Free GarageBand Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to GarageBand for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Mac alternative is Audacity, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to GarageBand and many of them are free and available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Mac alternatives to GarageBand are LMMS, Zrythm, Spek and FamiStudio.

GarageBand alternatives are mainly Music Production Apps but may also be Digital Audio Workstations or Audio Editors. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of GarageBand.

GarageBand alternatives page was last updated

GarageBand

252

Free • Proprietary
Music Production App

Welcome to the school of rock. A Mac-sized practice space. Your own recording studio. If you want to learn to play an...

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Audacity
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Audio Editor
Audio Recorder
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
LAME
133 Audacity alternatives
Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. You can use Audacity to record live audio, convert tapes and records, edit sound files, change the speed or pitch of a recording and much more.
- - Audacity is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to GarageBand.
- - Audacity is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to GarageBand.
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Audacity Features
1. Ad-freeAudacity doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
2. PortableAudacity can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Support for VST PluginsAudacity support third-party Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins.
4. LightweightAudacity consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
5. Works OfflineAudacity can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
6. No registration requiredYou can use most of the features in Audacity without registration.
7. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsAudacity can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
8. Lossless AudioAudacity has lossless audio support, basically studio quality sound.
9. No TrackingAudacity will not track you or use your personal data.
Multitrack editing
Mix Music
Remove Noise
Track editing
Noise Reduction
Music Recording
Support for Android Things
Record to tape
Pitch Correction
FSA tracking
Comments about Audacity as a Alternative to GarageBand
Some users think Audacity is a great GarageBand alternative, some don't.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
Guest
Can record and add tracks but little beyond that
Top positive comment•
6

Guest
It's free and easy to use, but doesn't have sample music like FL, good if you are making acoustic music. Not too good for remix or altering acoustic sounds.
Top positive comment•
1

Guest
Audacity is more specifically for music editing rather than creation
Top negative comment•
14

MacGuini
As much as I love using Audacity. This is nothing like Garage Band. This is a completely different type of software. Garage Band creates sound. Audacity edits it.
Negative comment•
0

NevanNedall
I don't feel Audacity's purpose matches what people are looking for from a program like Garage Band.
Negative comment•
0

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5 of 12 comments
LMMS
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Music Production App
Digital Audio Workstation
Audio Recorder
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
Haiku
88 LMMS alternatives
LMMS 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...
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LMMS Features
1. Support for VST PluginsLMMS support third-party Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins.
2. PortableLMMS can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Music SequencerRecord, edit, or play back music with LMMS, by handling note and performance information.
4. DRM FreeNo Digital rights management (DRM), i.e. no copy protection.
Export to MP3
Piano Roll
Export to MIDI
MIDI Keyboard Input
Customizable
Royalty-free music
Lossless quality
Image exporting
Free API
Beat bassline
Comments about LMMS as a Alternative to GarageBand
Most users think LMMS is a great GarageBand alternative.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
Guest
It does not lag when there’s a ton of sounds playing
Top positive comment•
3

TheBeast
More of a learning curve but a great program if you can take the time to learn it.
Top positive comment•
13

Guest
not as user friendly as garageband
Top negative comment•
12

MacGuini
It's the closest to Garage Band for Linux. But it's also far from being comparable. LMMS may be powerful, but it doesn't have the ease of use that Garage Band has. It's professional quality. Which is why this is a horrible alternative to Garage Band.
Negative comment•
-1

Guest
The GUI seems to try to mimic GarageBand but fails to replicate the ease of usage for those unfamiliar with LMMS.
Negative comment•
1

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5 of 7 comments
Zrythm
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Open Source
Music Production App
Digital Audio Workstation
Audio Recorder
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
85 Zrythm alternatives
Zrythm is a digital audio workstation designed to be featureful and easy to use.
Suggest and vote on features
Zrythm Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsZrythm can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
2. Support for VST PluginsZrythm support third-party Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins.
3. Music SequencerRecord, edit, or play back music with Zrythm, by handling note and performance information.
4. Ad-freeZrythm doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
Multiple languages
Audio Export
Mix Music
Support for Audio Units Plugins
Music Mastering
Spek
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
53 Spek alternatives
Spek helps to analyse your audio files by showing their spectrogram. Spek is free software available for Unix, Windows and Mac OS X.
Suggest and vote on features
Spek Features
1. LightweightSpek consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Spectrogram view
Comments about Spek as a Alternative to GarageBand
pros, cons and recent comments
superluminar
Spek shows a spectrum; it is a sound analysis tool, nothing for creating music itself.
Negative comment•
1

Joshua Wheeler
It is not at all like Garageband, it is not for creating music
Negative comment•
0
FamiStudio
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Music Production App
Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
Wine
29 FamiStudio alternatives
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. It is targeted at both chiptune artists and NES homebrewers.
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FamiStudio Features
1. Support for MIDIFamiStudio includes MIDI hardware and software support to record and import audio.
Bespoke Synth
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Music Production App
Digital Audio Workstation
Mac
Windows
Linux
73 Bespoke Synth alternatives
Bespoke is a software modular synthesizer. It contains a bunch of modules, which you can connect together to create sounds.
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Bespoke Synth Features
1. Virtual InstrumentBespoke Synth uses mainy virtual instruments (piano, guitar, drums, bass, etc.).
2. Node BasedBespoke Synth supports node editing, a form of visual programming that gives you full control over the rendering.
Modular connections
Synthesizer
Mix Music
Music Recording
Carla
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Music Production App
Audio Router
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
41 Carla alternatives
Carla is an audio plugin host, with support for many audio drivers and plugin formats. It has some nice features like automation of parameters via MIDI CC (and send output back as MIDI too) and full OSC control.
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Carla Features
1. Support for VST PluginsCarla support third-party Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins.
Rack Effects
DaVinci Resolve Fairlight
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Audio Recorder
Digital Audio Workstation
Audio Editor
Mac
Windows
Linux
11 DaVinci Resolve Fairlight alternatives
Every track includes real time equalization and dynamics processing to sweeten and fine tune your mix. This is in addition to your six real time track effects, making Fairlight far more powerful than other digital audio workstation software!
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DaVinci Resolve Fairlight Features
MultiTrack
Sound Effects
Mix Music