Comparison of digital audio editors

The following tables compare general and technical information among a number of digital audio editors and multitrack recording software. Please see the individual products articles for further information.

General

Basic general information about the software: creator/company, license/price etc.

Digital audio editor	Creator / developer	Software license	Microsoft Windows	Mac OS X	iOS	Linux	BSD	Online	Network storage	External hardware
ACID Pro	Sony	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Acoustica	Acon Digital	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Unknown	Unknown
Ardour	The Ardour Community	GNU GPL	Not officially supported[1]	Yes	No	Yes	Not officially supported[2]	No	NFS
Audacity	Audacity Team	GNU GPL	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	NFS
Audiobook Cutter Free Edition	Meline and Philipp Henkel	Proprietary (Freeware)	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
AudioDesk	Mark of the Unicorn	Proprietary	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Audiotool	Hobnox	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	Not officially supported	Yes	No	Yes	NFS	Optional MIDI support
Audition	Adobe Systems	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Beautiful Audio Editor	Beautifulware	Proprietary	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Google Drive
BIAS Peak	BIAS	Proprietary	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Cubase	Steinberg	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No		Requires hardware dongle
Diamond Cut ART	Diamond Cut Productions	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Unknown	Unknown
Digital Performer	Mark of the Unicorn	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Ecasound	Kai Vehmanen	GNU GPL	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Unknown	Unknown
FL Studio	Image-Line	Proprietary	Yes	Yes (beta)	Yes	No	No	No
GarageBand	Apple	Proprietary	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Goldwave	Goldwave Inc.	Shareware	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Harrison Mixbus	Harrison Consoles	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	NFS
Harrison Mixbus32C	Harrison Consoles	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	NFS
Jokosher	Jokosher	GNU GPL	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	NFS
Kristal	Kreatives	Proprietary (Freeware)	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Live	Ableton	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
LMMS	Tobias Doerffel	GNU GPL	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	NFS
Logic Express/Studio	Apple	Proprietary	Terminated (last version: 5.5.1)	Yes	No	No	No	No
Mixcraft	Acoustica	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
mp3DirectCut	Martin Pesch	Freeware	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
mp3TrueEdit	C2 Solutions Ltd., trading as iThinkApps.com	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
MusE	MuseE	GNU GPL	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	NFS
n-Track	Fasoft	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Nuendo	Steinberg	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
NU-Tech	Leaff Engineering	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Podium	Zynewave	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Podium Free	Zynewave	Freeware	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Pro Tools	Avid	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	MediaNet (proprietary)	Yes
Pyramix	Merging Technologies	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No		Safenet Dongle
Qtractor	Qtractor	GNU GPL	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	NFS
REAPER	Cockos	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Reason	Propellerhead Software	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Record	Propellerhead Software	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Renoise	Renoise Team	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
RiffWorks	Sonoma Wire Works	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Rosegarden	Rosegarden	GNU GPL	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	NFS
MAGIX Samplitude	MAGIX	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
MAGIX Sequoia	MAGIX	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
SONAR	Cakewalk	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Sound Forge	Sony	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Soundbooth	Adobe Systems	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Soundscape 32	Mackie	Proprietary	Yes	No	No	No	No	No		External 2U rack unit
SoX	Chris Bagwell, et al.	GNU GPL	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
SpectraLayers	Sony	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Studio One	PreSonus	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	SoundCloud
Sweep	Conrad Parker	GNU GPL	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Total Recorder	HighCriteria	Shareware	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Tracktion	Tracktion Software Inc	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Traverso DAW	Traverso	GNU GPL	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	NFS
VirtualDJ	Atomix Productions	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No		Optional MIDI controller, CDJs, DJ mixer with vinyl emulation software and CDs.
WaveLab	Steinberg	Proprietary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
WaveSurfer	Centre for Speech Technology at KTH	BSD-like	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Digital audio editor	Creator / developer	Software license	Microsoft Windows	Mac OS X	iOS	Linux	BSD	Online	Network storage	External hardware

Plugin support

The plugin types the software can run natively (without emulation).

	Rewire	JACK	VST	VST3	LADSPA	LV2	DSSI	RTAS	AU	DXi	MAS
ACID Pro	Yes	No	Yes	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Acoustica	No	No	Yes	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Ardour	No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
Audacity	No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	No	No	Only on OS X[3]	No	No
Audiobook Cutter Free Edition	No	No	No	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
AudioDesk	Returns only	No	Via converter	Unknown	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Audiotool	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Audition	Partial (Pre CS5.5 - Yes, CS5.5 - No)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Partial (Pre CS5.5 - Yes, CS5.5 - No)	No
BIAS Peak	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Cubase	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Terminated (SX3.1)	No
Diamond Cut ART	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Digital Performer	Yes	No	Via converter	Unknown	No	No	No	Yes (with Digi TDM or HD hardware via DAE)	Yes	No	Yes
Ecasound	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
FL Studio	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
GarageBand	Yes	No	Via converter	Unknown	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Goldwave	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Harrison Mixbus	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
Harrison Mixbus32C	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
Jokosher	No	No	No	Unknown	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Kristal	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Live	Yes	No	Yes	Unknown	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
LMMS	No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Logic Express/Studio	Yes	No	Via converter	Unknown	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Mixcraft	No	No	Yes	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	DirectX effects only	No
mp3DirectCut	No	No	No	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
mp3TrueEdit	No	No	No	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MusE	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
n-Track	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Nuendo	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	No	Unknown
NU-Tech	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Podium	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Podium Free	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Pro Tools	Yes	No	Via Wrapper	Unknown	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Qtractor	No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
REAPER	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Reason	Yes	No	No	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Record	Yes	No	No	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Renoise	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
RiffWorks	Yes	No	Yes	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Rosegarden	No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Yes	No	No	No	No
Samplitude	Yes	No	Yes	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
SONAR	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Sound Forge	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Soundbooth	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Soundscape 32	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
SoX	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
SpectraLayers	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Studio One	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Sweep	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Total Recorder	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Tracktion	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Traverso	No	Yes	No	Unknown	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
VirtualDJ	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
WaveLab	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	No	Unknown
WaveSurfer	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
	Rewire	JACK	VST	VST3	LADSPA	LV2	DSSI	RTAS	AU	DXi	MAS

File format support

The various file types the software can read/write.

	OMF	AAF	MIDI	WAV	MP3	AAC	Ogg	REX2	AIFF	FLAC	Others
Ardour	No[4]	No[5]	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	No	Yes	W64
Audacity	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	AMR
Audiobook Cutter Free Edition	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	MP3 audiobook
AudioDesk	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	SDII (native)
Audiotool	No	No	No	Import	Export	No	Export	No	No	No	No
Audition	Yes	Unknown	No (unsupported since CS5)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	AU, IFF, RAW/PCM, SMP, VOC, VOX, WMA
BIAS Peak	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Cubase	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	WMA, W64
Diamond Cut ART	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Digital Performer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	SDII (native)
Ecasound	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
FL Studio	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Import	Yes	XI, REX, REX2
GarageBand	No	No	Yes[6]	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	No	No
Goldwave	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Windows Media Audio, AU, Monkey's Audio, VOX, mat, snd, voc
Harrison Mixbus	No	No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	No	Yes	AIFC, NeXT AU/SND, Headerless RAW, PAF, IFF/SVX, Sphere Nist WAV, IRCAM SF, VOC, W64, MAT4, MAT5, PVF, Fasttracker 2 XI, HMM Tool Kit HTK, CAF, SD2
Harrison Mixbus32C	No	No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	No	Yes	AIFC, NeXT AU/SND, Headerless RAW, PAF, IFF/SVX, Sphere Nist WAV, IRCAM SF, VOC, W64, MAT4, MAT5, PVF, Fasttracker 2 XI, HMM Tool Kit HTK, CAF, SD2
Jokosher	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Kristal	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Live	No	No	Yes	Yes	Import	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	SDII (Mac OS X Only)
LMMS	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	AU, DS, RAW, SPX, VOC. Can also open .flp files
Logic Express/Studio	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mixcraft	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
mp3DirectCut	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
mp3TrueEdit	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
MusE	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
N-Track	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	WMA, EDL, WAV64
Nuendo	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
NU-Tech	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Podium	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Podium Free	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Pro Tools	Yes[7]	Yes[7]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Yes (7.4)	Yes	No	SDII (Mac OS X Only)
Qtractor	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	CAF, HTK, IFF/8SVX, MAT4/5, PAF, PVF, RAW, SDII, SDS, SF, VOC, W64, XI
REAPER	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	APE, BWF, MOOG, W64, WavPack
Reason	No	No	Yes	Yes	Import	Import	No	Yes	Yes	No	SF2, ReFill
Record	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	SF2, ReFill
Renoise	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	MP4, MP4A, CAF
RiffWorks	No	No	No	Export	No	No	Export	Yes	No	No
Rosegarden	No	No	Yes[8]	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Csound, Mup, MuxicXML, h2song[9]
Samplitude	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	WMA, RealAudio
SONAR	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Import	Yes	No	Yes	W64, CAF, SDII, AU
Sound Forge	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	SWF (open only), RealAudio & RealVideo (export only), WMA and WMV, AVI, AIF, SND, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, AU, DIG, IVC, PCA, W64, FRG, VOX, AA3, OMA, CDA, AC-3 studio (save only), RAW
Soundbooth	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Soundscape 32	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
SoX	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	External LAME	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	AU and other audio file formats
SpectraLayers	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Yes	.caf, .alac, RAW/PCM, .rm, .au, .snd, AVI, MXF, MP1, MP2, MP4, MKV, Quicktime, .vob, .wmv, WMA
Studio One	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	OpenTL, BWF, RF64, PreSonus Capture Session, Steinberg Cubase Track Archive, Steinberg Sequel Project, Kristal Audio Engine Project[10]
Sweep	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Various versions of WAV (integer, floating point, GSM, and compressed formats); Microsoft PCM, A-law and u-law formats; AIFC and RIFX; various AU/SND formats (Sun/NeXT, Dec AU, G721 and G723 ADPCM); RAW header-less PCM files; Amiga IFF/8SVX/16SV PCM files; Ensoniq PARIS (.PAF); Apple's Core Audio Format (CAF) and others.
Total Recorder	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	PCM (uncompressed), WMA, Monkey's Audio (APE).
Tracktion	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Traverso	No	No	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	No	Yes	WavPack
VirtualDJ	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
WaveLab	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes	AU, MP2, RAW
WaveSurfer	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
	OMF	AAF	MIDI	WAV	MP3	AAC	Ogg	REX2	AIFF	FLAC	Others

See also

• List of music software

Notes

1. Ardour's Windows support page.
2. "Other" tab on Ardour's requirements page.
3. Audacity: Plug-Ins and Libraries
4. What's about OMF support ? | ardour
5. In development
6. Import only, Version 2 or higher.
7. with DV Toolkit or DigiTranslator addons
8. http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/wiki/doc:manual-en#using_midi_files
9. http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/wiki/doc:manual-en#other_file_formats
10. Randall, Brent (2006-01-31). "Interview with Jim Odom- President Of Presonus". prorec. Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved 2010-03-02.