Reaper Review: A Powerful, Customizable DAW at an Unbeatable Price

Reaper Review: A Powerful, Customizable DAW at an Unbeatable Price | PCMag

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4.0 Excellent this.$refs.template.innerHTML, onCreate: (instance) => this.tippyInstance = instance, onShow: (instance) => { this.escapeHandler = (e) => { if (e.key === 'Escape') instance.hide(); }; window.addEventListener('keydown', this.escapeHandler); }, onHide: (instance) => { if (this.escapeHandler) { window.removeEventListener('keydown', this.escapeHandler); this.escapeHandler = null; } }, onMount: (instance) => { const closeBtn = instance.popper.querySelector('[data-tooltip-close]'); if (closeBtn) closeBtn.addEventListener('click', () => instance.hide()); }, }; }, }">   What Our Ratings Mean 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies. The Bottom Line Reaper offers nearly all the features and flexibility of powerhouse digital audio workstations at a fraction of the cost. MSRP $60.00 Visit Site See It PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Pros & Cons Multi-channel audio recording, mixing, and mastering at a bargain price Useful track comping tools Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows Heavily customizable Fast, with an extremely light memory footprint No built-in instruments or loops Nonintuitive interface Reaper Specs Name Value tr:nth-of-type(n+6)]:hidden" :class="{ '[&>tr:nth-of-type(n+6)]:!table-row': open }"> Free Version Subscription Plan Audio Tracks Unlimited Instruments Effects 34 Bundled Content None Notation Pitch Correction Mixer View More Specs

Reaper packs an impressive set of features for the price, including live audio and virtual instrument recording, a full mixing console, accurate notation editing, and support for scoring video. Unlike competing digital audio workstations (DAWs), Reaper lets you build your menus, toolbars, and macros, and then customize its look and color scheme. It's a complex program that requires effort to learn (in contrast with something like Apple's GarageBand), but if you put in the time and load it up with some free (or paid) third-party plug-ins, Reaper pays real dividends in power and flexibility. It covers nearly all the bases of a Cubase-, Pro Tools-, or Logic Pro-equipped workstation at a fraction of the price, although those remain our Editors' Choice winners for their comprehensive instrument bundles and smoother user interfaces.Pricing: One of the Best Values Going in DAWsPersonal, school, and small business licenses for Reaper all cost $60. If you plan to use it for commercial music purposes and gross more than $20,000 per year from your audio work, it's $225. Reaper is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with appropriate installers for Arm- and Intel-based processors. The program is a paltry 12MB for Linux, 26MB for macOS, and 15MB for Windows. You can even run it from a portable or network drive. Reaper is free of copy protection, and you can download the 462-page manual in PD