The Best Ableton Live AlternativesTop Music Production Apps & Digital Audio Workstations like Ableton Live
Ableton Live is described as 'Live is software for creating musical ideas, turning them into finished songs, and even taking them onto the stage' and is a very popular music production app in the audio & music category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Ableton Live for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and iPad apps. The best Ableton Live alternative is Bitwig Studio. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try LMMS or GarageBand. Other great apps like Ableton Live are FL Studio, Ardour, Reaper and Adobe Audition.
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Ableton Live alternatives are mainly Music Production Apps but may also be Digital Audio Workstations or Audio Editors. Other popular filters includes Linux + Free. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Ableton Live.- Music Production App
- Paid • Proprietary
45 Bitwig Studio alternativesBitwig Studio is a multi-platform music-creation system for production, performance and DJing, with a focus on flexible editing tools and a super-fast workflow.
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Top Bitwig Studio Features
- Live Performance
- Modular System
- Multiplatform
- Digital Audio Workstation
- Grid layout
- Support for VST Plugins
- Piano Roll
- Music Sequencer
- Support for MIDI
- Works Offline
- Music Looper
- Support for scripting
Bitwig Studio VS Ableton Live
Is Bitwig Studio a good alternative to Ableton Live?
93 FL Studio alternativesA complete digital audio workstation featuring professional music creation tools for mixing, mastering, editing, and sequencing. It includes a responsive piano roll sequencer, lifetime license updates, visualizer plugins for video creation, and multi-touch support for advanced graphical interface navigation.
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- HUAWEI AppGallery
- iPad
Top FL Studio Features
- Support for VST Plugins
- Audio Recording
- Digital Audio Workstation
- Voice Recording
- Piano Roll
- Synth rack
- MIDI Keyboard Input
- Visualize Music
- Drum matrix editing
- Lightweight
- Works Offline
- Live Performance
FL Studio VS Ableton Live
Is FL Studio a good alternative to Ableton Live?Comments about FL Studio as an Alternative to Ableton Live
Chip ThrasherIt is also non-linear, has a very similar loop sequencing tool.
3Ease of use - wide range of VST and native instruments and effects. Been around a long time but constantly updating. Has a 'live' mode and traditional DAW operation.
5I have been using Ableton and Fl for a long time on PC and Mac's. With Android tablets being limited in power and functionality I would best advice Fl Moble. Its the most powerful and well functioning DAW on mobile devices so far.
5
89 LMMS alternativesLMMS is a free cross-platform alternative to commercial programs like FL Studio , which allow you to produce music with your computer. This includes the creation of melodies and beats, the synthesis and mixing of sounds, and arranging of...
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
Top LMMS Features
- Support for VST Plugins
- Digital Audio Workstation
- Piano Roll
- Export to MP3
- Export to MIDI
- MIDI Keyboard Input
- Portable
- Music Sequencer
- Support for MIDI
- Works Offline
- Dark Mode
- Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
LMMS VS Ableton Live
Is LMMS a good alternative to Ableton Live?Comments about LMMS as an Alternative to Ableton Live
Oscar SandersonLMMS is free (free as in freedom and free beer) and open source and overall really cool
0If you are just getting into the scene and are on a budget, its pretty darn decent especially for being free and open source.
3It is good but does not even come close to the Abelton workflow.
17sedetiIt's nothing compared to ableton
2Ableton Live, is meant for live performance. LMMS is not.
4
86 Ardour alternativesArdour is a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application. Record, edit, and mix on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.
License model
- Paid • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
Top Ardour Features
- Multitrack editing
- Audio Recording
- Mix Music
- Digital Audio Workstation
- Non Destructive Editing
- Support for VST Plugins
- Music Sequencer
- Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
- Works Offline
- Virtual Instrument
- Lossless Audio
- Ad-free
Ardour VS Ableton Live
Is Ardour a good alternative to Ableton Live?Comments about Ardour as an Alternative to Ableton Live
burnx50Ableton-style clip launcher is added to Ardour 7.
2Ardour is good if you primary deal with audio. It is not very good for midi. You can work around making midi work for you. It has a lot of functionality, but what makes Ableton great is the clip launche. Ardour can't replace Ableton at this point.
1The description did not mention you can make music on the program yourself.
-25
81 Reaper alternativesREAPER is a complete digital audio production application for Windows, Mac and Linux, offering a full multi-track audio and MIDI recording, editing, processing, mixing and mastering tool set.
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Top Reaper Features
- Audio Recording
- Digital Audio Workstation
- Support for VST Plugins
- Customizable
- Support for scripting
- MultiTrack
- Support for MIDI
- Extensive customisability
- Portable
- Ad-free
- Lightweight
- Dark Mode
Reaper VS Ableton Live
Is Reaper a good alternative to Ableton Live?Comments about Reaper as an Alternative to Ableton Live
Reaper is really good if you like the traditional timeline. I personally love Ableton Live because of the clip launcher. In ableton you easily create a clip, and it loops for ever. It is really good for songwriting. I own Reaper, but have not been able to replace Reaper with Ableton. The UI in reaper is a little outdated as well. But I will admit, if you learn Reaper, it is a top notch program.
0
99 GarageBand alternativesWelcome to the school of rock. A Mac-sized practice space. Your own recording studio. If you want to learn to play an instrument, write music, or record a song, GarageBand can help — whether you’re a rookie or a rock star.
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- iPhone
- iPad
GarageBand Features
- Preset beats
- Virtual Instrument
- Works Offline
- Audio Samples
- Music Sequencer
- Piano Roll
- Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
GarageBand VS Ableton Live
Is GarageBand a good alternative to Ableton Live?Top Adobe Audition Features
- Spectral editing
- Waveform Seekbar
- Audio restoration
- MultiTrack
- Support for VST Plugins
- Dark Mode
- Ad-free
- Virtual Instrument
- Music Looper
- Lossless Audio
- Works Offline
- Multiple metering standards
Adobe Audition VS Ableton Live
Is Adobe Audition a good alternative to Ableton Live?
77 Logic Pro alternativesLogic Pro lets you translate musical inspiration into professional productions. A range of powerful, easy-to-use features puts sophisticated tools at your fingertips, and complete surround support lets you make incredible, immersive music.
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- iPad
Logic Pro Features
- Audio Recording
- Synthesizer
- Piano Roll
- Mix Music
- Music Sequencer
- Music Recording
- Support for MIDI
- Support for VST Plugins
- Record Tracks
- Loop Library
Logic Pro VS Ableton Live
Is Logic Pro a good alternative to Ableton Live?
75 Bespoke Synth alternativesBespoke is a software modular synthesizer. It contains a bunch of modules, which you can connect together to create sounds.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Top Bespoke Synth Features
- Modular connections
- Synthesizer
- Virtual Instrument
- Node Based
- Lightweight
- Music Looper
- Ad-free
- Music Sequencer
- Support for MIDI
- Dark Mode
- Works Offline
- Music Recording
Bespoke Synth VS Ableton Live
Is Bespoke Synth a good alternative to Ableton Live?
Comments about Bitwig Studio as an Alternative to Ableton Live
The closest match to Ableton's clip-based workflow, Bitwig Studio is equally viable as a DJ and live performance tool as well as a typical DAW for composing original music. Unlike most DAWs, Bitwig directly supports Linux. It's also built from a modular core and now has a modular synth and effect tool for creating any imaginable sound from scratch.
Very similar functionality + similar workflow. Easy recovery from rare crashes, and plugin sandboxing means fewer crashes in comparison to Ableton Live
It is the only DAW I know that has a similar workflow
Similar to ableton live but missing max…