Video Intro

If you don’t wanna read the things below, then go ahead and watch above.

(Then read below)

What is This?

This is a chart of the potential capability of various DAWS. The values are relative to each other. One DAW may have a perfectly acceptable feature set for 99% of users, but if another has more features or better integration, then the 99%-ok DAW will have a lower rating.

If you disagree with some rating, then please comment below. I will happily discuss it with you and explain why the rating was given. I am always open to adjusting the ratings when presented with a convincing case to do so.

A low rating doesn’t mean the DAW is bad. It simply means that it has less functionality than another product. There is a tradeoff between functionality and usability. A DAW with a lot of features may be more difficult to navigate or operate. It may not.

Weighting

If you are using this chart to decide on a DAW then pay attention the weighting feature in the upper left of each section.

You can change how much a section is valued in the final tally. So if MIDI is relatively unimportant to you then give it a 50%. Only 50% of those scores will count in the final.

If you never do multitrack editing, give it a 0. Then DAWs that excel in this area won’t pollute your scores.

The default weighting is what I prefer. This should help you understand where my biases potentially lay when rating the softwares. To avoid pushing my bias onto you, the default weight for everything is now ZERO. To create your own weighted ratings you need to input a value above 0.

Current Versions

These are the versions that I have most recently evaluated the features (and stability) of:

Reaper 6.14
DP 10.1
Cubase 10.5.12
S1 5.0.1
PT 2020.9.1
Logic 10.5.1
FLStudio 20.7 Mac
Live 10.1.9
Bitwig 3.2.8
Mixbus 32c 6.1

How recently was this update

Last Updated - 2021 March 14

FAQ

This is stupid

That’s not a question, but I understand. Please leave a comment and tell me how you think it could be improved. I am always looking to make it more accurate, more feature-filled and more pleasant to use.

You’re wrong about X

Great, leave a comment and tell me why. I’m not interested in being right, I’m interested in the information being correct.

Remember though, just because you think your DAW is sufficient doesn’t mean much. There may be another product that does it better. These ratings are relative.

What makes you think you’re such an expert?

Well, I’m not an “expert” however, I have spent 300+ hours in each one of these products creating detailed lists and coming up with objective evaluative tests to compare them.

I’ve also worked for a handful of companies making these products, written various extensions, themes and a number of VST plug-ins.

Oh yeah, and I am a recording engineer with OCD. Real OCD, not the “Crooked things mildly annoy me” kind, but the kind that requires consistent professional help and medication. I obsess over small details in software functionality to an absurd degree.

What about DAW X?

I am clearly not covering some products. This is for one or more of the following reasons:

I don’t own it (All donations noted for this post will go towards acquiring other products)
I haven’t accrued more than 100 hours seriously using it.
It does not fit the needs I have to complete some sort of production

I am primarily a macOS user. Windows-only products require extra effort for me to acquire experience in, so there will naturally be an absence of windows-only products.

What is the best DAW?

I’ve been getting asked this a lot lately via e-mail/IRC/Discord, around 20+ times a week.

I primarily use Steinberg Cubase and Logic Pro X. I do not think that either one is the best DAW.

I love DP. I have some issues with certain GUI elements being ridiculously small. DP is still the cream of the crop for large MIDI composited projects, live backing tracks and large audio projects. I use DP for all of my personal projects.

Reaper is just a total pain in the ass to learn for some people, but that pain comes with the ridiculously massive amount of functionality that it offers.

I think that for the majority of music-based workflows, Presonus S1 currently offers the most complete and sane set of defaults.

If you largely work with recording musicians or mixing, then Harrison Mixbus is a very nice option.

If you are a fan of OSS, tinkerer or even moderately technically inclined then Ardour is both functional and fun to explore. I have quite a soft spot for Ardour.

Steinberg Cubase has some amazing arrangement features that help differentiate it, and is an all-around great product for the composer, songwriter or musician that works alone.

PT exists. It has that going for it, I guess. (That’s a joke. I love PT and would without a doubt be using it as my only DAW if I didn’t have so many issues with Avid as a company.)

Ableton Live and Bitwig are amazing tools for live performers, and both offer some cool options for creative sound design built right in to the product.

If you own a mac, then Apple Logic is the absolute king of value. It comes with a huge amount of content, compentent synths, great effects and a slew of fantastic and useful features.

Propellerheads Reason is just super fun. If your workflow is fairly simple, but relies heavily on sound design or you enjoy the rack-based workflow then Reason is the only thing that will really satisfy you these days.

So… yep. If someone were to just walk up to me and say “WHAT DAW?!?!?”. I’d say S1 or Logic if they had a mac. If I could get some more information out of them then I would suggest something else maybe. All of these products have demos, and they all work for making music. Getting the “right” DAW will help you make music faster and enjoy it more though!

Why is Ableton Live rated so low?

This is a feature chart. Ableton Live’s big benefits are primarily in included content and excellent workflow for common musical workflows.

Ableton Live’s featureset is relatively limited to other products on the market, but many of those products sacrifice simplicity in some areas to pack in more features. This chart is only here to tell you what is available in the products and how well they work, not how they impact the general workflow.

Ableton Live excels at intangibles that come from the overall gestalt-like design philosophy. With more features comes more complexity and that’s not always necessary. Ableton Live does a fantastic job of creating a slick workflow around a core set of features that work for many modern musicians.

I suggest viewing the Ease of Use section to see where Live excels. If you value that, then weigh it highly and look at weighted totals.

I HATE DONGLES!!!!11!!11!!!one!!!1!!

Ok. I get it.

Simply weigh the ‘Authorization prefer dongle’ category as 0. Now weigh ‘Authorization dislike dongle’ as 1,000 or 10,000 or 1,000,000.

Now your ratings will reflect your preferences (that I personally disagree with).

What about third-party add-ons?

I consider third-party add-ons that meet the following criteria:

Free
Directly integrates with the software. That is to say that it’s not something that runs entirely separately from the software itself.
Based on officially recognized features. Clever hacks are cool, but only add-ons that build upon facilities purposely offered by the DAW Developer will be considered.

If an add-on is considered in the rating, it will be noted. Click the rating to see more information.

What about Linux?

I don’t run a linux-based OS. If you are interested in information about Linux DAW options then please check out this chart here. It does not have the exact same purpose as my chart, but it may be useful to you anyway.

KEY

The Chart

0% 100% +10% -10% Function Opinion Meta Help!

</category> </category> <daw name="Live" rating="10" link-"live-loop-recording"> </daw>

Reaper Notes

Reaper Download

Reaper’s download is small and compact, but a lot of the great functionality available in Reaper (for advanced users) comes from various scripts which must be downloaded separately.

SWS and ReaPack are the bare minimum to get started for intermediate to advanced users.

Reaper Re-Record

Reaper doesn’t have native re-record capability to my knowledge. You can create a ‘keyboard macro’ or script to do this, but it’s somewhat complex to create one that works in all situations similar to how Logic works.

Reaper VCA

Reaper’s VCAs are functional and flexible, however they are a pain to manage. There’s a script by Sexan called “Create VCA Master from selection” that makes things easier, but it’s still a bit of extra work to manage VCAs

Reaper’s VCAs are totally functional, but the rating was adjusted for the difficult of using them in some workflows.

Reaper Channel Strip

Reaper does not have an integrated channel strip, however it does allow you to have default plug-ins for new tracks and macro-knobs for assigned parameters directly inside the mixer channel strip.

It’s very simple to build your own integrated channel strip with whatever products you want and have the desired controls available right in the mixer.

Reaper Audio Units

Reaper is docked in the audio units area since some multi-platform plugins appear to not work correctly in the format. As far as I can tell, VST2/3 is always the preferred format if given the option in Reaper.

Reaper Clip Launching

Playtime exists for Reaper, which adds clip launching capability.

It is a paid extension though, so it is not considered for this chart.

Reaper Step Sequencer

Reaper’s rating is based upon available scripts such as the fantastic MegaBaby and associated mods. These are freely available, so they are considered in the ratings.

Reaper Articulation Management

This rating includes the free scripts Reaticulate and Articulation Manager.

These are free scripts that can be easily added to any Reaper installation.

DP Notes

DP OOTB MIDI

DP has Setup->Multi Record which trips up a lot of users and hampers this score greatly.

DP’s multiple editors can be confusing compared to other DAWs with multiple editors (e.g. Cubase) as it’s often not obvious which editor will allow you to work with data how you need.

DP Support

DP has a number of absolutely excellent and helpful users, however the main 3rd party forum is complained about more than any other DAW resource I’m aware of.

I know of almost as many users that hate the place than that actively use it. It’s unfortunate.

Still… if you ask a good question, you’ll get a good answer.

DP Monitor Section

DP doesn’t have a dedicated monitor section, however it does have ‘v-racks’ which operation nearly identically. They are functionally similar enough to be considered for this rating.

DP Loop Recording

DP gets a 10 for having both traditional loop/cycle recording and Polar.

I also discuss Polar myself in another post

DP Clip Launching

DP has a system called “Chunks” which allows complex setups for launching clips/projects. It is not similar to Live’s style of clip launching at all, however it is used for very large shows around the world.

DP10 added a Clip like ‘spreadsheet’ style view.

Cubase Notes

Cubase Hardware

Cubase’s hardware inserts work well, but they are difficult to setup. You must creating routing channels for the hardware inserts in a separate panel. Hardware insert plug-ins are tied to the settings for each routing device.

Contrast this with other DAWs that simply let you insert a plug-in… no messy pre-requisite work.

Cubase Key Commands

Cubase has the capability to assign key commands, however searching for commands is very annoying. The browser only shows 1 result at a time and requires a mouse-click to move to the next result. You must also type the keyword exactly

Other products show all of the results and allow browsing with keyboard shortcuts (somewhat ironic).

Cubase Updates

Cubase gets an extra 1 point for having major updates exactly once a year, at the same time.

Waveform Notes

Waveform Hardware

Waveform, as of version 11, does not properly compensate for device latency when placing audio in the timeline unless you manually do a loopback and set the compensation yourself.

I consider this a major issue worthy of setting this rating to 0.

Waveform Inserts

As of Waveform 9.1.1, it appears that hardware inserts are bugged and do not render.

Waveform Included

I’m considering Waveform Ultimate for the included effects/synths rating.

S1 Notes

S1 Track Templates

S1 4 introduced import data from song. You can now import tracks from other projects, or maintain a project with templates as you wish.

S1 Sequencing

Between S1’s scratch pad, ripple editing and Song Window, I believe there is an argument to be made that emulating the “Sequencing of sequences” workflow can be emulated satisfactorily for most users.

S1 Automation Clips

Automation Clips can be emulated, so I am including that functionality in the rating.

PT Notes

PT Modes

I am not considering extra automation features available in PT HD.

PT Support

Since Avid offers paid support (which I have used a number of times), I am considering this for the rating. If you don’t want to pay for support then Avid’s support is fairly poor.

PT Scoring

PT has integration with Sibelius, however that’s a separate purchase. It is not considered in this rating.

Logic Notes

Logic UI Consistency

Logic is relatively internally consistent, but breaks of a number of macOS conventions which I believe should detract from the score as Logic is an integral part of the macOS ecosystem in Apple’s view.

There are also a number of common macOS shortcuts that do not work in some parts of the UI, but do work in others.

Logic VCA

Logic’s VCAs can not be stacked or chained. The current implementation is correct, but it’s highly inflexible which reduces its usefulness.

Logic Personal Community

Logic Pro Help Forums are easily the most professional and helpful DAW forums.

As of February 2020, I have used Logic for a long-term professional project for over a year because of the ease of getting quick and accurate answers on LPH.

Reason Notes

Reason Windows

Reason relies heavily on the rack system, which is problematic to navigate. For the purposes of this rating I’m considering the ability to navigate the rack as ‘window management’.

Reason Modularity

Reason does not have full audio rate parameter data, so it is docked points for this.

Reason Sequencing

Reason has many sequencer and pattern generator devices that can be chained together. These sequences can themselves be triggered and sequenced as desired. Possibly the most “powerful” workflow for simple sequences, but extremely cumbersome for complex sequences and interdependent parts.

FLStudio Notes

FLStudio OOTB Hardware

I am exposed to about 2x as many FLStudio users as any other DAW, however I see and help with an order of magnitude more users needing help setting up their hardware in FL.

This may be due to beginners being more likely to try FL to start with, however it does indicate that beginners have difficulty setting up hardware with FL.

The most common issue is FL ASIO not working properly, and I believe that is worthy of lowering the rating significantly.

FLStudio Step Sequencer

Remember, this is a FEATURE chart. FLStudio’s step sequencer is beloved largely for its simplicity. Other products offer more functionality built directly into the step sequencer.

FLStudio Included

This considers the Signature Edition

Ableton Live Notes

Live Loop Recording

Live gets a bonus for looper which adds a great deal of depth to Ableton’s looping capabilities.

Live Bugs

This rating is based on the public Beta for Live.

Live Other

Max for Live is being taken in to account, which is a fairly expensive addition to the software.

Live Routing

Live’s Routing is considered without M4L. M4L allows some really cool routing, but not simply or across the entire software.

Live Collab

Services link Splice exist, but they are paid. Live does not get credit for these third party services unless/until it’s integrated directly in to the software.

Live Modularity

The rating does not consider Max for Live.

Bitwig Notes

Bitwig re-record

With overdub turned off, Bitwig can emulate ‘re-record’ by pressing the play/record button twice with overdub turned off.

Bitwig Customization

The community has done a fair job of unlocking various bits of Bitwig for customization. Since this is a free effort, and Bitwig hasn’t actively hampered these efforts, I’m considering it.

Bitwig fragility

The high rating is due to the Bitwig team announcing/promising features that still have not been released to date. That is combined with existing core functionality being changed to support previously promised features.

Mixbus Notes

Mixbus Customization

As Mixbus is based off of Ardour, it can be built from source. First you need to learn how to compile Ardour from source, which you can receive some assistance with at #Ardour on irc.freenode.net. From that point simply work with the Mixbus repo instead of the Ardour repo.

While the skill ceiling is much higher for working with Mixbus, the possibilities are endless. You have nearly full control over the software outside of the proprietary DSP.

Mixbus Input Monitoring

Natively the input monitoring support isn’t fantastic, but using a script by Nik at Harrison allows for quick changing of meter taps on tracks. That allows for a decent workflow with regards to input monitoring.

Mixbus PDC

Mixbus allows feedback routing in Busses and thusly can not have PDC on them. I’ve marked off for this since there’s no way to optionally disable this circular routing and enable PDC on those busses.

Mixbus Manual

I am considering both the mixbus manual and the Ardour Manual. There are some differences between the softwares, but the information is very helpful regardless.

Mixbus Remote

A great Lemur template is available here: http://mixbus.harrisonconsoles.com/forum/thread-5356.html

Mixbus Authorization

Mixbus is authorized by putting a .txt license file in one of the following directories:

On Windows, Mixbus searches the following locations (first found is used)
%localappdata%
$HOMEDRIVE$HOMEPATH
$USERPROFILE

On OS X:
$HOME/Library/Application Support/harrisonconsoles/
$HOME/.
$HOME/
/usr/local/share/ (intended for multi-user institution-wide licenses)

and on GNU/Linux:
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/harrisonconsoles/
$HOME/.config/harrisonconsoles/
$HOME/.
$HOME/
/usr/local/share/ (intended for multi-user institution-wide licenses)

You can simply bring your authorizations on a flash drive and be up and running in a few seconds at another studio if needed. (remember to delete them when you leave!)

Mixbus re-record

A simple script can be made in Mixbus to do the re-record workflow.

Mixbus Zoom

The mixbus channel strips can be zoomed, which is very useful. The entire display can be nicely zoomed in Windows and Linux distributions, but not in MacOS.

I am not taking off points for the mac change since it an OS-level limitation.

Live Bitwig Sequencing

Live and Bitwig both allow extensive sequencing of parts, but they lack the distinct ability to sequence these sequences in a non-linear fashion. You are either tied to live performance or to a static linear presentation of the data.

Reason may appear to have similar functionality, but the sequences can be non-destructively sequenced and sequences can directly control other sequences. This is both more flexible and more powerful of a workflow.

Live and Bitwig users can setup “clips that control sequencing” type projects, but it requires third-party software for MIDI routing or a deep dive into scripting/programming.

Support Me!

This post took 100s of hours (literally months of man hours) to research, program, write and edit. If you appreciate the information presented then please consider joining patreon or donating!

Portions of donations will be used to acquire other products to add to the chart.

The DAW Feature Chart