Ableton Live AlternativesOnly Open Source apps categorised as Digital Audio Workstations

The best open source Digital Audio Workstation alternative to Ableton Live is LMMS. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Ableton Live and 15 are open source Digital Audio Workstations so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Digital Audio Workstation alternatives to Ableton Live are Ardour, Bespoke Synth, Zrythm and Qtractor.

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Ableton Live alternatives are mainly Digital Audio Workstations, but if you're looking for Music Production Apps or Audio Recorders you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free, Open Source, Linux, iPad, Android, Android Tablet and Android + Free. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Ableton Live.
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Alternatives list

  1. LMMS icon

    LMMS

     633 likes

    Cross-platform digital audio workstation supporting lossless audio and VST plugins. Features include music looping, sequencing, and MIDI support. Provides an ad-free, privacy-focused, portable experience without registration, working offline with extensibility through plugins and add-ons.

    92 LMMS alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    LMMS screenshot 1
     
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    13
    Comments about LMMS as an Alternative to Ableton Live
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    3

    If you are just getting into the scene and are on a budget, its pretty darn decent especially for being free and open source.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    17

    It is good but does not even come close to the Abelton workflow.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Oscar Sanderson
    Positive
    0

    LMMS is free (free as in freedom and free beer) and open source and overall really cool

    3 of 13 comments
    LMMS icon
    LMMS icon
    • LMMS is Free and Open SourceAbleton Live is Paid and Proprietary
    • LMMS is Customizable, Privacy focused and LightweightAbleton Live is not according to our users
  2. Ardour icon

    Ardour

     240 likes

    Ardour is a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application. Record, edit, and mix on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

    93 Ardour alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Ardour 6
     
    |
    3
    Comments about Ardour as an Alternative to Ableton Live
    burnx50
    Positive
    2

    Ableton-style clip launcher is added to Ardour 7.

    Guest
    Negative
    1

    Ardour 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.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -25

    The description did not mention you can make music on the program yourself.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Ardour icon
    Ardour icon
    • Ardour is Paid and Open SourceAbleton Live is Paid and Proprietary
    • Ardour is Privacy focusedAbleton Live is not according to our users
  6. Qtractor icon

    Qtractor

     52 likes

    Qtractor is an Audio/MIDI multi-track sequencer application written in C++ with the Qt framework. Target platform is GNU/Linux, where the Jack Audio Connection Kit (JACK) for audio, and the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) for MIDI, are the main infrastructures for...

    77 Qtractor alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Qtractor screenshot 1
     
  7. Efflux icon

    Efflux

     4 likes

    Efflux is a Progressive Web Application allowing you to create music within your browser, either on- or offline on anything from a phone to desktop machine.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    Efflux screenshot 1
     
  11. Sequencer64 icon

    Sequencer64

     3 likes

    Sequencer64 is a live-looping sequencer with an interface more like a hardware sequencer than track-based MIDI sequencers. Seq64 is a reboot of Seq24, extending it greatly over the last years.

    24 Sequencer64 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Sequencer64 screenshot 1
     
  12. MusE Sequencer icon

    MusE Sequencer

     10 likes

    Open-source DAW for GNU/Linux designed for multitrack MIDI and audio sequencing, real-time effects, automation, plugin support including LV2, VST, DSSI, non-destructive editing, JACK compatibility, and free BSD port for advanced audio production and virtual studio needs.

    32 MusE Sequencer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    MusE Sequencer screenshot 1
     
  14. MusicBoard icon

    MusicBoard

     5 likes

    Mb Launchpad is the first Linux launchpad. Available for Linux, MacOS, Android (executables) and for Wdos if you compile it.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    Customizable!
     
12 of 15 Ableton Live alternatives