The Ultimate Guide: Top 8 Mac DAWs with In-Depth Analysis

Top 8 Best DAW Software for Mac in 2024 (Fully Review)

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What are the things to consider while you choose the best DAW for MAC? The best Digital Audio Workstation is the one that offers the easiest ways to create music. Get the demos for all the software that you planned to check out, think wisely how you wish to work, and analyze the elements of the best DAW software for MAC, which you consider to be good enough for your project.

You can use the best music production software for MAC throughout the music creation process. From recording to editing , mixing, arranging, and mastering, you may test the software for a smooth workflow. But the software isn’t possible for your use if you find yourself continually struggling with the best DAW for MAC or you need to consult the manual time and again. So, look back and check the other available best DAW software for MAC. Ensure that the potential DAW is compatible with your system. If you are not sure about the best ones, here are eight best music production software for MAC.

8 Best DAW Software for MAC

1. Apple Logic Pro

Price: $199.99

It is the most advanced version of Logic. Whether you wish to mix, edit, write songs or make beats, Apple Logic Pro is one of the best DAW software for MAC. It has a modern interface to get quick results and deliver more power whenever needed. With a wide range of effects, instruments, samples, and loops collection, Logic Pro provides a comprehensive toolkit for creating amazing-musical sounds.

System Requirement: 6GB of disk space for a minimum installation or up to 63GB of disk space for the full Sound Library installation. 4GB of RAM. OpenCL-capable graphics card or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later. 256MB of VRAM.

Pros

• Track Alternatives let you create and switch between different playlists of regions and edits on a track.
• More than 10,000 Apple Loops in a wide range of genres

Cons

• Need third-party Audio Units-compatible plug-ins to expand your instrument and effects library.
• Buy the app to use it on your phone.

2. FL Studio

Price: The basic version is priced at $99, while the advanced FL Studio goes for $899.

FL Studio can be used for both MAC and Windows. It is one of the best DAW software for MAC. If you are a beginner starting your journey in music-making, you may consider FL Studio.

System Requirement: MacOS:10.13.6 or later, 4GB free disk space, 4GB of RAM or higher recommended. It is not compatible with ARM Processors. The more powerful your CPU, the more instruments and FX you can run. From arranging composing mastering, mixing and more, the FL Studio is a complete package for you for creating professional quality music. You can play it LIVE and record notes on FL studio.

Pros

• It comes with great bundled plugins.
• It is one of the bases for pattern-based composition.

Cons

• No option for score editing.
• You need to pop out windows and plugins to edit audio

3. GarageBand

Price: GarageBand for Mac and iOS are free for all OS X Mavericks and iOS 7 users. Additional instruments and sounds, costs a one-time in-app-purchase Price of $4.99 each.

Garageband comes with a user-friendly interface. It is a great music production software available for beginners. You get the opportunity to create music with the built-in percussion, synths, and keyboard. Visualize your creation before editing down to the note and decibel with music loops, music lessons, etc. Create amazing music with Garageband. Map the chords to better understand the music theory or use the interactive plug-in controls to create music.

System Requirement: A Mac whose processor is a 600MHz G3 or faster and for using the Software Instruments, you need to have a G4 or later chip. Mac OS X 10.3 or then is ideal. Screen with at least 1024-x-768–pixel resolution and 2GB hard-drive space.

Pros

• GarageBand ’09 has a straightforward interface to navigate
• Tracks are easily able to be copied, deleted, looped, split, dragged and inserted into different tracks

Cons

• GarageBand ‘09 is only available when iLife ‘09 is purchased and can only be used on a Mac
• Life ‘09 can be brought from Apple for $79.00

4. Audacity

Price: Free software

Audacity might not look as attractive as the other best DAW for MAC, but it is a powerful audio workstation with a dedicated large fanbase. It is a perfect software for recording and editing audio. Whether you want to find the ideal sample or create a brand-new multitrack recording, Audacity can help you with all. It includes a range of effects and plugins such as reverb, equalizers, echo, chorus, distortion, and more.

System Requirement: OS X 10.6 and later is used. Audacity runs best with at least 1 GB RAM and a 1 GHz processor (2 GB RAM/2 GHz on OS X 10.7 and later). For lengthy multi-track projects, a minimum of 2 GB RAM and 2 GHz processor (4 GB RAM on OS X 10.7 and later) is required.

Pros

• You can record live audio through a mixer, microphone, or digitize recordings from other sources
• Tracks and selections can be fully manipulated using the keyboard

Cons

• You can only have up to 16 tracks of audio at a time
• Audacity also doesn’t support MIDI recording

5. Ableton Live

Price: The download version of Ableton Live 10 costs $99 for Live Intro, $449 for Live Standard, and $749 for Live Suite.

This best music production software for MAC is great for both live performances and studio work. It has dual views, which makes it possible to work in the studio and, at the same time, have live performances. Its session view works perfectly with grid-based hardware controllers. It has great design and user interface, with clean and sleek graphics.

System Requirements: OS X 10.11.6 or later is needed. Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor (Intel® Core™ i5 processor or faster recommended) with 4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended), and 64-bit only.

Pros

• Inspirational clip-based live and composition workflow
• Suite version contains tons of instruments and sample material to work with

Cons

• No track comping
• No notation view and pitch correction tool

6. Studio One

Price: Studio One can be downloaded completely free. All the Registered Studio One 3 users can update to version 3.0. 2 free from presonus.com

In a very short time, Studio One has gained immense popularity and is counted as one of the best DAW for MAC. This piece of software is a complete DAW and is a good one for the professionals. It enhances your composing work and comes with different features made to ease the composting process, like automatic MIDI chord shifting or printing out scores, etc.

System Requirement: Studio One is a cross‑platform DAW, and to run it, minimum Mac G4 1.25GHz or Intel Core Solo 1.5GHz processor, 1GB RAM, OS 10.4. 11, 10.5. 2 or higher.

Pros

• Studio One’s built-in parametric EQ is flexible and sounds good
• Drag and drop instruments from the Browse pane onto new tracks to start composing immediately

Cons

• The installation process is frustrating
• No support for 3rd party plugins and limited features

7. Reason

Price: Reason Studios Reason 11 you can (download) at $ 399.

The instruments, synths, effects, and sounds tools on Reason are inviting, easy to use, and with a sound to die for. Create, compose, mix, and finish your music with Reason as it comes with a huge selection of synths, instruments, and effects to any DAW.

System Requirement: Intel MAC with multi-core processor and 4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended for large ReFills or Rack Extensions). 4 GB free system disk space required, plus 8 GB for free content.

Pros

• Many analog-based virtual instruments
• Live to sample

Cons

• Complicated user interface
• Rewire can be time-consuming and not as smooth

8. Cubase

Price: There are three versions- Cubase Pro, Cubase Artist, and Cubase Elements. It is priced at $658.99.

Cubase is a well-known DAW for MAC with the most advanced MIDI editing tools. From simple quantization to swing function, in Cubase you can perform advanced severe MIDI editings such as adaptive/rhythm quantization, velocity compression, note expressions, and much more.

System Requirement: Supported operating systems - Mac OS X 10.5.5 and 10.6, PowerPC G5 (Intel Core Duo CPU recommended), 1024 MB RAM, Display resolution 1280 x 800 recommended, CoreAudio compatible audio hardware, DVD-ROM drive with dual-layer support, 4 GB of free HD space, and 2 GHz CPU (dual-core CPU recommended).

Pros

• Intuitive MIDI engine & advanced editing features and world-class stock plugins
• Extremely stable & rarely crashes

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Expensive

Conclusion

With these above mentioned best DAW for MAC, hope your choice for purchasing the best software becomes easy and straightforward. Never choose the music production software by looking at your preferred producers. Get the demo for the best DAWs and select that suits your project.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

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