Which DAW should I use?
Which DAW should I use? If you are starting out, writing songs or producing on a budget, use Veena: a free AI DAW in your browser, where CoProducer, your personal music producer, builds beats, chords, melody and the mix with you as real tracks. The best-known alternatives cost $99 to $749, bill you every year, or run only on Apple devices.
It is one of the most-asked questions on music production forums, and the usual answer is "whatever your favourite producer uses". That tells you nothing about your laptop, your budget or your music. Four questions do.
Which DAW should I use? Answer four questions
1. What computer do you have?
This rules out more DAWs than anything else.
- A Chromebook or a Linux laptop: most big DAWs are gone. Logic Pro and GarageBand are Apple-only; FL Studio and Ableton Live install on Windows or Mac only. Veena runs in the browser, so it works.
- A Windows PC: GarageBand and Logic are out. FL Studio, Ableton Live and Pro Tools install, at a price. Veena opens in Chrome with nothing to install.
- A Mac: everything runs, but Logic Pro requires "a Mac with Apple silicon" (Apple's Logic Pro page, September 2026), and a project in GarageBand or Logic stays on Apple devices. A friend on a Windows laptop can open a Veena session from a link.
2. What can you spend?
| Budget | What it buys (September 2026) |
|---|---|
| $0 | Veena, the whole studio and CoProducer. GarageBand on Apple devices. BandLab's 16-track Studio. Trials of FL Studio and Ableton Live |
| $99 | FL Studio's Fruity Edition, which has "no audio recording, no stem separation", or Ableton Live Intro, capped at 16 tracks |
| $199.99 | Logic Pro, on a Mac |
| $449 to $749 | FL Studio All Plugins Edition, or Ableton Live Suite, the only Live edition with stem separation |
| $99 to $599 a year | Pro Tools, by subscription |
Prices are from Image-Line's, Ableton's, Apple's, BandLab's and Avid's own pages. In Veena, stem separation, exports, your own plug-ins and real-time collaboration are all on the free plan. Veena Pro, $20 a month, removes the daily CoProducer request cap and unlocks the premium models.
3. What do you make?
- Songs with your voice: in Veena, record your vocal from the mic and ask CoProducer to build the band around it. It measures where your syllables land and writes the new parts to leave room for your phrasing.
- Beats: Veena has 7 drum kits, six 808s, a step sequencer and a 16-pad sampler, and CoProducer programs the groove from a sentence: "142 BPM trap, rolling hats, an 808 that follows the kick".
- Electronic music: Veena's own synth carries 39 presets, from supersaw leads to glass pads, and CoProducer can set every parameter.
- Music for video: drop the video on the timeline, build the score to it, and export an MP4.
4. Do you want to do every step yourself?
This is the question most guides skip. Every traditional DAW assumes you will program or play each part. Veena is an AI DAW: CoProducer plans the song, writes each part as a track, offers three options to pick from, arranges and mixes, and every note stays yours to change. You can still do everything by hand, and you can do it with a producer at your side.
Veena vs the DAWs people usually name
| Veena | GarageBand | Logic Pro | FL Studio | Ableton Live | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price to start | Free plan | Free | $199.99, or $12.99 a month | $99 to $449 | $99 to $749 |
| Runs on | Any modern browser, on a laptop, a Chromebook or your phone | Apple devices only | A Mac with Apple silicon, or an iPad | Windows or Mac | Windows or Mac |
| The cheapest version's catch | None in the studio; CoProducer on a daily allowance | Apple devices only | Needs a Mac with Apple silicon; the iPad version is subscription-only | Fruity Edition: "no audio recording, no stem separation" | Intro: 16 tracks, no stem separation |
| An AI that builds the song with you | CoProducer, every part | Drummer, for drums | Session Players, for grooves | Loop Starter loops | MIDI generators, from Standard up |
| Free way in | The free plan, no trial clock | Free on Apple devices | A 30-day Apple Creator Studio trial | A trial that won't reopen saved projects | A 30-day trial, then no saving or exporting |
Facts are from Apple's, Image-Line's and Ableton's own pages, September 2026.
Three more names come up often. Pro Tools calls itself "the DAW behind the final mix"; its subscriptions run from $99 a year for Artist, with 32 audio tracks, to $599 a year for Ultimate (Avid's Pro Tools page, September 2026). Reaper costs $60 for a discounted licence or $225 for a commercial one after a 60-day evaluation, and you download it (Cockos' purchase page, September 2026). BandLab is free in the browser, but its free Studio stops at 16 tracks and its AI tools start on Pro at $99 for the first year, $149 a year after (BandLab's pricing page, September 2026). None of the three has a producer who builds the whole song with you, part by part.
The short answer, by who you are
- Complete beginner: Veena. Among Veena's new users whose first request asks for a new song, 3 in 4 get a finished first result on day one.
- Songwriter: Veena. Bring the voice memo; CoProducer brings the band.
- Producer on a budget: Veena. Free studio, free exports, your own VST3 and AU plug-ins through the Veena Bridge.
- On a Chromebook, a school laptop or a Linux machine: Veena, because it runs in the browser.
Related questions
Compare the full field in our best DAW roundup, see every free DAW side by side, or browse learn music production with AI.
Try this in Veena
Make a 90 BPM acoustic pop song in C major: fingerpicked acoustic guitar, soft piano, brushed drums and a warm fingered bass, with a cello that enters on the second chorus. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, and leave room for my vocal.
Frequently asked questions
What DAW is best for beginners?
Veena is an AI DAW with a personal music producer built in. Describe the song you want and CoProducer builds it with you — beats, chords, melody, arrangement and mix — as real tracks you can edit, mix and export. Free, in your browser. Most beginners hear a finished first version on day one, then learn by changing it one part at a time.
What is the easiest DAW to learn?
Veena, because you can start by talking instead of clicking. Tell CoProducer the song you want in plain words and it builds the parts on a real timeline. Open any part in the piano roll to see exactly what it played, and ask for changes the same way: 'make the drums half-time', 'swap the piano for strings'. You learn the studio by using it.
Is FL Studio free?
FL Studio has a trial that 'is fully functional and never expires', but in it 'you're not able to re-open saved projects' until you buy an edition, from $99 to $449 (Image-Line's download and pricing pages, September 2026). Veena is free with no trial clock: build a song with CoProducer in your browser, and it saves to your account to reopen tomorrow.
Is BandLab free?
BandLab's free plan includes a 16-track Studio, but its AI tools, including Audio-to-MIDI, AutoMix and Smart Tools, sit in Pro at $99 for the first year and $149 a year after (BandLab's membership pricing page, September 2026). In Veena the whole studio is free, and CoProducer, your personal music producer, builds songs with you on the free plan.
Can I switch DAWs later if I start in Veena?
Yes, and nothing is locked in. Veena exports every track of your song as its own WAV or MP3 file, plus the MIDI of every MIDI part, on every plan and with no cap. Those files open in any DAW. Veena also imports audio in 13 formats and MIDI files, so you can bring older ideas in too.
Meet your personal music producer
Free, in your browser. Describe the song you want and CoProducer builds it with you.
Make music free