Ardour vs Podium

Ardour is an open-source workstation for recording, editing, mixing and mastering audio and MIDI projects on Linux, macOS and Windows. It supports any number of tracks and busses, along with unlimited undo and redo. Signal connections can be one-to-many, many-to-one or many-to-many. Supported plugin formats include AudioUnit, LV2, VST2/VST3 and LADSPA; plugins also support sample-accurate automation and MIDI Learn. MIDI synchronization options include MIDI timecode, MIDI Machine Control, MIDI clock and JACK transport sync. Ardour can import one video, display a thumbnail timeline, synchronize audio and export video. Users can search for and import audio or MIDI from Freesound. The software is licensed under GNU GPL v2, allowing users to copy, share and modify it without payment. Optional subscriptions support development and include unlimited updates while active. Monthly subscriptions are $1 a month, $4 a month, $10 a month or $50 a month; an annual subscription is $120 a year.

Podium is a Windows digital audio workstation for recording and editing audio and MIDI, and hosting VST instrument and effect plugins. Projects can contain unlimited arrangements that share sequences and sounds. It can record any number of MIDI and audio inputs simultaneously and supports loop recording on audio input tracks. Its hierarchical track engine supports group tracks, multicore plugin processing, automatic delay compensation, and up to 100 mixer bus instances. Podium handles Wave and AIFF files with up to 32 channels, as well as RF64 files larger than 4 GB. It supports VST 2.4 plugins and includes zPEQ, zReverb, and zPitch; external MIDI and audio devices can be routed in the track hierarchy with latency compensation. Podium Free is available at free, with limits including disabled ReWire, surround playback, the 64-bit mixer option, and plugin multiprocessing, plus MIDI setup limited to one input and one output. A single-user license is listed at $50 as a one-time purchase for a one-year upgrade period, $75 as a one-time purchase for two years, or $90, paid once for three years. Podium does not support audio warping or VST3. The maker lists Windows 7 or Windows 10, an 800 MHz CPU, 512 MB memory, 32 MB graphics memory, and an ASIO or MME sound driver as minimum requirements.