Best Daw Software for Music Production (Free & Paid)

A GUIDE TO YOUR ALL-KNOW-HOW FOR THE BEST DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATION AVAILABLE. The dream of every music producer is to make professional music that leaves a mark on the hearts of whoever listens to it. And to fulfill this dream, every music producer is looking for that one digital audio workstation that fulfills all their work demands and needs.

But in this fast-paced work who has the time to do in-depth research and spend hours trying to find the one digital audio workstation that will solve all their music-related problems and will work the best for them?

And to solve this problem of musicians, especially of those who are just starting out or at the beginning of their careers, We have compiled a list of some of the best digital audio workstations.

This data is compiled after vigorous research and is bound to help you guys find the digital audio workstation that’s the best and the one for you.

Best Daw Software for Music Production

We ll be starting from the bottom leading up to the best of the best and we ll go through all the features and limitations for each one.

#6 – CAKEWALK

Cakewalk is a digital audio workstation and is released by a company called band lab which is actually a great online digital audio workstation in its own. Cakewalk is one of the best free daws to get started with on Windows.

It comes with four free virtual instruments built-in effects and a highly customizable interface. It supports unlimited tracks and vsts which means you can install all of your favorite free plugins.

The only obvious limitation is that it’s inclusive to Windows. So if you are on Windows and you are looking for one of the best digital audio workstations (DAW) that is free also then this is it.

PRICE-

  • A periodic version of 49 USD
  • A monthly version of 99 USD

FEATURES-

  • Social media sharing
  • Midi and audio features
  • Adjustment of plugin parameters
  • Automation clip gain
  • Audio editing

#5 – PRO TOOLS

One of the reasons we put pro tools on number 6 is that it’s an industry stamina recording studio and this kind of recording studio is for big bands.

The problem with pro tools is that it was industry standard for years and it got a bit lazy and hence didn’t develop pro tools as much as other door manufacturers on this list. All others got up big time and develop feature sets much better than pro tools and for less money.

Other than that pro tools is one of the best digital audio workstations that you can use for music production on a commercial scale.

PRICE –

  • Yearly subscription – 199 USD
  • Monthly subscription – 31.99 usd

FEATURES –

  • Vast audio and instrument track library
  • Midi VCA and master tracks
  • Simultaneous recording inputs
  • Supports third-party hardware
  • Advanced automation

#4 – GARAGEBAND

If you are looking for a free digital audio workstation on apple, then Garageband is the one. On Garageband, you can access to 250 plus tracks which is more than enough to make great music.

GarageBand is an amazing free software that can help users make, produce, record, and edit their music. It’s available on iPhones, iPads and other apple devices. It functions as a full studio and has all the instruments needed to make perfect professional music. It has a full library of lessons and sounds which along with rhythm and vocals also include percussion.

Garageband is configured by some of the best-experienced engineers: it’s speedy, friendly, and fun to use. It’s one of the best software to use as a beginner, one of the main reasons for which is its default settings that help new users create music at par with the one created in professional studios.

With GarageBand, you can make music no matter where you are in the world, there is truly no other program like it. It helps users record vocals, and software instruments, adjust the sound and loudness levels, use loops for their music, etc.

PRICE-

  • Free version
  • Premium version – 200 usd

FEATURES-

  • Full fledge DAW
  • Record vocals
  • Sampling
  • Can use third-party plugins
  • Editing and transporting music

#3 – LMM

It’s a 100 percent free open-source community-driven project. This is a no strings attached free digital audio workstation with an amazing community behind it.

It’s definitely the most accessible, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The layout and workflow of lmms might look familiar if you have ever used or seen fl studio before. It also comes with a ton of virtual transformers, effects, and samplers.

The only limitation is that recording audio is not supported.

It’s a really good alternative for fl studio if you want to get into that workflow.

PRICE –

  • One-time license

FEATURES-

  • Professional music production
  • Suitable for new musicians
  • Recording of your own vocals over loops
  • Synthesizing and mixing sounds
  • Presets and samples to VST

#2 – TRACTION WAVEFORM

The traction waveform is the free counterpart to the traction waveform. It obviously has some limitations since it’s a free counterpart digital audio workstation but not like the lite versions of Pro DAWs.

Waveform. Unlimited includes unlimited tracks, autosave, and plugin sandboxing.

The plugin sandboxing is especially awesome.

PRICE –

  • Free Waveform
  • Pro Waveform –
  • Basic version – 119 usd
  • Standard version – 259 usd
  • Extreme edition – 499 usd

FEATURES-

  • Side panel for dedicated actions
  • Mixer with master panel strip
  • Chord comparison
  • Midi monitor
  • Midi filter
  • Affordable

#1 – FL STUDIO

FL Studio is the most used digital audio workstation on the planet and is the favorite of many big EDM producers like Martin Garrick etc. Some producers don’t take fl studio very seriously because it has a somewhat unconventional workflow.

It has some amazing pros like the integrated step sequencer to help make drums quickly and the easy-to-use sound goodies to make your synthesizer sound instantly better with compression and saturation.

The only con is the homo tutorials you need to watch to get started.

The best thing is you don’t need to buy the full version to get what you need. You can easily create professional music with a much cheaper version.

PRICE –

  • with additional plugins- FL studio comes with various features
  • Basic level melody and loop maker – 99 USD
  • Complete production of music and recording – 199 USD
  • Complete music production along 299 USD
  • Pro access – 737 USD

FEATURES-

  • Complete editing of the audio including beating, slicing, and chopping
  • Midi support and scripting
  • Consolidation of track
  • Also supported for mac devices

With that being said, our list comes to an end. Did you ever feel it was hard to find the one digital audio workstation that works for you? If yes, how did you find the one for you? Which digital audio workstation do you like and love the most and why?

Please feel free to share your reviews and suggestions in the comments section.

Leave a Reply