Ardour

Professional open-source digital audio workstation for recording and mastering.

Best for: Linux audio engineers, open-source audio advocates, and studio recording engineers

Free plan

4.6/5Editorial score 89/100ardour.org

Entry plan

Free (Source Code)

Get started free

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Editorial score89/100

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The editorial note

What to know about Ardour

Ardour is a professional open-source digital audio workstation engineered for audio engineers, musicians, and soundtrack editors on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Offering advanced multi-track recording, non-linear editing, mastering, and surround sound mixing, Ardour provides a complete studio production environment with zero vendor lock-in.

Is it right for you?

Who Ardour suits

Choose it if

Linux audio engineers, open-source audio advocates, and studio recording engineers

Look elsewhere if

Electronic music beatmakers who rely heavily on step-sequencers and clip launching like Ableton Live

What you get

Key features

Non-destructive multitrack audio recording and editing
Comprehensive mixer with unlimited pre/post fader routing
Full surround sound panning and multichannel mixing
Support for LV2, VST2, VST3, and AU audio plugins
Video monitor timeline with frame-accurate audio alignment
Full automation of all mixer and plugin parameters

Works with

Integrations5

JACKALSALV2 PluginsVST3Linux

What it costs

Pricing

Ardour pricing plans
Plan	Price	What it includes
Free Demo / Source Code	Free (Source Code)Billed one-time	100% free source code to compile yourself, or demo binary with periodic 10-minute silence
Single Release Binary	$45 one-timeBilled one-time	Pre-compiled commercial installer for macOS/Windows/Linux with lifetime updates to current major version
Community Subscription	From $1 / monthBilled monthly	Pay what you want ($1 to $50/mo) for continuous access to all pre-compiled binary updates

Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.

The trade-off

Pros and cons

Pros

Complete multi-track recording and mixing console with unlimited tracks and busses
Deep MIDI editing with velocity scaling, quantization, and automation curves
Native support for JACK, ALSA, PulseAudio, and CoreAudio drivers

Cons

Pre-compiled binary downloads require a small donation or monthly subscription ($1+)
Traditional tape-machine recording paradigm rather than modern loop-based beat production

Quick read

At a glance

Category: Video & Audio
Pricing model: Freemium
Entry plan: Free (Source Code)
Free plan: Available
Free trial: Not listed
Website: ardour.org

The verdict

Our take on Ardour

Ardour is the flagship open-source DAW for multi-track studio recording and audio mastering, providing world-class mixing capabilities.

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