Mac: No
PC: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: Yes
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: VST
Driver: ASIO
Price: $95 – 150

Acoustica Mixcraft is a newer arrival to the DAW game but has quickly established itself as a player. Mixcraft has found a comfortable spot catering to users who have no desire to switch to Mac, don’t want to spend over $200, and want a feature-packed product. Both the $90 version and the Pro Studio $165 version have countless features often only found in DAWs with five times the pricetag, like live performance tools, thousands of loops and samples, and even video editing. While you won’t find many Grammy Award-winning producers and engineers commenting about how they used Mixcraft on their latest project, you will find tons of ecstatic home and project studio enthusiasts who are amazed at how much better their last project turned out because they were using Mixcraft.

Mac: Yes
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: No
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: VST
Driver: ASIO/Core Audio
Price: $79

MuTools MuLab is a modern DAW designed to break out of the old-school music production mould. MuLab utilizes more of a non-linear arranging style, including Drum-Machine type grid sequencing, drag and drop effects, and a modular mapping system for routing effects and submixes by simply drawing lines. At $79 with both Mac and Windows compatibility, MuLab is a steal for any home studio enthusiast looking to attack their composing and music production from a new and creative direction.

Mac: Yes
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: No
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: VST
Driver: ASIO/Core Audio
Price: $1,800

Steinberg Nuendo was originally a more professional version of Cubase, but later became an advanced audio for post-production DAW that is a favourite at many post facilities. Nuendo is powerful, modular, and always on the cutting edge of technology. Pro Tools HD is still the favourite of large post facilities and big budget films, but Nuendo provides a less expensive yet very powerful and feature-rich option for smaller facilities and budgets.

In computing, an opcode (abbreviated from operation code) is an enumerated value that specifies the operation to be performed. Opcodes are employed in hardware devices such as arithmetic logic units (ALUs) and central processing units (CPUs) as well as in some software instruction sets.

1. Editing and manipulating audio for video or film (including ADR, Sound Effects, and ambiances).
2. After-production, sometimes mistakingly referred to mixing and mastering in music production.

A company that produces over 783 products, including samples, reverbs, IRs, instruments, and more!

Mac: No
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: No
Notation: No
Rewire: No
Plug-In: VST
Driver: ASIO
Price: $995-$4,995

Merging Technologies Pyramix has an advantage to some of the other DAWs discussed here. It came into the game late, so it was designed to borrow ideas from what had succeeded while avoiding the mistakes made in the evolution of other DAWs. Pyramix is not a DAW for the casual user. It is a serious audio program. It is used in major complex installations in broadcast facilities, post-production houses, and mastering suites. Pyramix doesn’t hold back with advanced audio features, from all real-time processing to support of multiple audio formats in a single session without conversion.

Pyramix has multiple versions and is similar to Pro Tools in that it has both Native (harnesses the computer’s processing power) and DSP Accelerated (uses dedicated hardware cards) versions. It also comes in four different configurations or packs: broadcast, music mastering, and post. Each has a different combination of software and features that is suited for the designated workflow. Finally, Pyramix is Windows only.

Mac: Yes
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: No
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: VST
Driver: ASIO/Core Audio
Price: $60/$225

Reaper is a DAW designed and supported by Cockos. It is configured to be completely customisable by the user while maintaining pristine audio quality. Reaper is a digital audio processor and MIDI sequencer, and it supports VST and DX virtual instruments. It isn’t open source, but some of the coding is open to manipulation by users. Reaper actually has two prices: one is a professional license for $225 and the other is a personal license (for personal use, educational institutions, and businesses grossing less than $20,000 per year) for $60.

Reaper’s big strength is that it is customisable in every way. It will allow you to manipulate the order of your mixer, rearrange your window layout, and even change the behaviour of your mouse. Because of this customisability, Reaper has a decent learning curve and demands it’s users understand signal flow and processors to make it work for them. This isn’t a Garage Band-type application that will do a lot of functions in the background or create and connect tracks for the novice user. On the flip side, it can be a great learning tool for those interested in knowing everything that is happening in the signal path. Reaper is made for both Mac and Windows and is really a boutique program for people that are tired of the hype and constant updates (that don’t fix the real problems) of big and heavily marketed DAWs. If that describes you then check it out. It even has a FREE 30-day trial.

Mac: Yes
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: No
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: N/A
Driver: Core Audio/WDM
Price: $499

Propellerhead Reason is a unique player in the DAW game. Reason has traditionally been a MIDI sequencer and a virtual instrument. If you wanted a vocal, you had to record it somewhere else and then import it into the sampler in Reason to be triggered in order to play. If you didn’t want to go that route, you could rewire Reason into another DAW that did let you record audio. Rewire is really what has made Reason famous. It started as a simple collaboration between Steinberg and Propellerhead, but has allowed Reason to interface intimately with nearly every DAW out there. Rewire basically connects two things, multiple audio outputs from Reason to the rewired DAW’s mixer and MIDI from the rewired DAW’s sequencer to the virtual instruments in Reason.