"[bandlab.com](https://bandlab.com) works in browser, comes with lot of loops, some instruments and effects included."

Ardour

3.9

(17)

"Ardour is underrated all the way around."

"Anyone has experience with Ardour and Bitwig? Which of these do you prefer?"

"Ardour and LMMS are free software."

"I think ardour is the must go for this."

"I would say."

"I've been using Ardour for years now, with very good results."

"The two main options that are actually open source are Ardour or LMMS."

"Ardour, a nice interface and vcvrack."

"Ardour or Mixbus for those that are after a traditional / Protools-like DAW."

"Ardour and hydrogen."

GarageBand

4.2

(10)

"GarageBand got me into my start on Mac, and it comes free on Macs."

"Garageband if you have an apple product like a mac, iphone, or ipad. It's free and has everything you need."

"You can just use whatever free app like garageband."

"Garage band. Ableton is also fairly easy to get going."

"GarageBand has tons of sounds."

"I went from GarageBand to Logic and it was great."

"I would say GarageBand but that’s only for Mac."

"So is Garageband, if you are just getting into guitar-based production."

"Use logic or garage band if you are just starting"

"I heard they recently released Garage Band for iPhone."

LMMS

3.8

(10)

"LMMS is free."

"I use LMMS"

"LMMS or FL. Source: I started with LMMS..."

"LMMS. I started music as just a dumb challenge, and it grasped me as a passion."

"LMMS is a pretty good free and open source DAW on Linux."

"Lmms: it's a little tricky to start, but it's completely free."

"Lmms is free and really close to fl studio as a software."

"I like LMMS it's okay"

"LMMS is pretty decent and comes with Soundfont support and ZynAddSubFX."

"Try out LMMS. It has a stigma of not being as good as other DAWs."

#10

Logic Pro

4.5

(8)

"Definitely logic, I feel it’s the most straightforward"

"A lot of us use Ableton (like myself), FL Studio, and Logic seems to be very similar to GarageBand."

"I’m a huge fan of Logic."

"I suggest Logic it’s my favorite"

"Logic Pro X runs just fine for me."

"Choose between Logic or Ableton."

"Logic Pro if you have the funds"

"Use logic or garage band if you are just starting"

#11

Cubase

4.0

(7)

"Cubase/Reason/studio one/pro tools/cakewalk/acid/audition/fl studio/ableton."

"If you have some spare €€€ I'd suggest Cubase - as it's pretty standard."

"Your best one stop shop would be Cubase."

"FL, Cubase for me."

"Cubase makes the most sense to me. They have 3 versions of the product and a free trial."

"If your new, and your young go for cubase 7.5."

"Cubase is great for electronic music but has a rather steep learning curve."

#12

Cakewalk by BandLab

4.7

(6)

"Cakewalk by Bandlab - free (for now) and great YT tutorials to get you going."

"Cakewalk is free and comes with a good amount of VST instruments and effects."

"Things I used for my first demo album: Cakewalk by Bandlab."

"I can recommend Cakewalk by Bandlab in that it is a full version DAW, but for free."

"Cakewalk is free and a little bit 'clunky'."

"Cakewalk is also free on Windows."

#13

Reason

4.5

(6)

"Personally, Reason gets me the best results the fastest."

"For beginners I feel Reason is one of the easiest and most fun"

"I’ve always used my MPC with reason12."

"A couple of times a year Reason Studios runs a promotion."

"I have used Acid, Reason from the beginning."

"Personally I would suggest propellerhead reason 4."

#14

Ableton

4.0

(6)

"For me, Ableton is top and "

"Ableton, ableton, uh… ableton.. and yeah, uh, ableton"

"My recommendation is choosing a pretty flagship software, pirating it, then purchasing it once you feel certain this is something you'd like to continue doing."

"I recommend Ableton"

"Ableton"

"Ableton, if you hate yourself."

#15

Image-Line FL Studio

4.6

(5)

"Fl studio. I have ableton too but def fl studio."

"If you want to make beats and hip hop, I would go with FL Studio."

"FL studio is hands down the the most awesome beat making DAW."

"You can't go wrong with FL Studio or Ableton."

"FL studio. I used to use it on an old pc free trail version."

#16

Mixcraft

4.2

(5)

"Acoustica Mixcraft. Often goes on sales, but it's as capable as any other leading DAW."

"Give Mixcraft a try, not nearly as steep a learning curve as others."

"Gonna throw in a recommendation for Mixcraft."

"Mixcraft 9 Pro Studio"

"Mixcraft"

#17

Cakewalk

4.0

(5)

"I think cakewalk/bandlab is free and pretty powerful."

"Cakewalk DAW, if you don't like that there's another called Waveform and search Google for best free VST's."

"Could be an option 👍"

"Sonar is probably your best value and fairly easy to learn."

"Cakewalk seems clunky, but it’s the only thing i use."

#18

Digital Audio Workstations

3.4

(5)

"I believe most of them if not all has a free trial, try them because honestly, in the end it's up to you to decide."

"Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check them out!"

"As you see, everyone is suggesting different DAWs."

"Full featured DAWs all have a bit of a steep learning curve right at the beginning."

"Outside of Linux, there are a dozen professional DAWs out there, because they each have their own strengths and weaknesses."

#19

Mixbus

4.3

(4)

"I believe Mixbus is open source. Its based on ardour but has some great additions."

"I use Mixbus by Harrison consoles. The workflow mimics a real analog console..."

"I use Harrison Mixbus. It's Ardour on steroids."

"I'm a huge fan of Harrison Mixbus."

#20

Waveform

4.3

(4)

"Waveform, it's EXTREMELY user friendly and free."

"For free softwares you could use a software called waveform."

"Waveform 12 Free"

"I use Tracktion Waveform 11 and love it."

#21

Studio One

4.0

(4)

"Before I upgraded to Studio One, I loved working with Traktion."

"Personally, I like Studio One."

"I use Presonus Studio One which can be paid on a subscription basis."

"I also plan on trying Studio One, it looks like a solid DAW."

#22

Korg

4.0

3.0

(1)

"Helm. Rosegarden."

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