Audacity vs LMMS

Audacity is a free, open-source audio editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop computers. It supports multitrack editing, noise reduction, video synchronization, and cloud collaboration. Common audio formats include MP3, M4A, AIFF, FLAC, and WAV, and it handles 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit audio with high-quality resampling and dithering. A Spectrogram view helps visualize and analyze audio clips. Third-party plugins are supported, including VST3, Nyquist, LV2, and Audio Unit formats. Its source code can be viewed or modified under the GNU GPL, and no subscription is required. Audacity has no mobile version for iOS or Android, despite those platforms appearing in some listings. The software is developed by a small remote team supported by the community. Help is available through a manual, forum, and developer Discord.

LMMS is a free, open-source tool for making music on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It brings sequencing, composition, mixing, and automation into one workflow for melodies, beats, synthesized sounds, and samples. Notes can be played with a MIDI or typing keyboard, and projects can import MIDI and Hydrogen files. The instrument collection includes 16 built-in synthesizers, with emulations of the TB-303, Commodore 64 SID, NES, GameBoy, and Yamaha OPL2. Multisample instruments support SoundFont, Giga, and Gravis UltraSound formats. Effects include LADSPA and VST plugins as well as built-in compression, limiting, delay, reverb, distortion, bass enhancement, equalizers, and spectrum analysis. LMMS supports 64-bit VST instruments, with a 32-bit VST bridge on 64-bit Windows, but not VST3 plugins. The manual says backups are enabled by default and a backup file is made when saving a project. Its listed plan costs nothing, and there is no free trial.