The Best FL Studio AlternativesTop Music Production Apps & Digital Audio Workstations like FL Studio

FL Studio is described as 'Comprehensive DAW for digital audio tasks, featuring advanced composition, arrangement, and editing tools, tailored for music professionals' and is a very popular music production app in the audio & music category. There are more than 50 alternatives to FL Studio for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad and iPhone apps. The best FL Studio alternative is LMMS, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like FL Studio are Ableton Live, REAPER, Ardour and Bitwig Studio.

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FL Studio alternatives are mainly Music Production Apps, but if you're looking for Digital Audio Workstations or Audio Editors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux + Free and Windows + Free + Support for VST Plugins. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to FL Studio.
FL Studio iconFL Studio
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Comprehensive DAW for digital audio tasks, featuring advanced composition, arrangement, and editing tools, tailored for music professionals.

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FL Studio alternatives page was last updated May 17, 2025
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  1. LMMS icon
     611 likes
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    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.

    90 LMMS alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Support for VST Plugins
    2.  Digital Audio Workstation
    3.  Piano Roll
    4.  Export to MP3
    5.  Export to MIDI
    6.  MIDI Keyboard Input
    7.  Portable
    8.  Audio Recording
    9.  Music Sequencer
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  Support for MIDI
    12.  No registration required

    LMMS VS FL Studio

     
    Comments about LMMS as an Alternative to FL Studio
    Comment summary: LMMS is praised for being free and versatile, supporting VST plugins and available across different platforms. Users appreciate its similarities to FL Studio, including a familiar interface and workflow. However, criticisms focus on its limited functionality, lack of plugins, and perceived complexity compared to FL Studio. While some users find it suitable for basic tasks, others believe it falls short as a professional DAW alternative.
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    May 8, 2017
    32

    All though it lacks some of its FL studios features? (i.e attachable and detachable panels) it does support VST plugins and the interface is very easy to use once you get used it, all in all, it's a great DAW, anyone who says it's bad ethier has bias or not enough experience with the program

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    Jan 3, 2020
    -2

    No support for much file formats

    Most Recent Comment
    oktayey
    Positive Dec 30, 2023
    0

    It is free and open-source.

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    3 of 26 comments
    FL Studio Icon
    LMMS icon
    • Most users think LMMS is a great FL Studio alternative.

    • LMMS is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to FL Studio.

    • LMMS is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to FL Studio.

    • LMMS is Free and Open SourceFL Studio is Paid and Proprietary
  2. Ableton Live icon
     206 likes
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    Music software facilitating idea creation, editing, and performance with Arrangement and Session Views. Enhanced interfaces, improved waveforms, and great EQs provide intuitive and detailed music-making for studio and stage experiences.

    84 Ableton Live alternatives

    License model

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows

    Top Ableton Live Features

    1.  Digital Audio Workstation
    2.  Live Performance
    3.  Support for VST Plugins
    4.  Virtual Instrument
    5.  Audio Recording
    6.  Music Sequencer
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Dark Mode
    11.  Support for MIDI
    12.  Batch Editing

    Ableton Live VS FL Studio

     
    Comments about Ableton Live as an Alternative to FL Studio
    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Jun 1, 2017
    3

    Very easy to use and get used to and very good midi support.

    Guest
    Positive Jan 21, 2017
    2

    It is a DAW, like FL Studio, and is probably the most used substitute.

    Guest
    Positive Nov 10, 2016
    0

    It is so easy to use if you get used to it, no flashy colors, no next gen gui, just simple, easy to use program and you can learn how to use it very fast, recommended

    FL Studio Icon
    Ableton Live icon
    • Most users think Ableton Live is a great FL Studio alternative.

    • Ableton Live is the most popular commercial alternative to FL Studio.

    • Ableton Live is Paid and ProprietaryFL Studio is also Paid and Proprietary
  3. REAPER icon
     246 likes
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    REAPER (Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording) is a digital audio workstation, MIDI sequencer and video editing software application created by Cockos. The current version is available for Microsoft Windows (XP and newer), macOS (10.5 and newer), and Linux.

    81 REAPER alternatives

    License model

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Audio Recording
    2.  Digital Audio Workstation
    3.  Support for VST Plugins
    4.  Support for scripting
    5.  MultiTrack
    6.  Support for MIDI
    7.  Extensive customisability
    8.  Portable
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Spectral editing
    11.  Multi Channel
    12.  Lossless Audio

    REAPER VS FL Studio

     
    Comments about REAPER as an Alternative to FL Studio
    Guest
    Negative Jun 15, 2018
    0

    Much more of a focus on mixing than FL studios more production based angle

    Guest
    Positive Jan 5, 2020
    2

    Because the developer Justin Frankel is a genius.

    FL Studio Icon
    REAPER icon
    • Most users think REAPER is a great FL Studio alternative.

    • REAPER is Paid and ProprietaryFL Studio is also Paid and Proprietary
    • REAPER is Customizable and LightweightFL Studio is not according to our users
  4. Ardour icon
     231 likes
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    Ardour is a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application. Record, edit, and mix on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

    90 Ardour alternatives

    License model

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Multitrack editing
    2.  Audio Recording
    3.  Mix Music
    4.  Digital Audio Workstation
    5.  Non Destructive Editing
    6.  Support for VST Plugins
    7.  Music Sequencer
    8.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    9.  Lossless Audio
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  Ad-free
    12.  Virtual Instrument

    Ardour VS FL Studio

     
    Comments about Ardour as an Alternative to FL Studio
    burnx50
    Dec 4, 2021
    3

    Ardour is not "simply a recorder", it's a fully featured DAW, and while Ardour's general layout differs from FL's layout, it can be used to a full extent as a multi-purpose workstation in addition to audio recording, be it MIDI editing or electronic music.

    Guest
    Negative Mar 29, 2015
    -4

    FL Studio is to do with Music production, Ardour is simply a recorder.

    FL Studio Icon
    Ardour icon
    • Most users think Ardour is a great FL Studio alternative.

    • Ardour is Paid and Open SourceFL Studio is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Bitwig Studio icon
     91 likes
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    Bitwig 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.

    50 Bitwig Studio alternatives

    License model

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Top Bitwig Studio Features

    1.  Live Performance
    2.  Modular System
    3.  Multiplatform
    4.  Digital Audio Workstation
    5.  Grid layout
    6.  Support for VST Plugins
    7.  Support for MIDI
    8.  Works Offline
    9.  Music Sequencer
    10.  Music Looper
    11.  Support for scripting
    12.  Dark Mode

    Bitwig Studio VS FL Studio

     
    Comments about Bitwig Studio as an Alternative to FL Studio
    Most Recent Comment
    D7
    Positive May 17, 2025
    0

    The best multiplatform Digital Audio Workstations, cheaper than FL Studio. It is also very intutive to use and has a good design.

    If you want a great DAW for Windows and Linux this is your best choice.

    Guest
    Positive Dec 14, 2020
    0

    May be better than others, really

    Guest
    Positive Apr 6, 2017
    0

    lots of the same mechanics

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    3 of 4 comments
    FL Studio Icon
    Bitwig Studio icon
    • Most users think Bitwig Studio is a great FL Studio alternative.

    • Bitwig Studio is Paid and ProprietaryFL Studio is also Paid and Proprietary
  6. Logic Pro icon
     118 likes
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    Comprehensive studio app offering advanced DAW and MIDI tools, a creative interface, powerful software instruments, plugins like Beat Breaker, full mixer capabilities, and seamless integration with Mac and iPad for professional-sounding mixes.

    78 Logic Pro alternatives

    License model

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPad

    Logic Pro Features

    1.  Audio Recording
    2.  Synthesizer
    3.  Piano Roll
    4.  Mix Music
    5.  Music Sequencer
    6.  Music Recording
    7.  Support for MIDI
    8.  Support for VST Plugins
    9.  Record Tracks
    10.  Loop Library

    Logic Pro VS FL Studio

     
    Comments about Logic Pro as an Alternative to FL Studio
    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Sep 7, 2020
    0

    Logic Pro is easy to use, comes with lots of presets, has a ton of instruments and is compatible with the plugins I need. Better than FL Studio.

    Panjabi Khaled
    Positive Mar 15, 2019
    -2

    Professional DAW with huge fan-base, but for mac users.

    Guest
    Positive Nov 9, 2017
    -3

    A complete and not-so-difficult to use software. It's got a great quality and costs just about $200.

    FL Studio Icon
    Logic Pro icon
    • Most users think Logic Pro is a great FL Studio alternative.

    • Logic Pro is the most popular iPad alternative to FL Studio.

    • Logic Pro is Paid and ProprietaryFL Studio is also Paid and Proprietary
  7. AudioTool icon
     78 likes
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    Make music online with a powerful set of tools ranging from synthesizers and samplers to mixers, delays, reverb and much more. AudioTool is an advanced, collaborative DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) built for the browser.

    70 AudioTool alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Online

    AudioTool Features

    1.  Support for MIDI
    2.  Music Sequencer
    3.  Mix Music
    4.  Browser-based
    5.  Cloud based
    6.  Modular System
    7.  Community-based
    8.  Piano Roll
    9.  Sound Effects

    AudioTool VS FL Studio

     
    Comments about AudioTool as an Alternative to FL Studio
    Most Recent Comment
    zerush
    Positive May 23, 2021
    1

    A good app also for users with a PC with few resources, no need to download anyting, apart from the created music

    VenHayz
    Positive Nov 25, 2016
    4

    Free, complexity similar to that of FL Studio. Can be picked up on with minor FL Studio knowledge.

    Guest
    Positive Nov 17, 2017
    -1

    realistic interface, better than fruityloops

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    3 of 4 comments
    FL Studio Icon
    AudioTool icon
    • Most users think AudioTool is a great FL Studio alternative.

    • AudioTool is the most popular Web-based alternative to FL Studio.

    • AudioTool is Free and ProprietaryFL Studio is Paid and Proprietary
7 of 92 FL Studio alternatives