LMMS
Focus: beats, synthesizer and github. Shares music production and daw with Ardour. Same 4.4 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit
Desktop App
Ardour
A free, open-source audio workstation for recording, editing and mixing.
Rating
4.4 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Advanced
Works on
Windows, macOS, Linux
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Ardour?
Ardour is a free and open-source digital audio workstation for recording, editing, mixing and mastering audio and MIDI. Its site lists multitrack recording with no limit on tracks or busses, plugin support for AudioUnit, LV2, VST2/VST3 and LADSPA, flexible signal routing, and a video timeline for working with soundtracks. It runs on Linux, macOS and Windows and is licensed under GPL v2.
Pros: what Ardour does well
- Free and open source
- Unlimited tracks and busses
- Supports common plugin formats on all three desktop systems
Cons: where it falls short
- Takes time to learn
- Aimed at audio work, not video editing
Who Ardour is for
Musicians, podcasters and sound editors who want a full recording and mixing tool.
Who can skip it
People who only need to trim a quick voice clip.
Ardour alternatives
Not sold on Ardour? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Ghostty
Focus: terminal, emulator and gpu. Shares open source with Ardour. Rated 4.9 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.9Visit
fzf
Focus: fuzzy finder, command line and shell. Shares open source with Ardour. Adds Offline. Rated 4.8 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
lazygit
Focus: git client, terminal ui and developer tool. Shares open source with Ardour. Adds Offline. Rated 4.8 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
navi
Focus: terminal, cli and cheatsheet. Shares open source with Ardour. Rated 4.8 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
Upscayl
Focus: image upscaling, ai and electron. Shares open source with Ardour. Rated 4.8 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreeLinux, macOS
4.8Visit
Free alternatives to Ardour
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
Atuin
Focus: shell history, terminal and command line. Shares open source with Ardour. Rated 4.7 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
AutoHotkey
Focus: hotkeys, macros and scripting. Shares open source with Ardour. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, Offline
4.7Visit
bat
Focus: file viewer, command line and developer tool. Shares open source with Ardour. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
btop
Focus: system monitor, terminal and processes. Shares open source with Ardour. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
htop
Focus: process viewer, system monitor and terminal. Shares open source with Ardour. Rated 4.7 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
mpv
Focus: video player, media and subtitles. Shares open source with Ardour. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (Ardour: 4.4).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
Are you the maker of Ardour?Get a free Featured badge for your site, a share image and ready-to-paste posts. No sign-up.
Free Notion database
1,100+ ways people are making money online
Real online businesses, creators and projects, broken down by how they make money: apps, online stores, AI tools and more. Free on Gumroad.
Get the free databaseFree Notion database
399+ ways to make money online
Hundreds of online income methods in one place, so you can compare options and pick one to try. Free on Gumroad.
Get the free listFor research and ideas only. Results vary and nothing here is a promise of income. See our Disclaimer.
Weekly newsletter
Everything new, every Monday.
One short email every Monday with everything shipped that week: new free tools and websites, new guides, new free browser tools and what's new in my free Gumroad libraries, plus how the site is growing. Free, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
Join the newsletterYou sign up on Gumroad, which stores your email to send the newsletter. See our Privacy Policy.