I tested hundreds of free music production applications and reviewed the best ones in this article.
This is all you’ll need to start making music on a computer, even if you’re an absolute beginner. For more free software, read our article about the best free digital audio workstations and download free VST plugins.
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The best free music production software in 2025
If you want to start making music immediately, download Waveform Free or LUNA. They both work on Windows and Mac.
If you need additional sounds and instruments, download Komplete Start. It’s an excellent free software bundle from Native Instruments.
If you are on Windows and don’t have a dedicated audio interface, install ASIO4ALL. It will dramatically reduce the audio latency when recording and playing sounds.
Now, let’s dive into the complete list of powerful music production apps you can download for free.
Free digital audio workstations
A digital audio workstation (DAW) is software for recording, editing, arranging, and mixing audio and MIDI. It’s the central hub of your music production setup, where you can record your instruments or use virtual instruments, effects, and samples.
Whether you’re making beats, recording vocals, or scoring a film, you’ll need a DAW to capture, mix, and produce your music.
Waveform Free
Waveform Free is a fully featured free DAW for Windows, macOS, Linux, and even Raspberry Pi. It supports third-party plugins (VST, VST3, and AU), so you can expand it with hundreds of free plugins that are available online.
The software is based on the commercial version of Tracktion Corporation’s Waveform, but there are no limitations on track counts, third-party plugins, exporting/rendering, or project saving. You have unlimited audio and MIDI tracks to work with, along with a decent selection of built-in instruments and effects.
There are also no copyright restrictions on the music you create with Waveform Free. You can use it for free and for commercial projects.
Regarding raw power and functionality, Waveform Free is on par with most commercial music production software. You can use it to record and edit audio and MIDI, apply effects, and export professional mixes in a wide range of audio formats.
The main drawback is the user interface. I found it hard to get used to because I was coming from another DAW (Studio One). Waveform Free has a unique layout that puts all the controls in a single panel to simplify the workflow. It works great once you get used to it, but there’s definitely a learning curve.
Overall, I think Waveform Free is the best free DAW for beginners. It provides all the necessary tools to record and produce music with almost no limitations or missing features.
LUNA
LUNA is a powerful free DAW from Universal Audio, now available for both macOS and Windows.
It offers a pro-level recording and mixing environment and stands out with built-in tape emulation and analog-style console summing. The analog emulation gives a warm, vintage sound straight out of the box.
LUNA is especially well-suited for recording, mixing, and analog-style workflows, making it an excellent option for beginners and experienced producers. The interface is sleek and intuitive, and it includes high-quality virtual instruments and effects with no track limits or feature restrictions.
Integration with Universal Audio hardware is seamless, offering near-zero latency tracking and advanced features like Unison preamps. However, users without UA gear can still take full advantage of the DAW’s core features, though premium extensions may require extra purchases.
LUNA only supports AU plugins on Mac and VST3 on Windows, which might limit some third-party plugin compatibility. Overall, it’s one of the most fully featured free DAWs available, especially if you’re after a classic studio sound and smooth workflow.
Garageband
GarageBand is a free, beginner-friendly digital audio workstation (DAW) that comes preinstalled on Mac computers. It has an intuitive interface with a super intuitive drag-and-drop workflow.
If you’re entirely new to music production and own a macOS device, I highly recommend playing around in Garageband for a few days before moving to a more advanced DAW like Waveform Free or LUA.
It offers multi-track recording, virtual instruments, and a massive library of loops and sounds. These tools will help you understand how music production software works and get you started with songwriting and mixing.
Unfortunately, GarageBand lacks advanced mixing options or third-party plugin support. You’re limited to the instruments and effects that are included in the software.
Free audio editing software
Audio editors let you cut, edit, and process individual audio files. Unlike digital audio workstations, they aren’t optimized for multitrack recordings. Instead, they can fix individual recordings and let you analyze audio files more thoroughly.
Audacity
Audacity is the most popular free audio editor, with approximately 100 million users worldwide. It works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, offering high-quality audio support (up to 32-bit/384kHz) and multi-track audio editing.
It supports multiple plugin formats (VST, LADSPA), which means you can expand its capabilities with third-party plugins.
You can use Audacity to apply real-time, non-destructive effects, which isn’t typically seen in free audio editors. A recent update also introduced tempo-based beat grids, which is a feature typically seen in DAWs.
Audacity works best for recording podcasts, sampling, and basic editing. It is lightweight and well optimized, so it works without any performance issues, even on modest hardware. Pros include cross-platform availability, extensive community resources, and a robust feature set at zero cost.
Ocenaudio
Ocenaudio is a free audio editor designed for user-friendliness and efficiency. I prefer its modern user interface over Audacity’s somewhat dated design.
I also prefer Ocenaudio’s workflow. It’s much faster to zoom in and edit an audio file precisely. I often use it as the final tool in my sound design process to double-check the sounds and fix rough edges.
Similar to Audacity, it includes real-time effect previews, non-destructive editing, VST plugin support, and a helpful spectrogram view. It efficiently handles large audio files, making it ideal for podcast editing, voiceover cleanup, and general audio processing.
I’m also a fan of Ocenaudio’s batch-processing capability. You can process entire folders simultaneously, for example, normalizing multiple audio files to a specific volume or adding silence at the end.
Free music software bundles
There are hundreds of free VST plugins you can add to your music production setup. However, before going down that rabbit hole, I recommend focusing on a few high-quality plugin bundles and getting the most out of the included instruments and effects.
It’s much better, productivity-wise, to own a small selection of high-quality plugins than to spend your days downloading new software instead of making music.
Komplete Start
Komplete Start is a free music production bundle from Native Instruments. It includes over 2,000 studio-quality sounds and 16 high-quality instruments, accessible within any DAW via the included Kontakt and Reaktor Players.
I love the variety of the included instruments. There are many options, from Analog Dreams for vintage tones to acoustic instruments such as drums, pianos, an Irish Harp, and Yangqin.
This is what makes Komplete Start so ideal for producers on a budget. It lets you explore new instruments and styles in one convenient and completely free package.
Another big plus is the outstanding sound quality because all of this is based on premium Native Instruments products.
The bundle also includes amazing free effects, like the RAUM reverb and the mastering EQ from iZotope’s Ozone collection.
Another big plus is the included Kontakt Player, which gives you access to dozens of free Kontakt libraries. You can expand it with some of the best-sounding virtual pianos, drums, and other instruments.
The only downsides are the large download size and the need to install the Native Access software to manage the installation. Also, Komplete Start runs on Windows and Mac but doesn’t support Linux.
MFreeFXBundle
MFreeFXBundle by MeldaProduction is one of the largest collections of free audio effects plugins available from a single developer. It includes 38 plugins for mixing, mastering, and sound design.
The included plugins include all the effects you need for music production. You’ll get standard effects like EQ, compression, reverb, and delay, along with specialized tools for spectral panning, frequency analysis, ring modulation, and bitcrushing.
One of my favorite aspects of MeldaProduction’s free plugins is the advanced modulation capabilities. In most of their effects, you can modulate multiple parameters via built-in LFOs and followers for creative sound shaping.
The sound quality is excellent, too. MeldaProduction plugins are some of the best on the market, and this is also true for their freeware bundle.
Another advantage is MeldaProduction’s highly customizable interface design. Each plugin comes with multiple skins and color schemes to choose from.
On the other hand, the included plugins offer many advanced features, which add a bit of clutter to the control layout. This isn’t an issue for advanced users, but keep it in mind if you’re a beginner.
Kilohearts Essentials
Kilohearts Essentials is a free collection of 34 audio effect plugins for Windows and macOS.
The collection includes EQ, reverb, compression, delay, distortion, saturation, chorus, and various other effects that can be used individually or inside the modular host plugins from Kilohearts (Phase Plant, Snap Heap, and Multipass).
I love the simplicity of Kilohearts Essentials. Each plugin does exactly what it says on the tin. They are nicely designed and optimized for low CPU usage.
Even though they are designed as modules for creative sound design, these effects work great independently. I use them for handling everyday mixing tasks without straining the computer and slowing down my workflow with unnecessarily complex plugins.
Free music production utilities
Here are a couple of bonus utilities that are helpful for music production.
ASIO4ALL
ASIO4ALL is a free universal audio driver for Windows that significantly reduces latency. It will enable low-latency recording and playback in a DAW even with standard consumer sound cards or USB audio devices.
This free audio driver is essential for bedroom producers who use a Windows computer without a dedicated audio interface. If you’re on macOS or own an audio interface, you don’t need ASIO4ALL.
The driver is very easy to set up. Simply download and install the driver and choose it as the preferred audio device in your digital audio workstation.
Youlean Loudness Meter Free
Youlean Loudness Meter is a free loudness monitoring plugin for mastering and mixing. It provides detailed LUFS measurements (integrated, short-term, momentary) and true peak detection.
The plugin analyzes your music and displays real-time loudness graphs and historical loudness data. This can help you achieve loudness targets for platforms like Spotify and YouTube.
It’s an essential free tool for ensuring loudness compliance and making sure your mixes sound as intended on all music streaming platforms.
How I selected the music making software featured in this article
I started Bedroom Producers Blog in 2009 and have reviewed hundreds of free audio plugins and apps since then.
My goal for this article was to compile a list of must-have free software for music producers to help beginners like you get started as quickly as possible. I also used BPB readers’ feedback to narrow the list and only include the most essential tools.
To ensure stability and efficiency on modern computers, I tested each app and plugin on my Windows 10 laptop and MacBook Air.
Lastly, I double-checked all featured software to ensure it was 100% free of hidden costs and usage limitations. All of these apps and plugins are completely free to use.
Visit our Free VST Plugins page for more freeware plugins and instruments.
This page was last updated by Tomislav Zlatic on April 16, 2025.
Tomislav Zlatic is the founder and editor-in-chief of Bedroom Producers Blog (BPB). Since starting BPB in 2009, he has tested and reviewed hundreds of VST plugins.