Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Pro Tools
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Avid offers Pro Tools, the company's flagship music and audio editing and recording suite.
$29.99
Per User / Per Month
Cubase
Score 7.2 out of 10
N/A
Steinberg Media Technologies headquartered in Hamburg offers Cubase, a digital audio workstation and audio editing application.
$579.90
Spotify for Podcasters
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Spotify for Podcasters, formerly Anchor, is a podcasting platform, enabling the user to create, distribute, and monetize a podcast. It is available via a free plan. It features built-in uploading, recording, and editing tools so the can easily create and publish episodes.N/A
Pricing
Avid Pro ToolsCubaseSpotify for Podcasters
Editions & Modules
Pro Tools
$29.99
Per User / Per Month
Pro Tools - Ultimate
$79.99
Per User / Per Month
Pro Tools - First
Free
Starting Price
$579.90
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Pro ToolsCubaseSpotify for Podcasters
Free Trial
NoNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Avid Pro ToolsCubaseSpotify for Podcasters
Considered Multiple Products
Pro Tools
Chose Avid Pro Tools
Pro Tools, while great for audio recording, has always been behind the curve when it comes to MIDI production. Cubase is much better at it, and being able to jump into it quickly and efficiently is vital to my time-management, because I'm often on tight deadlines. Also, Cubase
Cubase
Chose Cubase
Cubase was our choice based on the cost of the software as well as an easy to user interface, this coupled with the low hardware requirements meant that roll out was easy and cost effective.
We have used Pro Tools in the past and found that training staff to use this software …
Chose Cubase
We chose Cubase in the beginning due to price differences between Pro Tools and Cubase. As we learned to use Cubase, we realized the flexibility between MIDI and audio was far more advanced than any other product on the market. We still feel like the MIDI implementation in …
Chose Cubase
While Pro Tools is the industry standard when it comes to recording and audio mixing, I've found Cubase to be superior when it comes to writing with MIDI. Also, it comes with a lot of features (MP3 exporting, time code) that Pro Tools charges you extra for. They're both about …
Chose Cubase
Pro Tools is an industry standard for a reason, but does come at a cost and with a learning curve. I've found that Cubase is a great place to start, having the ability to do very advanced things, but without the need for it. While my experience has been limited with other DAWs, …
Spotify for Podcasters

No answer on this topic

Best Alternatives
Avid Pro ToolsCubaseSpotify for Podcasters
Small Businesses
Descript
Descript
Score 8.2 out of 10
Descript
Descript
Score 8.2 out of 10
Adobe Express
Adobe Express
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Adobe Express
Adobe Express
Score 8.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 8.9 out of 10
Adobe Express
Adobe Express
Score 8.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Avid Pro ToolsCubaseSpotify for Podcasters
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(10 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
9.0
(11 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(4 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Avid Pro ToolsCubaseSpotify for Podcasters
Likelihood to Recommend
Avid Technology
Again, Avid Pro Tools is considered the "industry standard" for a reason. The ability to record, mix and edit with such ease is something that I don't find in other DAWs. That may be because I'm a longtime user and so I may be partial. Still, I do use Logic and I'm very familiar with many of the processes in that DAW as well. Avid Pro Tools just does so many of them better and more intuitively. Editing audio in particular is one where Avid Pro Tools has every other DAW beat.
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Steinberg Media Technologies
As Cubase has different levels of product available, there is a starting point for most people in the industry who require this software with the Pro version being the top level. Therefore, it can be built around end user needs rather than paying a fortune for everything and only using 40% as other software products do. It would be less appropriate for beginners, or those who do not wish to use VSTi instruments as there are cheaper products on the market which would allow this (Reaper being one). It is all down to user preference at the end of the day, and there isn't one product that will tick every single box for every user.
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Spotify
Anchor is a great podcast app for folks just starting out with podcasting or who want some of the technical things to be streamlined and simplified. With the built-in audience of Spotify subscribers, it's also easy to get started with a listening audience. There are easy ways to connect to other Podcast platforms and easy ways to integrate ads if that's something you want to do as a podcaster.
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Pros
Avid Technology
  • Variety of plug-ins and the ability to buy 3rd party plug ins and use them well.
  • Recording to multiple tracks, live monitoring while recording, live inserts/sends while recording audio.
  • Pro Tools always creates a backup of your audio file that you can restore at any point in time.
  • Built in metronome, timeline indicators for beat/time.
  • Midi controls/ virtual instruments are fantastic.
Read full review
Steinberg Media Technologies
  • MIDI: MIDI has been an integral part of Cubase since the very beginning. In Cubase 11, working with and editing MIDI has become a very streamlined process.
  • Advanced Audio Features: One of my favorite audio features is the ability to generate harmony voices in just one click. This speeds up the production process and helps new singers understand different harmony lines. It also gives the ability to add modern harmony sounds to our tracks.
  • Channel Strip: While we use many plugins to emulate famous consoles and outboard equipment, the stock channel strip is outstanding. The included channel strip could easily stand on its own to get a finished sound.
  • Control Room: This is an amazing tool that emulates a monitor controller right in the software. Using this allows me to set up headphone cues, headphone mixes, and different monitor configurations. I am able to insert plugins into these chains that do not affect the master bus.
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Spotify
  • Easiest way to create podcasts, or in reality any audio files.
  • Have some level of reporting on how many people are accessing the files.
  • The Android app is excellent, feature rich and quick.
  • Different levels of compression to have smaller files.
  • Good audio level support.
Read full review
Cons
Avid Technology
  • Virtual instrument interfaces are clunky and non-intuitive.
  • Rename/Move session functions should programmatically update subfolder labels.
  • Better, more targeted in-app access/help to the myriad of shortcuts, and scripts already present in PT.
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Steinberg Media Technologies
  • Keyboard shortcuts aren't the best, I find it tedious to zoom in and out of the timeline
  • Multi-track recording of multiple takes can become hard to manage
  • Composing with Midi can be hard, the midi editing is a bit outdated
Read full review
Spotify
  • Monetization features are currently present in only a limited number of countries, I look forward to the various monetization features like pre-roll and mid-roll ads to be made available soon in my country India.
  • Add more platforms to its distribution services such as Amazon Music and similar ones so that we would not be required to submit the RSS Feed to platforms manually.
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Usability
Avid Technology
It’s very easy to use it on a basic level. There is a learning curve for advanced stuff, but if you have a need to learn the advanced features and shortcuts then it’s not too hard. Plus, you’re probably using it to make money then anyway, so it all works out
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Steinberg Media Technologies
No answers on this topic
Spotify
It's intuitive from the moment you log in until you publish. The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because some sections aren't translated into Spanish, and while it's not a problem for me, it's something that could be improved. Furthermore, the design is very clean and doesn't feel overwhelming with options. Everything is where it should be, and the process for publishing episodes is clear. Es intuitivo desde el momento que entras hasta que publicas. Si no le pongo un 10 es porque hay ciertas secciones que no aparecen traducidas al español, y aunque no me supone un problema, es algo mejorable. Además, el diseño es muy limpio y no da sensación de "saturación" de opciones. Todo está donde debe estar y el proceso para publicar los episodios es claro.
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Support Rating
Avid Technology
I've never contacted Avid for support issues, but Pro Tools is so widely used that its user community can help you solve virtually any issue you encounter, if the issue isn't solved already by a simple Google search. The fact that Pro Tools is such an industry standard means that you can rest assured hardware manufacturers of audio interfaces test their interfaces with Pro Tools to ensure compatibility.
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Steinberg Media Technologies
Any time I've had to reach out to customer support, they've been fast to respond and answered my questions to the best of their ability. Authorization of the software is easy, and the company is great about emailing you promptly. Overall, they do a great job.
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Spotify
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Avid Technology
As discussed above, these other products are likely better suited for home audio production, especially based on their integration of software instruments and their surface-level interface and tools. Pro Tools excels as a tool for professionals, who need to move audio along efficiently towards a polished form, especially in the context of vocal production
Read full review
Steinberg Media Technologies
Pro Tools is an industry standard for a reason, but does come at a cost and with a learning curve. I've found that Cubase is a great place to start, having the ability to do very advanced things, but without the need for it. While my experience has been limited with other DAWs, I think it's been worth the (small) investment.
Read full review
Spotify
Anchor is less expensive and, in my opinion, much easier to use than SoundCloud for podcasting. Anchor makes syndication easy, and their recording and editing interfaces are clean and intuitive. SoundCloud seemed somewhat cumbersome to use, and I didn't care for its UI. Honestly, they seem better suited for other use cases.
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Return on Investment
Avid Technology
  • Low cost of entry
  • Being able to network with employers is vital, and saves time and money
  • Add-ons to the main software can be a bit overpriced compared to other DAWs.
Read full review
Steinberg Media Technologies
  • As a result of having Cubase in my inventory I have received 15-20 large scale projects increasing turnover by around 25%
  • Ability to work in remote areas with no internet and not have to worry about activation / licence renewals
  • The interoperability of Cubase with Nuendo provides increased scope for work with other sound designers / editors / post mixers.
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Spotify
  • Taught us how yo properly organize and schedule our show.
  • Anchor's integration with Spotify allows use of Spotify's wide library.
  • Doesn't play well with outside ad agencies, Makes it difficult to be open to all kinds of ad agencies, thus reducing possible revenue.
Read full review
ScreenShots