The Best Open Source Ableton Live AlternativesTop Music Production Apps & Digital Audio Workstations like Ableton Live

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

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Ableton Live alternatives are mainly Digital Audio Workstations, but if you're looking for Music Production Apps or Audio Editors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free, Linux, iPad, Linux + Free, Android, Open Source and Windows + 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

     667 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.

    99 LMMS alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    LMMS screenshot 1
     
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    13
    LMMS vs Ableton Live Comments
    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.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    17

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

    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 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

     245 likes

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

    100 Ardour alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Ardour 6
     
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    3
    Ardour vs Ableton Live Comments
    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.

    Guest
    Negative
    -25

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

    • Ardour is Paid and Open SourceAbleton Live is Paid and Proprietary
    • Ardour is Privacy focusedAbleton Live is not according to our users
  8. FamiStudio icon

    FamiStudio

     28 likes

    FamiStudio is very simple music editor for the Nintendo Entertainment System or Famicom. It is designed to be easier to use than FamiTracker, but its feature set is also much more limited.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Wine
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • iPhone
    Version 1.4.0
     
  9. Qtractor icon

    Qtractor

     53 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...

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Qtractor screenshot 1
     
  10. Yadaw icon

    Yadaw

     4 likes

    A lightweight, cross-platform DAW built in Rust with egui, designed for sound design and audio prototyping.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Quick start demo
     
  11. 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
     
  13. 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.

    39 MusE Sequencer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    MusE Sequencer screenshot 1
     
  14. Sequencer64 icon

    Sequencer64

     2 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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Sequencer64 screenshot 1
     
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