Ableton is a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software popular for its live performance-oriented Ableton Live tool.
While an excellent audio editor, Ableton is a premium product and a bit on the pricey side.
It also has somewhat of a learning curve, making it a bit difficult for newbies to get the most out of its many features and tools. The general lack of tutorials available on YouTube and the web doesn’t help, either.
Not only that, but Ableton is known to be quite resource-intensive, putting a great load on the CPU. Some people have reported slow performance, lagging, and even random crashes, especially when using Ableton on a low-end PC.
Various Reddit users have complained about CPU spikes and issues, and similar issues have been reported on the Ableton forums, especially after the Ableton 11 update.
This is such a widespread problem that both Ableton and bloggers like Dan Freeman have released guides on how to reduce the CPU load when using it.
Due to all these reasons, it makes sense to explore alternatives to Ableton. In this article, I will talk about some of the best Ableton alternatives so stay tuned.
The short version: The best alternatives to Ableton include Reaper, GarageBand, and Ardour. Reaper is incredibly lightweight and affordable, while GarageBand is free and Ardour is open source.
Let’s discuss them in detail now.
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Best Ableton Alternatives (Free & Paid)
1. Reaper
The best alternative to Ableton is Reaper.
First of all, it’s very lightweight. Most of all, though, it is affordable.
When you start out, you can use Reaper for free throughout a 60-day evaluation phase. After that, you are supposed to pay for a license, which is just $60 if you are buying a personal, non-commercial license.
In fact, you can even buy a personal license if you operate a business and are using Reaper for commercial purposes, as long as your yearly revenue is no more than $20,000.
The catch, though, is that many people end up using Reaper for many months or years before buying a license. The software won’t actually lock you out for not paying; it operates more on an honor system.
That’s why struggling artists sometimes wait until they can afford to pay for it. Legally, though, you are supposed to buy a license, and I highly encourage you to do so after the 60-day evaluation period.
Reaper offers powerful audio and MIDI routing, multichannel support, and support for thousands of third-party plugins and audio effects. Using the built-in tools, you can even create your own audio effects in Reaper.
You can import and render to a multitude of audio formats. You can use track lanes to layer sounds, with other functionalities including swipe comping and parallel routing.
While Reaper has a bit of a learning curve, it’s worth learning, and it’s not that much more difficult than other popular DAWs, anyway.
2. GarageBand
GarageBand, created by Apple, is free and a great entry-level alternative to Ableton. The reason I’m not including it first on our list is that it is only available for Apple devices, so if you have Windows or Linux, you’re out of luck.
If you have a Mac, though, GarageBand is a perfect DAW to download. It has a complete sound library with instruments and presets and a huge selection of amps and effects.
You can even plug in your guitar or keyboard and start making music, but if you don’t have an instrument, you can use it as a standalone music creation app. There are plenty of built-in instruments and thousands of loops from popular genres like hip-hop and EDM.
The Drummer tool has 28 drummers and three percussionists for creating beats, along with Drummer Loops.
You can even use GarageBand on an iPhone or iPad using the iOS app. The multitouch functionality allows you to play keyboards, guitars, and beats on your tablet or phone.
On the iOS app, you can download instruments, sound packs, and loops and even create your own custom loops.
Explore GarageBand alternatives for Windows here.
3. Ardour
There aren’t that many open-source alternatives to Ableton, but there are definitely a few of them. Ardour is one of them, initially released in 2005 but still going strong.
Ardour is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It allows you to record in real time using your microphone or import tracks and MIDI from your hard drive of the Freesound database.
It has extensive audio editing tools with unlimited undo and redo capabilities. Those editing tools include cutting, trimming, and more.
The tool supports both destructive and non-destructive recording and non-linear editing. Dozens of file formats are supported.
Ardour also offers excellent mixing features, with hundreds of plugins, floating point fidelity, and an “anything to anywhere” methodology. This methodology supports routing to and from any input or output source or application.
The connections allowed by this methodology include one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-one.
In the video timeline, you can export audio from video and edit it.
Whether you’re a composer, musician, or podcaster, you’ll love Ardour’s simplicity.
4. MusE
If open-source software is your thing, MusE is another great alternative to Ableton. It’s only for Linux, though.
It was initially released in 2000, over two decades ago!
MusE is a full-featured MIDI and audio sequencer, audio editor, and music recorder with automation support.
It allows for real-time recording and playback, MIDI editing with the piano roll or drum editor, and multichannel and external synth support. Using drag and drop, you can import and arrange plugins, plugin presets, MIDI and audio files, and more.
It’s JACK compatible, with other compatible technologies including DSSI, RtAudio, and LASH.
All in all, MusE is a great option for Linux.
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5. LMMS
LMMS is not only open source but multiplatform as well, available for Windows, Mac, and any build of Linux.
While LMMS downloads are available for most releases of Linux, you can also build it from the source code for any unsupported Linux release.
LMMS comes with many effects and built-in instruments, as well as presets and samples. It includes VST support and 16 built-in synthesizers, and it allows you to mix sounds, compose, sequence, and create music straight from your PC.
The Beat+Bassline Editor lets you consolidate tracks and edit beats. There is also a Song Editor, FT Mixer, and Automation Editor, among others.
You can easily mix effects with the visualization and spectrum analyzer and built-in compressor and other tools.
6. Qtractor
Qtractor for Linux is an open-source tool to consider in place of Ableton. Written in C++, it is a non-linear and non-destructive editor that allows for unlimited undos and redos.
It includes JACK and ALSA sequencer support and various audio file formats, including MP3, FLAC, and WAV. You can add an unlimited number of tracks in a project and an unlimited number of overlapping clips in a track.
Qtractor is worth looking into if you have Linux. It is released under the GPL 2.0 license.
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7. Waveform
Waveform, by Tracktion, is a free Digital Audio Workstation. Its audio engine lets you mix tracks and record multi-track recordings, and it is perfect for singers, musicians, composers, and podcasters.
One of its cool features is the browser that supports tagging and smart lists to help you better organize and find plugins, instruments, and tracks from sample libraries.
It can be used on Mac, Windows, or Ubuntu, and there are plenty of documentation and tutorials offered to help you get over any potential learning curve.
While Waveform Free is great, and you can use it for an unlimited time without paying, Waveform Pro is worth paying for if you want more creative and advanced tools.
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8. MPC Beats
MPC Beats is a free DAW software by AKAI Pro. It features a piano roll, 16 pads to trigger drum rolls and beats, and a sample editor.
There are 2 GB of built-in loops, samples, and virtual instruments you can use to create music. There are also plenty of built-in songs in the library and templates for different music genres if you’d like to create custom music.
Using the browser, you can search and select sounds with ease, saving a lot of time.
Use the 80 audio FX plugins for warping and manipulating audio or add third-party instruments and plugins made possible with the VST support.
Or, use one of the PC Beats expansion packs with all kinds of great samples, such as the Deep House and F9 Instruments expansion packs.
9. Bitwig Studio
Bitwig Studio supports both linear and non-linear editing and includes over 90 instruments and effects.
Over 10 GB of sound content is built in and available from the library for you to play around with, and new content is being added all the time.
One of the top things going for Bitwig Studio is the hardware integration it offers. You can control external gear and connect instruments, synthesizers, drum machines, and more.
Bitwig offers a sampler with note-based modulation and various playback modes. It also offers a tool called The Grid for modulation and sound design.
Modulation and automation are two of the strong points of Bitwig Studio, and its live performance production capabilities make it the perfect alternative to Ableton.
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10. Cakewalk Next and Sonar
Cakewalk Next, which is currently in public beta, is a good music creation tool worth looking into if you are searching for a more user-friendly alternative to Ableton. It’s great for entry-level users, with plenty of royalty-free sounds and samples available.
Using Next, you can publish your songs to BandLab, an online music creation and collaboration platform for musicians and other artists.
Next is the newest creation of Cakewalk, and Cakewalk by BandLab is being phased out, although support and maintenance is still being provided as of this publishing date.
Another project worth keeping an eye on is Sonar by Cakewalk, which is meant to be a full-featured and powerhouse DAW for Windows with an easy and streamlined workflow. It will feature a high-performance 64-bit audio engine and support unlimited tracks in a project.
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11. Cubase
Cubase, by Steinberg, is one of the oldest alternatives to Ableton. In fact, it was first released in 1989!
However, it was only a MIDI sequencer at that point. Now, it is a full-fledged Digital Audio Workstation.
For studio recording and mixing, Cubase really shines and is much better than Ableton, although Ableton might be preferable for live performance productions.
It has absolutely great mixing capabilities with its MixConsole. Furthermore, it supports advanced MIDI editing and automation as well as powerful audio warping, all powered by its cutting-edge audio engine.
12. Studio One
Studio One is a powerhouse DAW that does everything Ableton can do and more, especially when it comes to mixing and mastering.
It is also simply faster and offers a streamlined and reliable workflow. You definitely won’t miss Ableton after switching to Studio One, especially if you found Ableton unintuitive in general.
If you found Ableton too resource-intensive, I would further encourage you to give Studio One a try.
Studio One comes with Dolby Atmos integration and various tools for working with it. If you like working with Dolby Atmos, I don’t think another DAW could be preferable.
Whether you’re mixing, recording, mastering, or performing live, Studio One is a pleasure to work with. Its drag and drop interface makes your workflow easy, not to mention the templates that allow you to instantly start a workflow.
For example, there is a “Mix In Surround” template for working with surround sound. Each template, which Studio One calls “Smart Templates,” come with tutorials and step-by-step instructions, so you will never waste time on a learning curve.
I mentioned the drag and drop interface. You can even use drag and drop to extract chords or copy FX chains from one channel to another.
Meanwhile, Studio One+ Workspaces allow you to collaborate with other artists and musicians, with over 30 GB of cloud storage. You can also use drag and drop to upload content to your shared workspaces.
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Wrapping It Up
While Ableton is a great DAW, there are plenty of other ones which aren’t as expensive and don’t have such a big learning curve.
Whether you’re mixing or recording, you can find free and paid alternatives that are easier to work with on a multitude of platforms.
Reaper is the best alternative, in my opinion, but if you have a Mac, consider trying out GarageBand.
If you prefer open source, try Ardour or LMMS.
