FMOD Studio vs SoLoud
FMOD Studio
fmod.comSoLoud
solhsa.comSide by side
| Figure | FMOD Studio | SoLoud |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Audio Middleware | 8.5 (#5) | 7.7 (#15) |
| Purpose | FMOD Studio is an end-to-end solution for creating adaptive game audio and playing it in-game through the FMOD Engine. | SoLoud is an easy-to-use, free, portable C/C++ audio engine for games. |
| Support | FMOD lists free community forum support and email technical support for licensed users; licensing includes one year of email support with Basic and two years with Premium. | The project provides a Google Group, GitHub issue tracker and an IRC channel, while noting that it does not include the support offered by commercial libraries. |
Plans
In their own words
FMOD Studio
FMOD Studio is an end-to-end solution for creating adaptive game audio and playing it in-game through the FMOD Engine. Its event editor supports instruments, effects, randomization, modulation, multitrack music, and automated effects. The mixer routes signals, applies DSP effects to event groups, and uses prioritized snapshots for dynamic mixing. A built-in profiler can capture and simulate gameplay, then inspect events, 3D positions, parameters, API calls, voice, levels, and CPU usage. Live Update lets users monitor levels and snapshots while hearing changes on a connected game device. FMOD Studio is ready to use with Unity and Unreal, and other engines can connect through its API using C++ or C#. Team workflow features include shared presets, integrated source control, and profiler sessions for communication with outsourced sound teams. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Licensing is per game: Indie is free under stated budget and revenue conditions, Basic costs 6000.00 USD once, and Premium costs 18000.00 USD once. Non-game projects require custom pricing.
SoLoud
SoLoud is a free, portable C/C++ audio engine for games, built around a fire-and-forget playback interface. Playback handles let developers adjust volume, pan and relative speed. The engine includes multiple voices, faders, real-time filters, mixing busses, gapless looping, queued sounds and atomic operations for several sounds. It supports 3D positional audio and up to eight surround speakers.
Supported sources include several WAV variants, Ogg Vorbis, MP3, tracker formats and emulator sources. The package includes speech synthesis and an Sfxr sound-effects synthesizer. SoLoud runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and the web through Emscripten, with backends including SDL/SDL2, MiniAudio, ALSA, JACK, OpenAL and WASAPI. A C API DLL provides access from environments including Python, Ruby, C#, BlitzMax and GameMaker Studio. Its ZLib/LibPNG license permits commercial use, modification and redistribution subject to attribution and source-notice conditions. The project notes limited engine integration and no artist tools.