Free Cakewalk AlternativesAudio Recorders & Audio Editors like Cakewalk

The best free alternative to Cakewalk is Audacity, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Cakewalk and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Cakewalk are LMMS, Tenacity, Ocenaudio and GarageBand.

Cakewalk 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 Cakewalk.

Cakewalk

Free Personal • Proprietary
Audio Recorder

Cakewalk, formerly SONAR, is a comprehensive audio software for music composition, audio recording, editing, mixing and...

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Cakewalk alternatives page was last updated

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 Cakewalk.
- - Audacity is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Cakewalk.
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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. LightweightAudacity consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
4. Support for VST PluginsAudacity support third-party Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins.
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. No TrackingAudacity will not track you or use your personal data.
9. Lossless AudioAudacity has lossless audio support, basically studio quality sound.
Multitrack editing
Mix Music
Remove Noise
Track editing
Noise Reduction
Music Recording
Support for Android Things
Music Sequencer
Record to tape
Privacy focused
Comments about Audacity as a Alternative to Cakewalk
Some users think Audacity is a great Cakewalk alternative, some don't.
Guest
It's not a DAW, but an audio editor
Negative comment •
1

sedeti
Audacity is just 'audio editor
Negative comment •
0

Guest
audacity is sound editor, sonar is daw
Negative comment •
7
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
89 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.
Piano Roll
Export to MP3
Export to MIDI
MIDI Keyboard Input
Free API
Customizable
Royalty-free music
Lossless quality
Mix Music
Image exporting
Comments about LMMS as a Alternative to Cakewalk
Some users think LMMS is a great Cakewalk alternative, some don't.
sedeti
Miles behind from cakewalk
Negative comment •
-1

Guest
A long way away from Sonor
Negative comment •
-1
Tenacity
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Audio Editor
Audio Recorder
Mac
Windows
Linux
88 Tenacity alternatives
Tenacity is an easy-to-use, privacy-friendly, FLOSS, cross-platform multi-track audio editor/recorder for Windows, macOS, Linux and other operating systems.
Suggest and vote on features
Tenacity Features
1. Privacy focusedTenacity is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
2. Ad-freeTenacity doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
3. Works OfflineTenacity can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
4. LightweightTenacity consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
5. Support for VST PluginsTenacity support third-party Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins.
Remove Noise
Mix Music
Ocenaudio
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Audio Editor
Mac
Windows
Linux
46 Ocenaudio alternatives
Ocenaudio is a cross-platform, easy to use, fast and functional audio editor. It is the ideal software for people who need to edit and analyze audio files without complications. ocenaudio also has powerful features that will please more advanced users.
Suggest and vote on features
Ocenaudio Features
1. LightweightOcenaudio consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Support for VST PluginsOcenaudio support third-party Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins.
3. Ad-freeOcenaudio doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
4. PortableOcenaudio can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
5. No registration requiredYou can use most of the features in Ocenaudio without registration.
6. File TaggingOcenaudio can organize and highlight your files with tags and labels.
7. Dark ModeOcenaudio supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
User friendly
Intuitive Interface
Native application
Multiple files
Spectrogram view
Specific for 64-Bit
Support for Hotkeys
Batch conversion
Multi-selection
Comments about Ocenaudio as a Alternative to Cakewalk
pros, cons and recent comments
sedeti
Oceanaudio is just an audio editor
Negative comment •
1
GarageBand
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Music Production App
Digital Audio Workstation
Audio Recorder
Mac
iPhone
iPad
103 GarageBand alternatives
Welcome 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.
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GarageBand Features
1. Works OfflineGarageBand can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
2. Virtual InstrumentGarageBand uses mainy virtual instruments (piano, guitar, drums, bass, etc.).
3. Music SequencerRecord, edit, or play back music with GarageBand, by handling note and performance information.
Preset beats
Audio Samples
Piano Roll
Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
Comments about GarageBand as a Alternative to Cakewalk
Some users think GarageBand is a great Cakewalk alternative, some don't.
anakin777
A very intuitive/straghtforward tool for music creation, with both MIDI and audio. Supports Virtual instruments and extensions (with Apple format)
Positive comment •
0
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.
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Spek Features
1. LightweightSpek consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Spectrogram view
Zrythm
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Open Source
Music Production App
Digital Audio Workstation
Audio Recorder
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
86 Zrythm alternatives
Zrythm is a digital audio workstation designed to be featureful and easy to use.
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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. Ad-freeZrythm doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
4. Music SequencerRecord, edit, or play back music with Zrythm, by handling note and performance information.
Multiple languages
Audio Export
Mix Music
Support for Audio Units Plugins
Music Mastering
AudioTool
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Music Production App
Audio Editor
Online
69 AudioTool alternatives
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.
- - AudioTool is the most popular Web-based alternative to Cakewalk.
Suggest and vote on features
AudioTool Features
1. Support for MIDIAudioTool includes MIDI hardware and software support to record and import audio.
2. Music SequencerRecord, edit, or play back music with AudioTool, by handling note and performance information.
Mix Music
Browser-based
Modular System
Cloud based
Community-based
Piano Roll
Sound Effects
Bespoke Synth
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Music Production App
Digital Audio Workstation
Mac
Windows
Linux
75 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
Qtractor
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Music Production App
Digital Audio Workstation
Audio Editor
Linux
74 Qtractor alternatives
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...
Suggest and vote on features
Qtractor Features
1. Support for MIDIQtractor includes MIDI hardware and software support to record and import audio.
2. Support for VST PluginsQtractor support third-party Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins.
3. Music SequencerRecord, edit, or play back music with Qtractor, by handling note and performance information.
Multitrack editing