{"id":31204,"date":"2026-02-02T16:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=31204"},"modified":"2026-04-15T11:51:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:51:03","slug":"how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"How to choose a DAW as a beginner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-make-music\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>learn how to make music<\/strong><\/a> on your computer, a DAW is a must-have.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While you can make great music in every DAW, there&#8217;s a seemingly endless list of options that exist, and trying to figure out which one to use to make your first track can be an overwhelming (and even paralyzing) process. While there&#8217;s no single DAW that objectively stands above the rest, in this guide, we&#8217;ll go over how to choose a DAW as a beginner that&#8217;s best for you, covering everything from budget to unique features and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feel free to use the table of contents below to quickly navigate to a specific section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What you&#8217;ll learn:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#Definition\"><strong>What is a DAW in music-making?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Factors\"><strong>6 factors to consider when choosing a DAW<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#OS\"><strong>Operating system<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Budget\"><strong>Budget<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#Free\"><strong>Free DAWs: GarageBand, Cakewalk, Live Lite, and Audacity<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Paid\"><strong>Paid DAWs: Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio, and Fender Studio Pro<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#RentToOwn\"><strong>Rent-to-Own DAWs: Bitwig Studio and Cubase Pro<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Features\"><strong>Unique features<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#RoleModels\"><strong>Your role models in music creation<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Instruments\"><strong>Built-in software instruments<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#Recording\"><strong>What about recording real instruments?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#UI\"><strong>User interface<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Feeling ready? Let&#8217;s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Definition\">What is a DAW in music-making?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we begin looking at the best DAWs on the market for beginners, let&#8217;s first establish a basic understanding of what a DAW is. Short for digital audio workstation, <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-daw\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a <strong>DAW<\/strong><\/a> is the main software used in modern music production to record, edit, and arrange sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-blog-splice wp-block-embed-blog-splice\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"mmSPlYpfiv\"><a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-daw\/\">What is a DAW? A guide to digital audio workstations<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;What is a DAW? A guide to digital audio workstations&#8221; &#8212; Blog | Splice\" src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-daw\/embed\/#?secret=H4TrjxHsZt#?secret=mmSPlYpfiv\" data-secret=\"mmSPlYpfiv\" width=\"370\" height=\"209\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you want to record your voice or an instrument, the DAW is the place where you&#8217;ll do that. You can also compose using software instruments in the DAW, meaning you can write parts with virtual synths and tools that emulate physical instruments you might not otherwise have access to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you have the individual pieces for your track, you&#8217;ll also use your DAW to layer, arrange, add effects, and <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/an-introduction-to-mixing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mix them together<\/a> to create a full-sounding piece of music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Basically, the DAW is <em>the<\/em> central environment where you&#8217;ll be producing music, and it often includes built-in instruments and effects to help you get started.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/studio-one-5-in-post-score-view-1024x574@2x.png\" alt=\"How to make beats for a song: The Score View in Studio One 5\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1860px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1860\/1042;\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">What a DAW typically looks like\u2014this one is Fender Studio Pro.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Factors\">6 factors to consider when choosing a DAW<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before diving into the best DAWs for beginners, it helps to understand what actually matters when choosing a DAW in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of your DAW as the house within which you\u2019ll build and arrange all of your ideas. If you don&#8217;t like your house, or are simply looking for one that&#8217;s better suited for your needs, you can always move\u2014but the process can be a bit of a hassle, so it&#8217;s important that you make an informed decision when shopping around for one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With that, let&#8217;s get into some of the considerations for choosing a DAW for beginners\u2014starting with your operating system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"OS\">1.  Operating system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First off, while most DAWs are available on both Mac and Windows, it&#8217;s important to note that there are a few options that are exclusive. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/mac\/garageband\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GarageBand<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/logic-pro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Logic Pro<\/a> are owned by Apple and made exclusively for their devices, so they won&#8217;t be an option if you own a Windows device. Meanwhile, there are also some third-party DAWs like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bandlab.com\/products\/cakewalk?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BandLab&#8217;s Cakewalk<\/a> that are only available on Windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being aware of the OS compatibility of certain DAWs will immediately narrow or present a few options before we consider any of the other factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Budget\">2.  Budget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re just starting out and are primarily concerned with using your first DAW to figure out whether making music is something you want to pursue further, you may be inclined to factor budget into your decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Free\">Free DAWs: GarageBand, Cakewalk, Live Lite, and Audacity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a number of <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/best-free-daws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DAWs that are available for absolutely free<\/a>\u2014popular examples include the aforementioned GarageBand and Cakewalk, in addition to Live Lite and Audacity. While these might not have <em>all<\/em> of the bells and whistles of some of the paid options, they&#8217;ll have the essential features that you need to start producing your own music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re on Mac, GarageBand in particular is a strong option to consider because it shares a lot of features and similarities with Logic Pro, which can make upgrading to it later in your music journey a seamless experience. Meanwhile, if you&#8217;re on Windows and have an interest in BandLab&#8217;s complimentary products, Cakewalk might be a solid choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ableton.com\/en\/products\/live-lite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Live Lite<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.audacityteam.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Audacity<\/a> are operating system-agnostic\u2014Live Lite is the free version of Ableton Live, so it&#8217;s recommended if you&#8217;re interested in upgrading down the line. Audacity is neat in how it&#8217;s completely open source, but feels a bit more outdated compared to some of the other free DAWs. It&#8217;s also lacking in software instruments, which can be a deterring factor if you&#8217;re not exclusively focused on recording your own sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Best FREE DAWs 2020 (Mac\/Windows) - software you NEED to start creating music\" width=\"370\" height=\"208\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MZIAw08yrYg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">Check out our video we made back in 2020 on some of the best free DAWs out there<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Paid\">Paid DAWs: Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio, and Fender Studio Pro<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re open to spending some money, then your options increase vastly. Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio, and Fender Studio Pro are all industry-leading DAWs that offer more advanced features and additional sounds compared to the free options listed above, while still feeling accessible to beginners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at the cost (as of 2026) and overview each of these DAWs with a bit more detail:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/logic-pro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Logic Pro ($199.99):<\/strong><\/a> Logic Pro is Apple&#8217;s signature premium DAW. It&#8217;s used widely across genres and geographies, and because it&#8217;s made by one of the largest tech companies in the world, there&#8217;s a guaranteed level of stability and longevity\u2014it was built in the &#8217;90s and still experiences regular updates today.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ableton.com\/en\/shop\/live\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Ableton Live ($0 &#8211; $749):<\/strong><\/a> Right up there in popularity alongside Logic Pro, Ableton Live is known for its emphasis on live performance as well as music production. It features several different tiers with different functionalities, hence the wide variability in price.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.image-line.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>FL Studio ($99 &#8211; $449):<\/strong><\/a> A DAW that seems to have a particularly strong user base around hip hop and EDM, FL Studio is adored for its sequencer workflows and lifetime free updates. Like Ableton Live, it also has a few different pricing tiers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fender.com\/pages\/fender-studio-pro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Fender Studio Pro (formerly Studio One Professional) ($199.99 standalone or $19.99\/mo):<\/strong><\/a> Last but not least, Fender Studio Pro (formerly Studio One Professional) is a DAW known for its streamlined workflow and unique drag-and-drop interface. This one has both perpetual license and monthly subscription options, so you can try it out for a month before committing if you&#8217;d like.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re interested in using the <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plans\/ableton-live\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">samples<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/instrument\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instruments<\/a> that Splice offers in your music creation process, it&#8217;s worth noting that there are <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plans\/ableton-live\/about\">dedicated integrations for Ableton Live<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plans\/studio-pro\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fender Studio Pro.<\/a> While you can use Splice with any DAW, these integrations make the process just a little more seamless and feature a rotating selection of zero-credit sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-6f0160618f24632d8b281d7e25d3df1e\" style=\"background-color:#62daff\"><a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/tools\/sounds-plugin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Bring Splice directly into your DAW with the Sounds Plugin (beta).<\/strong><\/a><strong> Audition millions of samples, explore our latest search tools, and instantly create variations of any Splice sample.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"RentToOwn\">Rent-to-Own DAWs: Bitwig Studio and Cubase Pro<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, an option that opens up accessibility to more expensive DAWs at a low price point is <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plugins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rent-to-Own,<\/a> which consists of monthly payments towards ownership that can be paused or cancelled at any time. These DAWs have free trials as well, so they can be great options to try out with a minimal financial barrier to entry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/daws\/39137111-cubase-pro-13-by-steinberg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Cubase Pro ($16.99\/mo for 34 months):<\/strong><\/a> Made by the music industry veterans at Steinberg, Cubase Pro brings together the full spectrum of music composition, with everything from a powerful score editor to a cutting-edge audio engine for surround mixes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/daws\/39084269-bitwig-studio-by-bitwig\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Bitwig Studio ($15.99\/mo for 25 months):<\/strong><\/a> Bitwig Studio is a full-feature DAW that lets you dive into the fine details of playing with sound. From instrument design to applications for live performance, Bitwig Studio offers tons of unique and technical tools to play with.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Features\">3. Unique features<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As we mentioned in the beginning, any DAW can be used to make great music, and all of the ones we showcased above share the same essential features that are central to music production. That said, each DAW also has a number of unique features that make it stand apart from the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a beginner, it can be hard to pinpoint which one of these features you&#8217;ll come to appreciate. That said, even having an abstract idea of the type of creative you are and what you want to focus on can be helpful in informing your decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Bitwig Studio has a unique workflow that may come with a steeper learning curve for some. However, if you&#8217;re someone who really likes the idea of having control over or experimenting with the fine details of sound when creating music, then it can be a great option to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Logic Pro and Cubase Pro both have powerful score editors. If you&#8217;re someone who has a background in playing classical instruments or an interest in creating scores for an orchestra, then these can be excellent choices. On the other hand, if you&#8217;re interested in working in game audio, then DAWs like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reaper.fm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reaper<\/a> have an outsized influence in that industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or, maybe you&#8217;re someone who&#8217;s always on the go, and having a solid mobile extension of your DAW is important to you. If this is the case, then you&#8217;ll want to look into GarageBand, FL Studio, Ableton Live, and Cubase, which all have various mobile counterparts and extensions to their desktop experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A good exercise when it comes to choosing a DAW could be writing out all of your inherent preferences and needs, and using Google or ChatGPT to see if there are any workstations out there that have tailored solutions to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"RoleModels\">4. Your role models in music creation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What inspired you to consider looking into beginner-friendly DAWs in the first place? Maybe it was your favorite artist, a video you saw online, or a friend who loves music creation. Your source of inspiration is an important factor to consider, because it may have a direct effect on which DAW you choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you were inspired or encouraged by a friend, choosing the same DAW as them can be incredibly helpful as they can be a resource when you encounter a roadblock or are curious about a new technique. Meanwhile, if you were inspired by your favorite artist, it could be worth looking into whether they have any content online where they showcase how they produced their music\u2014you might find that some aspects of their sound where shaped by the tools, workflows, and instruments offered by their DAW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Instruments\">5. Built-in software instruments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On that note, if you&#8217;re interested in using virtual instruments in your music, it can absolutely be worth doing some quick research on what the built-in instruments sound like in each DAW you&#8217;re considering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Logic Pro offers a wide selection of acoustic instrument emulations, in addition to flexible synth designers like Alchemy and Sculpture for more electronic genres. Meanwhile, Ableton Live offers instruments like Analog, Operator, Wavetable, and Sampler that are also adored by synth and sound design enthusiasts. Studio Pro offers both acoustic instrument and electronic instrument emulations as well via the likes of Presence XT and Mai Tai, and Cubase boasts some popular sounds via HALion Sonic SE, Groove Agent SE, and Retrologue\u2014the list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make a list of the instruments you don&#8217;t own but would be interested in incorporating into your music. From there, do some exploration on which DAW has the best sounds to meet your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s also important to note that as you progress in your music production journey, you&#8217;ll likely purchase some <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plugins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">third-party plugins<\/a> or explore <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/features\/sounds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sample libraries<\/a> that specialize in particular sounds, which can deliver even better results than what your DAW comes with. But, when we&#8217;re just getting started, we want to pick a workstation that can allow us to hit the ground running with what it already has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Recording\">What about recording real instruments?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to recording real instruments, there&#8217;s generally less disparity across DAWs\u2014they should all allow you to do this without issue. However, certain DAWs might have some additional workflows that are specifically tailored to this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.avid.com\/pro-tools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pro Tools<\/a> is a DAW we haven&#8217;t mentioned yet, as it&#8217;s generally not viewed as a beginner-oriented DAW\u2014but there <em>are<\/em> a ton of useful <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/pro-tools-shortcuts-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pro Tools shortcuts<\/a> and multi-tracking tools that make it a popular choice for those who are almost exclusively recording and editing vocals and live instruments (like studio engineers and film audio producers). If Pro Tools catches your attention, our <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/pro-tools-guide-for-beginners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pro Tools beginner\u2019s guide<\/a> offers a closer look at what it\u2019s like to get started with the software and who it\u2019s best suited for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-blog-splice wp-block-embed-blog-splice\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"0D3wRPLBa3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/pro-tools-guide-for-beginners\/\">Pro Tools: An easy guide for beginners<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Pro Tools: An easy guide for beginners&#8221; &#8212; Blog | Splice\" src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/pro-tools-guide-for-beginners\/embed\/#?secret=MAALVuQtBC#?secret=0D3wRPLBa3\" data-secret=\"0D3wRPLBa3\" width=\"370\" height=\"209\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s also worth mentioning that like Ableton Live and Studio Pro, there&#8217;s also a <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plans\/pro-tools\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dedicated Splice integration for Pro Tools.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"UI\">6. User interface<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This one has a subjective element and can feel like a smaller factor compared to the rest on the surface, but it&#8217;s critical that you&#8217;re excited about the experience of working in your DAW\u2014and the UI and general visual design absolutely play a role in this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some DAWs have a flatter, old-school look, while others prioritize more sleek and modern interfaces; neither are &#8216;right&#8217; or &#8216;wrong,&#8217; but it&#8217;s important to consider what your own preferences are here. Try watching some clips of people working in the DAW, and see if you can readily imagine doing the same for hours at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Finding the best DAW for beginners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>And there you have it! Hopefully this article gave you a solid foundation on the factors you should keep in mind when thinking about how to choose a DAW as a beginner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it can feel like each DAW presents a ton of information, the most important thing to do at the end of the day is to just pick one and get started. While changing and re-learning DAWs down the line <em>can<\/em> be a bit of a hassle, it&#8217;s by no means impossible (and even quite common), so at this stage you don&#8217;t need to feel like picking a DAW is some career-defining or irreversible decision. In fact, many music creators even go on to use multiple different DAWs in parallel, switching back and forth depending on their collaborators, needs, or desires in that moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you have any questions about a particular DAW? What sorts of topics would you like to see us explore next? Start a conversation with us and an active community of other music creators of all levels via <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Splice Discord.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Explore DAWs available for Rent-to-Own:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plugins\/search?category=daw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Explore DAWs<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this in-depth guide, we break down how to choose a DAW as a beginner that&#8217;s best for you, covering everything from budget to unique features and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":31277,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1851,1852,1853,1850,1857,1854,1855,1856,1873,1696,1702],"tags":[1638,1473],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Choose the Best DAW for Beginners - Blog | Splice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here&#039;s an in-depth guide for how to choose a DAW as a beginner that&#039;s best for you, covering everything from budget to unique features.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Choose the Best DAW for Beginners - Blog | Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here&#039;s an in-depth guide for how to choose a DAW as a beginner that&#039;s best for you, covering everything from budget to unique features.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog | Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-02T21:48:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T15:51:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Harrison Shimazu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/bitly.com\/namaboku-twt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@splice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Harrison Shimazu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Harrison Shimazu\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1ed73f890efad66c4808440680e9e50d\"},\"headline\":\"How to choose a DAW as a beginner\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-02T21:48:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T15:51:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/\"},\"wordCount\":2497,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png\",\"keywords\":[\"beginner\",\"rent-to-own\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ableton Live\",\"Bitwig Studio\",\"Cubase\",\"DAW\",\"Fender Studio Pro\",\"FL Studio\",\"GarageBand\",\"Logic Pro\",\"Pro Tools\",\"Tips &amp; Tutorials\",\"Tools\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/\",\"name\":\"How to Choose the Best DAW for Beginners - Blog | Splice\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-02T21:48:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T15:51:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Here's an in-depth guide for how to choose a DAW as a beginner that's best for you, covering everything from budget to unique features.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"how-to-choose-a-daw-as-a-beginner-featured-image\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to choose a DAW as a beginner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Splice Blog\",\"description\":\"An inside look at making music\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Splice\",\"alternateName\":\"Splice Sounds\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Splice-logo-black-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Splice-logo-black-background.png\",\"width\":2928,\"height\":1540,\"caption\":\"Splice\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/splice\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/splice\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@splice\",\"https:\/\/discord.com\/invite\/splice\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1ed73f890efad66c4808440680e9e50d\",\"name\":\"Harrison Shimazu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/208af1495724cce6967f47553c4b971a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/208af1495724cce6967f47553c4b971a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Harrison Shimazu\"},\"description\":\"Harrison Shimazu is a composer, content strategist, and writer who's passionate about democratizing music creation and education. He leads the Splice blog and produces vocaloid music as Namaboku.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@namaboku\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/bitly.com\/namaboku-twt\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/author\/harrisons\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Choose the Best DAW for Beginners - Blog | Splice","description":"Here's an in-depth guide for how to choose a DAW as a beginner that's best for you, covering everything from budget to unique features.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Choose the Best DAW for Beginners - Blog | Splice","og_description":"Here's an in-depth guide for how to choose a DAW as a beginner that's best for you, covering everything from budget to unique features.","og_url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/","og_site_name":"Blog | Splice","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice","article_published_time":"2026-02-02T21:48:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-15T15:51:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Harrison Shimazu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/bitly.com\/namaboku-twt","twitter_site":"@splice","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Harrison Shimazu","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/"},"author":{"name":"Harrison Shimazu","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1ed73f890efad66c4808440680e9e50d"},"headline":"How to choose a DAW as a beginner","datePublished":"2026-02-02T21:48:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T15:51:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/"},"wordCount":2497,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png","keywords":["beginner","rent-to-own"],"articleSection":["Ableton Live","Bitwig Studio","Cubase","DAW","Fender Studio Pro","FL Studio","GarageBand","Logic Pro","Pro Tools","Tips &amp; Tutorials","Tools"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/","name":"How to Choose the Best DAW for Beginners - Blog | Splice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png","datePublished":"2026-02-02T21:48:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T15:51:03+00:00","description":"Here's an in-depth guide for how to choose a DAW as a beginner that's best for you, covering everything from budget to unique features.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0324-How-to-choose-a-DAW_BlogPost.png","width":1920,"height":1200,"caption":"how-to-choose-a-daw-as-a-beginner-featured-image"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-daw-for-beginners\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to choose a DAW as a beginner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/","name":"Splice Blog","description":"An inside look at making music","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Splice","alternateName":"Splice Sounds","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Splice-logo-black-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Splice-logo-black-background.png","width":2928,"height":1540,"caption":"Splice"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice","https:\/\/x.com\/splice","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/splice\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@splice","https:\/\/discord.com\/invite\/splice"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1ed73f890efad66c4808440680e9e50d","name":"Harrison Shimazu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/208af1495724cce6967f47553c4b971a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/208af1495724cce6967f47553c4b971a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Harrison Shimazu"},"description":"Harrison Shimazu is a composer, content strategist, and writer who's passionate about democratizing music creation and education. He leads the Splice blog and produces vocaloid music as Namaboku.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@namaboku","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/bitly.com\/namaboku-twt"],"url":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/author\/harrisons\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31204"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31204"}],"version-history":[{"count":126,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40159,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31204\/revisions\/40159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}