The short answer. Audacity is the free open-source editor and the right default. Ardour is the cross-platform multitrack recording and editing application. GarageBand is the free one with instruments and loops included. Logic Pro is the professional one. LMMS is for making music rather than editing it. Stargate is the all-in-one DAW. The dividing question is whether you are editing existing audio or producing new audio — those are different products, and the category name hides it.
This guide covers 6 audio editors for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardour | audio editor | Open source | not published | — |
| Audacity | audio editor | Open source | not published | 4.0.1 |
| GarageBand | media app | Free | not published | 10.4.14 |
| LMMS | media app | Open source | GPL-2.0 | 1.2.2 |
| Logic Pro X | media app | not published | not published | 12.4 |
| Stargate DAW | media app | Open source | GPL-3.0 | 24.02.2 |
What actually decides this
- Destructive or non-destructive editing. Some editors change the file as you work; others keep the original and apply effects. For anything you cannot re-record, the second matters, and it is not obvious from the marketing.
- Track count and plugin formats. A four-track editor is a podcast tool. A sixty-track project needs a plugin format your other tools support, which is the real constraint on a large session.
- Instruments and loops included. A DAW ships sounds; an editor does not. If you need content as well as a tool, that changes which product you are buying.
- What the free tier actually is. Some free versions are working editors with limits on export or track count; others are demos. Read what the limit is before planning a project around it.
- Batch and scripted processing. Trimming a hundred files is a scripting problem, not an editing problem. An editor that can be driven from a command line turns an afternoon into a minute; one that cannot means you are doing it by hand.
- Latency and monitoring. Recording while monitoring through the same machine adds delay unless the interface bypasses it. The number that matters is the round trip, not the sample rate on the box.
Our picks
- Audacity — Its record describes free, open-source, cross-platform audio software for multitrack recording and editing, which is the default free case. Choose it when you want a free, open-source editor for recording and editing audio.
- Ardour — Its record describes cross-platform audio software for multitrack recording and editing, which is the professional editor case. Choose it when you need professional multitrack recording and editing.
- GarageBand — It ships as a music creation tool rather than an editor, which is the case where you need content too. Choose it when you want instruments and loops alongside the editor.
- LMMS — Its record describes music production software, which is the composition case rather than the editing one. Choose it when the job is making music rather than editing recordings.
The apps
Ardour
Ardour is an audio editor for macOS. Cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing. It is open source.
What it does. Ardour is a free/open-source digital audio workstation for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Produce beats, record live music, track vocals, and mix for streaming.
Full profile and verified facts for Ardour →
Audacity
Audacity is an audio editor for macOS. Free, open-source, cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing. It is open source.
What it does. Audacity is the world.
Audacity is listed with current version 4.0.1.
Full profile and verified facts for Audacity →
GarageBand
GarageBand is a media app for macOS. Digital audio workstation for recording and music production. It is free.
GarageBand is listed with current version 10.4.14.
Full profile and verified facts for GarageBand →
LMMS
LMMS is a media app for macOS. Open-source digital audio workstation for music production. It is released under GPL-2.0.
What it does. LMMS is a free, open source, multiplatform digital audio workstation.
LMMS is listed with current version 1.2.2.
Full profile and verified facts for LMMS →
Logic Pro X
Logic Pro X is a media app for macOS. Professional digital audio workstation for music and audio production. Its pricing is not published.
Logic Pro X is listed with current version 12.4.
Full profile and verified facts for Logic Pro X →
Stargate DAW
Stargate DAW is a media app for macOS. An all-in-one digital audio workstation (DAW) and plugin suite. It is released under GPL-3.0.
What it does. A digital audio workstation (DAW) with a powerful pattern-based workflow. A comprehensive suite of built-in instrument and effect plugins. A basic wave editor. Powerful track routing matrix with easy sidechaining.
Stargate DAW is listed with current version 24.02.2.
Full profile and verified facts for Stargate DAW →
How to choose
- Free of charge. GarageBand — no payment is required.
- No licence fee, source available. Ardour, Audacity, LMMS and Stargate DAW — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- Pricing not published in our data. Logic Pro X — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.
Open source: Ardour, Audacity, LMMS and Stargate DAW (4 of 6).
Common mistakes
- Editing a recording destructively before you are sure you want the change. Keep the original; disk space is cheaper than a retake.
- Planning a large session in an editor whose free tier caps the track count.
- Assuming a plugin format you already own will load. Check the format, not the brand.
- Judging audio quality from the waveform. Zoom in and listen, or the edit is guesswork.
- Recording at a sample rate the source cannot supply. It does not add information, it only makes the file larger and the noise floor more obvious.
- Mixing and mastering in an editor rather than a DAW. The editor is for getting the material clean; the DAW is where levels and balance belong.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these audio editors?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 6 audio editors: Ardour, Audacity, GarageBand, LMMS, Logic Pro X and Stargate DAW. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these audio editors free?
Pricing across this group: open source (Ardour, Audacity, LMMS and Stargate DAW), free (GarageBand) and not published (Logic Pro X). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these audio editors are open source?
Ardour (not published), Audacity (not published), LMMS (GPL-2.0) and Stargate DAW (GPL-3.0) are open source.
Do these audio editors support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
