TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FL Studio

    Score9.8 out of 10
    N/ABelgian studio Image-Line Software offers FL Studio, the company's digital audio workstation (DAW) and audio editing application.

    $99

    Per License

    GarageBand

    Score9.7 out of 10
    N/AApple offers GarageBand, a digital audio workstation packaged with its operating system.

    $199.99

    Pricing
    FL StudioGarageBand
    Editions & Modules
    Fruity
    $99.00
    Per License
    Producer
    $199.00
    Per License
    Signature Bundle
    $299.00
    Per License
    All Plugins
    $899.00
    Per License
    Logic Pro (GarageBand Premium)
    $199.99
    Garageband for Mac
    Free
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FL StudioGarageBand
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FL StudioGarageBand
    Considered Both Products
    Image-Line Software
    No answer on this topic
    Apple
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    10 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    9 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    8 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    FL StudioGarageBand
    Small Businesses
    Descript
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Descript
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FL StudioGarageBand
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    9.4
    (10 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.4
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FL StudioGarageBand
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Image-Line Software
    I would recommend FL Studio for anyone who wants to get their hands on music making or even just recording audio for videos. I would suggest making the somewhat small investment and trying it out, you could end up with a career from it. For beginners I would definitely suggest watching online courses/tutorials as they helped me a lot and it will for you as well. Also, I would recommend using third party plugins which will help in fine tuning your projects and overall produce much better music/recordings. FL Studio is well suited for businesses and personal use to make music. I would confidently say that its one of the best DAW to start making music.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Apple
    GarageBand is great for demo tracking for songwriting and and simple audio editing of spoken word or podcast applications. It is also great for making EQ adjustments on audio from other macOS or iOS programs for easy export back into those programs. GarageBand isn't well-suited for mastering, however, and it's a little difficult to get volume levels up in post-production if capture wasn't just right
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Image-Line Software
    • Midi sequencing
    • Built in audio processing and VST instruments
    • Audio mixing
    • Music creation
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Apple
    • It is easy to edit in the way that you can highlight something and simply delete a part of what you are working on.
    • I love that I can drag two or more tracks together to keep them in sync when editing.
    • It's not difficult to add a click track when you need it.
    • I think the whole process of highlighting, cutting out parts and the basic editing doesn't take huge amounts of time because it seems intuitive.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Image-Line Software
    • The recording process can somewhat be confusing and inefficient.
    • FL Studio has a confusing routing, for example to use return tracks for reverbs, you will have to click numerous buttons to get that done.
    • FL Studio has a somewhat steep learning curve, which can demotivate beginners.
    • FL Studio's auto-saving feature is a bit late, which can ruin your project if you rely on it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Apple
    • Can't save the preferences for the tracks such as turning off reverb etc.
    • Project files are large, a 30-minute podcast episode with only 4 tracks is typically around 1 GB
    • Auto feature to silence guest not talking
    • Optimize for podcasters (I use the old version 6 as new versions hasn't had podcast options)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Image-Line Software
    I gave it the above rating because it is an incredible software for music creators and even though it might be hard to use at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will never be troubled again, and in all honesty, nothing comes easy life, especially if one yearns to become good at. Same applies with FL Studio. In conclusion, it is a great software.
    Read full review
    Apple
    It's dang simple for anybody who knows even a little about recording software. It's not something just anyone can open and immediately be a professional at, but things are clearly marked, the help documentation is great, and it's easy to explore and discover functionality that can aid in your production workflow.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Image-Line Software
    No answers on this topic
    Apple
    I have never tried it. It's just simple, and you should be able to navigate most of it via self-exploration and Apple Help.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Image-Line Software
    In selecting this software, we investigated and considered others. We found that FL Studio had a good price point and the life time free version updates made it a one time purchase.
    In terms of functionality, the most similar software solutions are Ableton Live, Logic Pro X and Propellerhead Reason.
    Of these the most cost effective for us was Ableton Live and FL Studio with Propellerhead Reason being a slightly different product.
    We found that FL studio had a wider feature set and was more suited to our use, where as Ableton Live would be better if live music performance was a requirement, in our case it was not.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Apple
    Adobe Audition is another great audio editing/recording software, in fact it is much better compared to GarageBand and has much more effects. However, it has a pretty large price tag while GarageBand is completely free. Also, Adobe Audition has a very steep learning curve which makes it hard for our staff to get used to the software. Considering all this and after deep analysis we decided to opt for GarageBand, well at least for now. We may change in the future depending on our needs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Image-Line Software
    • Like I mentioned beforehand, it is slightly expensive but if you think of it, it is a lifetime investment.
    • FL Studio is also essential to have if one wishes to create music of their own or background songs because that way, you won't have to pay someone to create music for you.
    Read full review
    Apple
    • Amazing value
    • Very easy to get started
    • For novices and professionals alike
    • Loops library is simply awesome
    • Export capabilities very effective to share tracks
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots