A digital audio workstation (DAW) is the first piece of music software you need before you start making music. Fortunately, you can get some really good free DAWs.

Reaper is my go-to DAW. It can do pretty much everything the expensive DAWs can do that you’d see in professional recording studios, but it’s a fraction of the price. (The trial version is free.)

I’ve recorded multiple releases with Reaper, and I’m not sure I’ll ever switch.

Pros & Cons

Reaper

GarageBand has been around for years (I started using it in 2009) and it keeps getting better. It comes pre-loaded on every single Macintosh computer and many well-known musicians have recorded songs with it, including Kendrick Lamar and Fall Out Boy.

It’s super easy to learn, making it another great option for beginner producers.

Pros & Cons

GarageBand

Audacity is an open-source DAW, and it’s as simple as you can get in terms of good music production software. Even though it doesn’t have some of the more advanced options that other DAWs have, it does allow you to do the basics.

You can record, edit, add effects, and bounce your song at professional quality. There’s also an “analysis mode,” which shows you the frequency of your song so you can ensure it’s balanced.

Pros & Cons

Audacity

The big benefit of DarkWave Studio is that it’s a full DAW that doesn’t take up much storage space. Plus, it comes with 19 built-in plugins. The trade-off, however, is that you’re fed advertisements, which is how it’s a free DAW.

Pros & Cons

DarkWave Studio

Cakewalk went away, but then BandLab bought it in 2018 and made it a free DAW. Because of this, it already has 30 years of experience, so it’s a solid option considering it’s free.

It’s a surprisingly powerful piece of software, allowing you to insert an unlimited number of audio or MIDI tracks.

Pros & Cons

Cakewalk by BandLab

Whether or not you’re a beat-making producer, it’s a good idea to have some beat-making software. First, they can be helpful to use supplementally if you have trouble hearing the click track. Second, you never know when you may want some sick beats.

I’ve used Drum PRO so many times, people are probably starting to recognize some of the drums sounds.

You get 20 built-in drum sounds that include hip-hop, pop, vintage 808s, and more. There are 12 pads that give you two kick drums, two snare hits, two types of claps, two high-hat hits, and four additional channels with things like shakers and claps. You can also adjust the effects like ADSR and reverb.

Pros & Cons

Drum PRO

The T-REX 606 is modeled after the old Roland TR-606 drum machine. And the interface is as simple as you can get — there are seven drum sounds and then a volume knob and reverb knob. The drum sounds are a kick, snare, closed high-hat, open high-hat, low tom, high tom, and a cymbal.

Pros & Cons

T-REX 606

This one is different from the other beatmakers. Hip-Hop Drums Pad 24 is actually a mobile app for smartphones and tablets. There are a ton of free sounds you can play around with, and each kit has 12 pads with kicks, snares, claps, samples, and more.

You won’t be able to make a beat right in your DAW, but here’s how I use it:

1. Record myself playing a beat with the in-app record feature
2. Email or WeTransfer that file to myself
3. Go to my computer, download that file, and drop it into my DAW
4. Either use the beat as-is or break it apart with Regroover (see below)

Pros & Cons

Hip-Hop Drums Pad 24

Regroover is a program that will split apart any audio file you drop into it. It’s meant to separate a drumbeat into its respective parts, so you can isolate the kick, snare, hi-hat, and other parts from each other.

Then you can use your MIDI controller to make your own beat with those sounds.

So you can take the beat you made with Hip-Hop Drums Pad 24, split it up, then reassemble a beat with the same sounds.

Pros & Cons

Realistic or quality-sounding virtual instruments are the most difficult type of plugin to find. I’ve tested (and then deleted) many. Here are a few that have stuck around for me.

For being a free piece of software, Dexed offers a lot, both in sounds and settings. You can get all sorts of synth sounds, from ambient to harsh to percussive. You can get bassy sounds as well as high, tinny sounds.

Plus, you have several settings to play around with like EG levels, depth, curve, and many more.

Pros & Cons

Dexed

DSK Strings emulates violins, violas, cellos, upright bass, and entire string sections. You can play these parts with pizzicato or bowed and you can adjust settings like ADSR, reverb, delay, and flanger.

It will take some finagling to make the strings sound real. In my experience, this plugin is best used for more ambient string sections rather than featured or solo strings.

Pros & Cons

DSK Strings

The 4Front Bass Module plugin has just one setting, one sound. It emulates a bass guitar and that’s it. For it being a free plugin, it sounds pretty close to a real bass guitar. If you solo it, you can tell it’s a plugin, but if you mix it into the song, it can do the trick.

Pros & Cons

4Front Bass Module

The Ample Percussion Cloudrum is a unique plugin in that it mimics a cloud drum. So it’s part percussive, part melodic, part ambient. So you can play it like a piano on your MIDI controller, or you can use it as supplemental percussion.

There are 15 preset sounds and you can even adjust the settings like the Body, Width, Synth, Pan levels, and ADSR.

Pros & Cons

Ample Percussion Cloudrum