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Ardour
A free and open-source DAW for Linux, macOS and Windows for recording, editing and mixing audio and MIDI (reference project).
github.com/Ardour/ardourActive
Ardour 9.8 released August 2026 (ardour.org front page, KVR/OpenSourceForU coverage); last push 2026-10-26 (gh api, GitHub mirror). (checked 2026-10-25)
In Music-making software
Where it stands apart
- How is it mainly sustained? community, foundation, or research (5% of 19 others)
- What does it cost the person using it? paid (one-time or subscription) (11% of 19 others)
- Can you take your music out of it as a file other tools can open? yes, audio and MIDI (or a project format other DAWs open) (11% of 18 others)
What it shares with most of the community
- Is it actively maintained? active (84% of 19 others)
- Can it run entirely on your own device or infrastructure, without the maker's servers? yes (89% of 19 others)
- Do you need an account to use it? no account (95% of 19 others)
- Who is it for? non-developers (68% of 19 others)
- How does it use MIDI? MIDI 1.0 in or out (notes, CC, clock, or MIDI files) (65% of 17 others)
- Does the product itself use AI or machine learning? (if both, pick the LLM or agent option) no (72% of 18 others)
Nearest neighbors
- Blokkily 73% of 15 shared answers match
- vibez 73% of 15 shared answers match
- MultiTrack 69% of 13 shared answers match
Every answer
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is it actively maintained? | active | source 2026-10-26 |
| How is the main thing licensed? | copyleft or source-available with restrictions GPL-2. | source 2026-10-26 |
| How is it mainly sustained? | stands apart community, foundation, or research Core developers are funded by users paying for pre-built binaries; closest option. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Can it run entirely on your own device or infrastructure, without the maker's servers? | yes | source 2026-10-26 |
| Do you need an account to use it? | no account Running Ardour needs no account; buying pre-built versions goes through the site. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Who is it for? | non-developers | source 2026-10-26 |
| Which shared standard or format does it mainly build on? | audio plugin formats (VST3, AU/AUv3, CLAP, LV2) DAW built around hosting AU/LV2/VST plugins. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Where does the main version run? | desktop app | source 2026-10-26 |
| How do you mainly use it to make or shape sound? | arrange on a timeline, step grid, or tracker | source 2026-10-26 |
| How does it use MIDI? | MIDI 1.0 in or out (notes, CC, clock, or MIDI files) MIDI tracks and controller support; MIDI 2.0 not mentioned. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Does the product itself use AI or machine learning? (if both, pick the LLM or agent option) | no | source 2026-10-26 |
| What does it cost the person using it? | stands apart paid (one-time or subscription) Pre-built versions are paid; source is free to build. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Can you take your music out of it as a file other tools can open? | stands apart yes, audio and MIDI (or a project format other DAWs open) Session export to audio; bouncing MIDI without processing writes MIDI files. | source 2026-10-26 |
| How much musical experience does it assume? | a lot: working musicians and producers | source 2026-10-26 |
| Does it recreate real instruments or classic hardware? | no, a software-native design | source 2026-10-26 |
Sources
This page was derived from:
- GitHub · github.com/Ardour/ardour · read 2026-10-25
- Web page · ardour.org/ · collected 2026-10-26
- Web page · ardour.org/development · collected 2026-10-26
- Web page · community.ardour.org/download · collected 2026-10-26
- Web page · manual.ardour.org/exporting/bouncing-regions/ · collected 2026-10-26
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