Here Are The 20 Most Popular DAWs

It seems like everyone has at least a couple of DAW applications, but most of us rely on just one. It may be because we’re forced to because of professional reasons (like Pro Tools, for example), or we’ve just settled on one that’s compatible with our workflow. That said, Music Radar did a survey to find out what were the 20 most popular DAWs, and this is what they found, from least popular to most.

20. Magix Acid

19. Traction Software Waveform

18. Ardour

17. Apple Garageband

16. MOTU Digital Performer

15. Steinberg Nuendo

14. Magix Sampletude Pro X

13. MuTools MuLab

12. Renoise

11. Acoustica Mixcraft Pro Studio

10. Bitwig Studio

9. Avid Pro Tools

8. Cakewalk Sonar

7. PreSonus Studio One

6. Cockos Reaper

5. Apple Logic Pro

4. Propellerhead Software Reason

3. Steinberg Cubase Pro

2. Ableton Live

1. Image-Line FL Studio

Surprised? Yeah, me too, but keep in mind that we’re talking about the readership of Music Radar, but which doesn’t necessarily constitute all users across all fields everywhere. That said, it’s a pretty good cross-section, and it looks like they like DAWs that aren’t necessarily the major established brands.

Also keep in mind that these are all types of users, so many of them are budget-conscious and don’t really care what pros are using or why.

The interesting thing here is that just about any software package is highly capable for creating, recording and mixing music these days. It’s different when it comes to post, where the needs are different, so many of the popular inexpensive DAWs won’t work in that environment.

That said, any survey of popular DAWs is guaranteed to start a heated exchange about the best and worst features of each. What’s your favorite and why?