No dough for DAWs? 2021's best free music software.

Are moths flying out of your coin purse every time you open it? Are you sick of being told to “retrain in cyber”. More than anything, do you want to be a musician but you think the cost to enter is just too high? Luckily there are plenty of free access points into recording music at home. While the more expensive apps and software do have plenty to offer in many ways, these no-cost options are more than good enough to record a demo or two on your way to becoming a top musician. I’ll also be including some tutorial videos to help you get to grips with the software.

NB: there are plenty of ‘lite’ or free-trial versions of established DAWs (Digital Audio Workstation) such as Ableton, Pro-Tools and Cubase and while they do offer free versions of their full product they will often have frustrating limitations embedded to make you upgrade to the paid version. Feel free to give these trials a go if you’re thinking of purchasing the full version as you’ll be able to get to grips with some professional standard software. What I’m listing here are long-term alternatives that offer a surprising amount of bang for your buck considering you’ll be spending zero bucks.

Audacity

Audacity was the first DAW I ever used - it’s that one that EVERYONE tells you download when you’re starting out as a musician or podcaster - but that’s for good reason. Audacity is a free, multi-track recording and editing software. You can’t use any MIDI here but if it’s just audio that you’re dealing with you’ll be grand. There’s unlimited tracks to play with and the editing capabilities are fairly robust. Like I mentioned above, it might be tricky to make a fully mixed and polished track in Audacity but for the purposes of making some demos this programme will do the trick. It might not be the prettiest, modern looking interface but who cares…it’s free!

Waveform Free
Another free cross-platform DAW here and one that gets on with plugins slightly better than the previous entry; although there are some inbuilt effects to use already. You can upgrade to a PRO version but that shouldn’t be necessary for the beginner recording artist as the features in the free version are fairly extensive. The design of the interface and workflow might take some getting used to for someone used to other software but once you’ve settled in you’ll find it really easy to use. If you think Audacity is a bit too rough around the edges then Waveform might be preferable to you.

Garageband

Got literally any modern apple device? Well if you do then you’ve already got access to Garageband. I’m not lying when I say that I have, on multiple occasions, been massively surprised with the quality of a tune that has been made in Garageband. “You do this on Ableton?”, “Nah”, “Pro Tools?” “Nope”, “Logic?” “Nearly…Garageband, mate.” That’s just ONE example of the many times that conversation has occurred. Garageband has many of the features that its older, and wiser brother, Logic Pro has and in many ways is actually easier to use. There are plenty of effects and loops built in meaning it would be possible to mix a full track within Garageband, albeit a fairly entry level one.

Ohm Studio

A DAW that shares our ethos regarding collaboration, Ohm Studio is, you guessed it, totally free to use and download. It’s got a sleak, attractive interface that has specific features designed to make it easy to share your workflow with collaborators. You’re able to have a real-time creative session alongside another creator. There is actually a pro version of Ohm Studio, ‘Pro XL’, that will allow for more professional mixes but the basic package is complete enough to create fairly decent tunes. You’ve got unlimited tracks to play with and plenty of plugins and instruments.

Soundbridge

Here’s one for any aspiring beatmakers out there. Soundbridge comes equipped with a more than adequate drum machine which is easy to use and looks great. In fact the whole thing is very simple to operate but that doesn’t mean the capabilities are massively compromised. You can record, edit, mix and master all while making the most of its plug-in support and many other features. It doesn’t come with a huge array of instruments to use or native effects but depending on your requirements that might not be an issue.

MPC Beats

Still with me beatmakers? Here’s another for you. MPC Beats is a beatmaking DAW that features that classic 4x4 drum pad complete with plenty of drum sounds for you to play with. If you need to control it with a physical MIDI input the programme will auto-map the drum pad for you making your life easier. It also has aspects of more standard DAWs built in too though. There’s a piano roll, sound libraries including sample packs, three plugin instruments,some effects to play and two audio tracks for you to lay down those sweet, sweet vocals. Essentially you’ll have everything you need to create a track, edit and mix it all within the platform.

There are more DAWs out there to find, whether they be free or not, and by choosing to not include the trial versions of paid ones I realise I’m excluding a large portion of the market. At the end of the day it’s about finding the programme that best suits your needs and has the sort of music creation workflow that you enjoy. If none of the ones featured here tickle your fancy then give some of those free trials a go or try a simple google search and let us know what we missed out!