Live vs Cubase

FL Studio

VEGAS Pro

Logic Pro

Pro Tools

Studio One

SOUND FORGE

Compare Live and Cubase based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

Studio One is an audio editing software designed to help musicians and studio engineers create, produce, record, mix, and compose songs using various virtual instruments, effects, and arrangement tools from production till album release and stage performances.

Logic Pro from Apple is a fully-featured digital audio workstation for macOS that provides step sequencing, quick sampler controls, and remote music-making capabilities. Logic Pro turns any Mac into a professional recording studio allowing users to capture any composition.

Pro Tools is an audio editing software that helps musicians, students, teachers, and audio professionals record, edit, mix, and produce unique audio content. The solution enables artists to compile various takes of a recording, fix tracks' timing, and match audio beats in real-time.

Live is a workflow management platform that allows musicians, composers, producers, artists, creators, designers, and instrumentalists to generate music with multiple effects, sounds, velocity, and electronic musical instruments.

Activity Dashboard

Audio Capture

Audio Editor

Audio Manipulation

Audio Mixing

Audio Recording

Configurable Workflow

Graphical Workflow Editor

Instrument Management

Mastering

Plug-in Integration

Third-Party Integrations

Workflow Management

Live

Linux

Web-based

Windows

Producer

The live triggers allow it to be used on stage which is a great tool for in the moment production as well. The stock samples, sounds, and plugins are all fantastic.

Campus Worship Pastor

For theatrical elements it is a great sound board for FX. But most important, it open our eyes to an amazing new world of possibilities when it comes to live performance.

Live has always provided an inspiring array of sounds and plugins to help produce music or write from the ground up. It's quick and easy to learn which makes the creative process even easier.

Productor de música

It is awesome the diversity of the sound library. You have everything in the main windows, this save you a lot of time.

Student

I like the huge Virtual Instruments in the Library of LIVE. Ableton have a good integration for the most Hardware on  the Market.

Everything is integrated into one window, which really helps the workflow. It eliminates the need for cluttering multiple windows plus plugins, thus giving it a very clean and enjoyable experience.

Composer

As musicians we can get a very rich quality export from this software. I made much  more songs ,advertisment audios ,outros  from Live...very easy to use.

Music Producer

It was my first DAW, and it helped me to start my way on music production/mixing. The fact that you have a lot of sounds and effects in the software without leaving it is amazing.

IT Support Specialist

Live is an extremely powerful Digital Audio Workstation. It has a very simple workflow that allows you to get out ideas quickly and offers many creative tools.

Music producer

The user community is amazing and the sonic sound output.

Entreprenur

Ableton Live's ease of use with a variety of genres and production processes is one of the most impactful features.

My overall experience was okay however it was very confusing to me. Mixing and mastering was so different and hard for me to grasp and is not for beginners.

Producer/DJ

Have had such a great experience with their support team reordering parts I needed for a controller and issues within the software.

It's a minor bug but extremely inconvenient if you're in the middle of some creative energy. The most negative aspect of Ableton Live would be the price.

Assembler

Though they offer a "Lite" version of their software, it's limited to 16 tracks, which may not be enough for producers and engineers completing large projects.

Associate Pastor

The software can do a whole lot of things, but in my experience that has also made it difficult to learn.

Live screenshot: Live audio editing dashboard

Live screenshot: Live melodic steps

Live screenshot: Live pitch adjustment tool

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Small Business

FL Studio is a complete digital audio workstation (DAW) for mixing and mastering audio tracks. The software includes a vast collection of samples, presets, loops, effects, synths, and effects at additional costs.

SOUND FORGE by MAGIX is a professional audio editing platform for recording, editing and mastering audio. The software enables hi-res audio recording, one touch and timestamp recording, audio file conversion and normalization, customizable user interfaces, and more.

VEGAS Pro is a video editing software that provides businesses with tools to create professional videos and add multiple audiovisual effects according to requirements. Supervisors can use the stabilization engine to minimize the appearance of unwanted shaky movements across videos and improve the overall quality of the content.

Cubase helps businesses produce new tracks, modify audio files, and implement custom workflows to streamline various operations across projects. The built-in quantize panel lets users manage pitch, tempo, distribution, and arrangement of audio across multiple tracks using warp markers.

Collaboration Tools

Compression

Data Import/Export

File Management

Media Library

Monitoring

Multimedia Support

Multiple Projects

Project Management

Project Tracking

Project Workflow

Projections

Score Editor

User Management

Video Editing

Video Management

Video Support

Cubase

Android

iPad

iPhone

Freelancer

I continue to see the full creative potential in my music production thanks to the great features in Cubase,  where it has helped me carry out my music production on a more professional level.

The thing I like most about this software is the workflow when it comes to tracking. I feel that the user interface is perfect for that matter in fact.

Producer and musician

All in all I feel like everyone who is in the sound engineering industry should be familiar with cubase for is the best in the world.

Freelance Musician

Cubase simple useful helpful. Always improving toward becoming more and more professional.

Mechanical Engineer

Offers unique and very advanced features to the user that cannot be found in any other software on the market. It supports many file types and it is suitable for both video and music production.

I have used Cubase for many many years since the late 90s probably. It is easy to use, sounds great right out of the box, and is set up to inspire creativity.

Cubase is, compared to other music production software, one of the easiest to use and have a medium price. Easy to set with your instruments and good for live producing with your instruments.

Manager

The drum machine is clunky, and the endless array of options can get you lost in menus.

Independent music composer

There are too many features that I do not need and these pollutes the menus and interface in general.

Cubase is the best software to use terms of audio additing and recording.

Cubase's GUI windows seem to have trouble taking on the modern paradigm of fullscreen apps, and windows and viewing parameters often reset themselves. The GUI coding feels old.

Musician

But for me, someone who makes simple music, it's really important that the software environment is straightforward and understandable.

By using cubase as a freelance artist, I was able to produce my music myself and save time and money.

Owner 

Really hard to understand and setup audio busses and the program really doesn’t remember your choices.

IT Specialist

Above it all, the compressor is integrated into the DAW’s interface, making it easy to access and adjust settings without having to switch to a separate plugin or software.

Overall, i would never buy any software but Cubase. It integrates with all of the major 3rd party plugins and gives a wide variety of options to best record and produce your music.

Live vs Cubase Comparison (2026)

Live

Cubase

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives