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Pro Tools

Avid's DAW that has long been the standard in professional recording and post-production studios.

Free plan + paidAudio editors and DAWs
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About Pro Tools

Pro Tools from Avid has been the reference DAW in commercial recording studios, film and TV post-production for decades, so sessions move easily between facilities and many engineers learned on it. Its strengths are audio recording, editing and mixing at scale: fast, precise editing tools, solid comping, deep integration with Avid control surfaces and audio interfaces, and support for large immersive mixes in the top tier. Newer versions add MIDI improvements, clip launching and cloud collaboration, but composers who work mostly with MIDI and virtual instruments often find other DAWs more comfortable. Avid has moved Pro Tools to subscriptions, with Artist, Studio and Ultimate tiers, and also offers Pro Tools Intro, a free version limited in track count with a set of bundled plugins; an expired subscription falls back to Intro. Pro Tools uses Avid's own AAX plugin format, so VST plugins don't load. It runs on Windows and macOS.

Best for: Engineers and post-production pros who need to swap sessions with commercial studios.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Industry standard, so sessions open in most pro studios
  • Fast, precise audio editing and comping
  • Free Intro version to learn on
  • Deep support for Avid control surfaces and interfaces

Why people leave

  • Subscription pricing for the full versions
  • Only supports AAX plugins, not VST
  • MIDI and composing tools lag behind Logic or Cubase

Top Pro Tools alternatives

See all 6
  1. 1Re
    REAPER

    Much cheaper perpetual licence with editing and routing that rival Pro Tools.

    66.5
  2. 2Logic Pro logo
    Logic Pro

    Mac DAW with a one-off price and far stronger MIDI and instrument tools.

    62.6
  3. 3Cubase logo
    Cubase

    Cross-platform pro DAW with strong MIDI, scoring and post-production features.

    59.6
  4. 4Ardour logo
    Ardour

    Open-source recording and mixing DAW built around traditional studio workflows.

    55.3
  5. 5Digital Performer logo
    Digital Performer

    Long-established DAW for film scoring and post with perpetual licences.

    53.6

Why people left Pro Tools

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Pro Tools: common questions

Is Pro Tools free?

Pro Tools has a free plan and paid plans. Free version: Pro Tools Intro (checked on Pro Tools's own site).

Is Pro Tools open source?

No, Pro Tools is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Ardour.

What platforms does Pro Tools run on?

Pro Tools is available for Windows and macOS.

What are the best alternatives to Pro Tools?

The highest-ranked Pro Tools alternatives right now are REAPER, Logic Pro and Cubase. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 6 Pro Tools alternatives