Since everyone likes music, is there always a need for great music?
To do that, you need both great music producers and a venue that can meet your needs.
You can record music, change the way music files sound, add effects, mix sounds, and do a lot more with music creation software. Music producers depend on this program for its many cutting-edge and unique tools that help them make fantastic music.
How to Choose Music Production Software
When picking out tools for making music, you should think about the following:
- If you need to be more tech-savvy, it needs to be simple to use. On the other hand, most professional-level advanced music creation software is a bit hard to understand, so there would be a steep learning curve.
- It should work with your gadget.
- A free trial, which most of them offer, will let you see how well it works for your specific needs.
In this article, there are clear pictures of the best tools for making music so you can choose the one that works best for you.
Best Music Production Software
#1) Ableton Live 11
It works best for DJs, EDM, and hip-hop beats.
There is no better software for making songs than Ableton Live 11. Ableton was created in 1999 and is now used by musicians, sound producers, and artists all over the world.
Ableton is made up of more than 350 people from all over the world who work together in Berlin to give people valuable tools for making music and creating music.
There are a vast number of features, instruments, packs, and effects in Ableton Live 11. Regulations from the EU (GDPR) say that the site is safe, so your files and other data are safe.
System Requirements:
For macOS: macOS High Sierra 10.13 to Monterey 12, 8 GB RAM, 1280×800 display resolution.
For Windows: Windows 10 (Build 1909 and later), 8 GB RAM, 1366×768 display resolution.
Features:
- You can make your music with Wavetable, FM, physical modelling, and sampling-based instruments.
- It has many sound effects, such as Spectral Resonator, Spectral Time, EQ Eight, Echo, Drum Bus, Pedal, Glue Compressor, Spectrum Analyzer, and more.
- There are many MIDI effects, such as Shaper, Envelope, and Envelope Follower.
- You can use the 70 GB of sounds that are already there to make songs.
- You can use these tools to take harmony, melody, or drums from an audio clip and turn them into MIDI.
Pros:
- Get 90 days for free.
- Students and teachers can get discounts.
- Robust automation was available.
Verdict: DJs, EDM artists, and hip-hop producers should use Ableton Live 11. When it comes to benefits, they can’t be beat.
Some people think that Ableton’s prices are a bit high, but you get what you pay for in the end. Many people have said nice things about Ableton. The tools for guidance are outstanding.
Price:
You can try Ableton Live 11 for free for 90 days. Here are the price plans:
- Live 11 Suite: $749
- Live 11 Standard: $449
- Live 11 Intro: $99
Website: Ableton Live 11
#2) Logic Pro
Best for advanced tools for making music and editing videos.
Logic Pro is a strong program for creating music. The platform has a huge library of instruments, loops, and sounds that you can use to mix, play, and make up new songs.
Logic Pro supports high-quality 24-bit/192kHz audio, lets you record punch-ins without any gaps, comes with tools for doing projects with up to 1000 stereo or surround audio tracks and 1000 software instrument tracks, can run an endless number of plugins, and more.
Extra advanced tools let you record, edit, and change MIDI acts as well.
System Requirements: macOS 11.5 or later.
Features:
- You can use this huge library of sounds to make any track you want.
- Your track can sound like a DJ mixed it with the help of stutters, echoes, filters, and gating effects.
- These are tools that are simple to use to fix any track—drums, vocals, guitar, and more.
- Built-in Dolby Atmos tools make it easy to make fully immersive spatial audio mixes.
- You can put your beats in order by programming drum patterns and melodic parts, making shows with changing rhythms, and setting plugins to run automatically.
Pros:
- It works with Spanish, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese.
- There are a lot of excellent features.
- It’s free for iPad and iPhone.
Cons:
- There is no Android app.
Verdict: Based on the reviews of Logic Pro from real customers, most of them are happy with the software. Anyone who is new to the field or an expert can use the software.
One of the most powerful things about the app is how many features it has. Integration and automation are also very unique.
Price: $199.99. For 90 days, you can try it for free.
Website: Logic Pro
#3) PreSonus Studio One
Best for being a powerful and cheap tool for making music.
PreSonus Studio One is high-tech software for making music. It has many tools for recording, creating, mixing, mastering, and playing music tracks.
The software has many great features, such as intelligent templates, drag-and-drop editing tools, more accessible teamwork tools, a user interface that can be changed to fit your needs, multiple exporting formats, powerful computing tools, advanced Melodyne integration, and more.
It began in 1995 with the goal of letting people make new audio goods with professional sound quality that was relatively inexpensive.
System Requirements:
For Windows: Windows 10 (64-bit only) or Windows 11 (64-bit only)
At least an Intel® CoreTM i3 or AMD A10 chip
For Mac: macOS 10.14 or higher (64-bit only)
At least an Intel Core i3 processor works with Apple Silicon.
Features:
- Recording in 64-bit WAV
- Transient recognition, audio quantization, time stretching, and other advanced audio editing tools are available.
- Some tools let you move, copy, and delete whole parts of songs across a list of tracks at once.
- You can make complex, tempo-synced, rhythmic filter patterns and lush filter sweeps with the auto-filter tool.
Pros:
- Advanced tools for working together
- Many helpful tools, like Autosave, Backup, Archive, and more
- It has a built-in store where you can try out and buy hundreds of loop libraries, plugins, and instruments from other developers.
Cons:
- It might be hard to use at first.
Verdict: The wide range of tools that PreSonus Studio One has is really great. It’s a new kind of site with fair prices. Many people have good things to say about the site. You should definitely get PreSonus Studio One.
Price: For 30 days, it’s free to try. Every month it costs $14.95.
Website: PreSonus Studio One
#4) FL Studio
Best for being a tool that is simple and easy to understand.
FL Studio is software that lets you make music that sounds like it was made by a pro. It has tools for writing, arranging, recording, mixing, and finishing.
It can be used in the cloud, on the web, on a Mac or Windows PC, on a Windows or Linux server, on an Android or iPhone mobile device, or an iPad. The tool is a little hard to get the hang of at first, but with the many tutorials it provides, anyone can quickly learn how to use it and get great results.
System Requirements:
- For Windows: Windows 8.1, 10, 11, or later, Intel and AMD CPUs (ARM not supported).
- For Mac: 10.13.6 (High Sierra) or later, Intel or Apple Silicon CPUs.
- You can also get it on Android and iOS.
Features:
- It lets you send in WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC, and MIDI formats.
- Tools for mixing sounds, such as mute, solo, effect bus, pan, and volume control
- Live acts can be recorded.
- Works with screens of all sizes and resolutions, from phones to TVs
Pros:
- You can get it on Windows, Chrome OS, iOS, Android, or macOS.
- Auto Ducker, Chorus, Compressor, Limiter, Distortion, Parametric Equalizer, and more are some of the effects that can be used.
- Free version with time limits
Cons:
- It’s a little hard for newbies.
Verdict: In the end, the app was easier to use and more logical than its competitors. The best thing about the program is that it can also be used on mobile devices.
FL Studio works quickly and is liked by many people who use it.
Price:
Here are some price plans:
- FL Studio Fruity Edition: $99
- FL Studio Producer Edition: $149
- FL Studio Signature Bundle: $299
- FL Studio All Plugins Edition: $399
Website: FL Studio
#5) Avid Pro Tools
Best for providing advanced music creation tools that are needed to make professional music.
Avid Pro Tools is the best program for making music. It has a GRAMMY®-winning set of DAW tools and plugins for professional music producers.
More than 1400 people from all over the world work for the website. People have won Oscars, Grammys, and Emmys with this new tool. Avid was made so that its customers can work together, trust, be honest, and be treated with respect.
People really like this powerful tool because it’s easy to use and has excellent reviews from customers.
System Requirements:
- For Mac: macOS Catalina 10.15.7, M1 or Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (i5 or faster recommended), 8 GB RAM
- For PC: Windows 10, 11, 64-bit Intel Core Processor (i3/2 GHz or faster recommended), 8 GB RAM
Features:
- There are tools for recording, analyzing, and mixing music.
- New computer instruments, effects, and loops that break new ground.
- Flexible audio, track comping, and mix automation are all types of processes.
- It lets you discover and get in touch with talented people everywhere.
Pros:
- Get 30 days for free.
- Simple to use
- Collaborations that work
Cons:
- Beginners will need help getting good at it.
Verdict: Avid Pro is a tool that lets its users make professional-quality music at home and is highly trusted and recommended.
The cloud-based tool is quick, safe, and easy to set up. Prices can be high for some, but they have the best range of features of any company.
Price: Starts at $9.99 per month.
Website: Avid Pro Tools
#6) Reason 12
The best for newbies.
Reason 12 is good software for making music. It comes with a vast library of sounds and more than 29,000 patches, loops, and samples that can help you make your tunes.
Millions of people from all over the world trust this tool because it is simple to use. The best thing about Reason is that it is always getting better and easier to use.
System Requirements:
For macOS:
- Up to and including macOS 10.13 (High Sierra)
- 4 GB of RAM
- A screen size of at least 1280 x 768
- If you want to use Reason as a VST plugin, you need a system that supports VST3.
- If you want to use Reason as an AU driver, you need a host that supports AUv2.
- For Reason to work as an AAX driver, you need Pro Tools 12 or later.
For Windows:
- At least Windows 11 or Windows 10 (64-bit) 1607 (Build 14393)
- A screen size of at least 1280 x 768
- 4 GB of RAM
- If you want to use Reason as a VST plugin, you need a system that supports VST3.
- For Reason to work as an AAX driver, you need Pro Tools 12 or later.
Features:
- Tools for quickly starting, cutting, and changing sound
- You can change the background colour, add your background, and do other things.
- There are many tools, like Radical Piano, MIDI Out Device, Kong Drum Designer, and more, that can help you create sounds.
- With effects like Quartet Chorus Ensemble, Channel Dynamics, Softube Amp, and more, this library has a lot to choose from.
Pros:
- Simple to use
- You can try Reason 12 for one month for just $1.
- Recording sounds for free.
Cons:
- It costs quite a bit.
Verdict: The bottom line is that Reason 12 is a powerful and flexible program for making music. It’s great that the site has editing tools for music.
There are many instruments, synths, drum machines, sound-shaping effects, Player MIDI effects, and mixing tools in Reason 12 that can be used to make the best music.
Price: $499
Website: Reason 12
#7) Waveform Free
Best for giving you free, unlimited use.
It’s free and one of the best music programs out there. The fact that the platform is free keeps the fact that it has everything you could want in music production tools.
Waveform is available for Mac, Windows, and Ubuntu users.
System Requirements:
- For macOS: 64-bit Intel or Apple Silicon after macOS 10.11
- For Windows: Windows 8, 10, 11, 64-bit
- Ubuntu: 18.04, 64-bit
Features:
- There are tools to record, edit, mix, and do other things.
- Drums, bass, piano, guitar, and other band tools
- There are 15 sound effects, such as a Compressor, Gate, Limiter, Chorus, Phaser, Stereo Delay, and more.
- Tools for tagging, marking as a favourite, making intelligent lists, and detailed search
Verdict: The verdict is that Waveform is giving away too much for free. It is one of the best music creation programs for Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu, and it has won awards. I also like what people have said about the site.
Price: Free
Website: Waveform Free
#8) Steinberg Cubase Pro
Best for making professional songs.
One of the best music programs is Steinberg Cubase Pro. Many people, both new and experienced in the field of music creation, trust it. You can use their website in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese.
System Requirements:
- For Windows: 64-bit Windows 10 Version 21H2 (or higher) / 64-bit Windows 11 Version 21H2 (or higher)
- For macOS: macOS Monterey and macOS Big Sur
Features:
- It lets you warp-quantize more than one audio track at the same time.
- MIDI Remote Scripts will find your device and map the controls instantly
- Tools for comping and chord pads
- New audio engine with a sample rate of 192 kHz and 64-bit floating-point precision
- Several effects, such as a tuner, mixing delay, SMPTE Generator, and more
- With these tools, you can work together with artists from all over the world.
Verdict: Steinberg Cubase Pro is a fast, flexible, and easy-to-use program for making music. The price of the program is high, but the number of features it has is imposing. It comes highly recommended for business use.
Price: $579.99 (you can try it for free for 30 days).
Website: Steinberg Cubase Pro
#9) Audacity
It’s the best because it’s free and straightforward to use.
You can get Audacity for free, and it’s one of the best programs for making music on Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux, and other systems.
People all over the world use Audacity a lot, which shows that you can trust it. Among the platform’s benefits are recording, importing and exporting, editing, and a lot more.
System Requirements:
- For Windows: Windows 10, 11
- For MacOS: macOS 12 Monterey, macOS 11 Big Sur, macOS 10.15 Catalina, macOS 10.14 Mojave, macOS 10.13 High Sierra
- For Linux: Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.10
Features:
- It lets you record live sound
- You can save recorded files in different types of files.
- It has simple tools for changing WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3, and Ogg Vorbis sound files.
- There are effects for LADSPA, LV2, VST, and Audio Unit (macOS).
Verdict: The tool works well and is simple to use. The tool is beneficial, but the interface needs to be updated. The fact that you get these benefits for free is awe-inspiring.
Audacity is suitable for both newbies and small-scale music productions.
Price: Free
Website: Audacity
#10) Reaper
The best for both personal and business use.
Reaper is a digital audio workstation tool that is always getting better to give you the features that people want right now. Reaper gives you tools to record, edit, process, mix, and more with audio.
Even though Reaper is quick and easy to use, it can be hard to get used to at first if you are not tech-savvy.
System Requirements:
- For Windows: It works with all versions of Windows, from XP to 11, as long as the processor is an Intel one and the processing is 32-bit or 64-bit.
- For MacOS: macOS 10.5 to macOS 12.
- For Linux: GTK+3 with ALSA, GTK+2 supported, x86_64, i686, armv7l, aarch64 compatible.
Features:
- Setting up audio and MIDI
- Several third-party plugin effects and computer instruments can be used.
- Uses built-in tools to let you make new effects.
- For storage, you only need 25 MB of hard disk room.
Verdict: Reaper is a great program that both individuals and businesses can use. It sounds good when they play music. The tool works well, has a lot of power, and costs a fair amount. You even get savings if you use it for business or fun.
Price: $225. “There is a discounted version that costs $60 and is available for personal use, educational or non-profit groups, and businesses with annual gross sales of less than USD 20,000.”
*A free trial is also available for 60 days.
Website: Reaper
Conclusion
Making music is an art form that not everyone can do. But now that there is easy-to-use software for making songs, even people who have never done it before can learn the basics and start working in their dream jobs.
A lot of people use a lot of different programs to make music. Some of the best ones are Avid Pro Tools, Reason 12, Waveform Free, Reaper, Steinberg Cubase Pro, and Audacity.
Others have advanced tools for professionals that need to be learned how to use before they can be used. Some of them have tools that are easy for newbies to use. Read through the in-depth reviews to get the best program for your needs.