To get started recording or producing music at home, one of the first and largest decisions to make is which digital audio workstation (DAW) you’ll use. There are several pro-grade DAWs on the market today, each with its own focus and a unique set of strengths and weaknesses.
A DAW is the software interface you’ll work in to record, edit and produce your music. Pro Tools and Ableton are two widely-used DAWs that you may have heard about or come across. Both these DAWs are effective programs, but they work very differently and excel at different tasks.
If you’re new to the world of recording, even reading the feature sets for DAWs like Pro Tools or Ableton can be overwhelming. So in today’s post, we’ll help you demystify these two programs and decide which is better for what you want to do.
Pro Tools vs Ableton: Big Picture Overview
Both Pro Tools and Ableton Live are serious tools designed for serious musicians and recording professionals. If there’s tension between software being robust and powerful versus being simple and easy to learn, both DAWs skew toward the former, not the latter.
The two programs each have a robust and powerful set of features, and they broadly overlap in terms of functionality. Still, they take very different approaches to the work, and each DAW is better geared to certain aspects of recording and producing work than the other.
Let’s look at the similarities and differences between Pro Tools and Ableton Live.
Similarities
Both programs equip you with an impressive toolset to do a wide range of audio tasks, from tracking and editing vocals and instrumentals to working with MIDI, samples and instrument packs.
Both Ableton and Pro Tools come with a wide range of effects and plugins and will support an even wider range of third-party plugins.
Both programs will enable you to record, edit and mix music without the limitations or quality issues of lower-level programs.
And that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Truth be told, there are more differences than similarities in the Pro Tools vs Ableton discussion.
Top Differences
In our comparison of Pro Tools and Logic Pro X, we said that the programs do most of the same stuff, but that there’s a big difference in focus between the two. The same is true with Protools vs Ableton Live, but the difference in focus is much greater — so much so that you might actually use both programs for different reasons.
Pro Tools is unashamedly focused on audio waveform recording, mixing and editing, plus video features. It’s a high-end DAW that’s the industry standard for in-studio recording work. It’s also excellent for recording and editing dialog for podcasts or voiceovers.
Ableton Live, on the other hand, is a powerful MIDI-focused DAW suitable for advanced MIDI work, including with digital synths and VSTs. It’s also frequently used as a live performance tool, handling the backing tracks for whatever instrumental or vocal efforts a performer produces on stage.
Those focuses are just so different, and they practically define which program people choose. Ableton can record and edit waveforms— but nowhere near as effectively. And Pro Tools allows users to work in MIDI — just nowhere near as well as Ableton.
We could dive into the nitty gritty of how different the interfaces are. For example, Ableton Live fits most of what you need into a single window and is pretty streamlined. Pro Tools, on the other hand, uses multiple windows and offers deep (but far from streamlined) levels of editing tools.
But really, these interface differences simply undergird the big difference: Ableton is more for MIDI and samples, and Pro Tools is more for recording, mixing and editing with a focus on waveform audio.
Ableton Live’s Session View is unique and may offer serious value to electronic and hip-hop musicians and anyone else who works heavily with samples and loops. But a more traditional recording engineer working with recorded audio will likely never use it.
Pro Tools offers some unique features as well, like the ability to sync with video directly in the Pro Tools interface and the ability to import sheet music as editable and playback-capable MIDI data. Here, too, electronic artists and live performers have little use for these features.
As we wrap up the similarities and differences of Ableton vs Pro Tools, we keep coming back to this: the right DAW for you depends on what you want to do with it.
Pricing
One thing you need to know: these are pro-grade programs, and they don’t come cheap. Here’s a brief overview of pricing for both Pro Tools and Ableton Live 11.
Pro Tools
Pro Tools offers a free basic version (Pro Tools First) as well as two paid versions: Pro Tools and Pro Tools Ultimate. You can pay for either version on a subscription basis or pony up for a perpetual license (with only one year of software updates).
Here are the rates:
- Pro Tools: $34.99 monthly, $29.99 per month (year commitment), or $299 per year
- Pro Tools Perpetual: $599 with one year of software updates
- Pro Tools Ultimate: $89.99 monthly, $79.99 per month (year commitment), or $799 per year
- Pro Tools Ultimate Perpetual: $2599 with one year of software updates
Education customers can get a much lower rate for Pro Tools, paying $9.99 per month, $99 per year, or $299 for a perpetual license. Similar discounts for Pro Tools Ultimate are available, too.
Ableton Live 11
Ableton offers a free Lite version of Live (through certain hardware partners), plus three paid versions. Ableton uses the classic payment model where you pay once to own the software and then pay discounted prices to upgrade to newer versions when they’re released.
Here’s the price breakdown for Live 11:
- Live 11 Intro: $99
- Live 11 Standard: $449 ($269 for education customers)
- Live 11 Suite (including Max for Live): $749 ($449 for education customers)
Live 11 Intro is for beginners and those with only the most basic recording needs. Most serious musicians and producers will need either the Standard or Suite versions.
The biggest difference between the two complete versions is the scope of the sound, instrument, audio effects and MIDI effects libraries. How much of a difference? Well, Live 11 Standard includes over 10GB of sounds, while Live 11 Suite contains over 70GB.
Not sure whether Standard or Suite is right for you? Ableton offers a completely free and fully functional 90-day trial so you can explore the differences for yourself.
Compatibility
Pro Tools and Ableton are both fully compatible with the latest versions of Windows and macOS. So OS compatibility isn’t an issue with either DAW. Both are also widely compatible with studio-grade hardware, including pretty much every audio interface.
Pros and Cons
No DAW is perfect for every scenario. Evaluate these pros and cons as you continue determining which program is right for your style of music-making.
Pro Tools: Pros
Industry standard: Hands down the industry standard for tracking, mixing and editing sessions. If you ever plan to share your tracks or get them professionally mixed/mastered, Pro Tools is the safer format.
Best for editing waveform audio: Pro Tools is built for editing vocal and instrumental recorded audio, with all sorts of powerful tools for editing and processing analog audio tracks. You’ll work faster and get stronger results doing this kind of editing in Pro Tools.
Best for video: Better feature set for scoring to video, including the ability to run video footage within the Pro Tools session.
Pro Tools: Cons
Difficult to set up: Pro Tools is a powerful, complex DAW that can do just about anything. But all that complexity can be a lot to handle. If you want a program that you can just open and start experimenting in, Pro Tools is a worse experience than Ableton.
Not as good for arranging/creation: Pro Tools can do MIDI work and sample work, but it can be a bit of a hassle. If your main reason for wanting a DAW is having a platform to compose electronic/hip-hop/similar music on the fly, Pro Tools is going to be frustrating.
Basic bundle: Both DAWs come with a bundle of plugins, instruments, VSTs and so forth. Pro Tools has the worse package. To operate at the highest level, you’ll likely need to invest in certain third-party packages and plugins
Ableton: Pros
Incredible selection of VSTs and samples: Ableton Live is built for performers and composers who want to create, not record, so it’s loaded up with VSTs, sample libraries and plugins that support that end goal.
Ideal for live performance: Many electronic musicians use Ableton Live in their live performances. It’s a stable program that rarely lags or stalls and is ideal for this kind of use. (In case you’re wondering, Pro Tools absolutely isn’t designed to be used in this way.)
Intuitive for arrangers and electronic composers: If your goal is to open up your DAW and start creating directly in the software or from your keyboard or beat pad, Ableton is going to be much faster and more intuitive.
Better at sampling: Automatic warp, Session View, and a wide library of effects make Ableton far more capable here.
Ableton: Cons
Serious limitations to audio waveform editing: Ableton just does not compete with Pro Tools for waveform editing. Destructive audio processing is absent, and Ableton added customizable crossfades and linked track editing only in the last couple of versions.
In other words, you can edit waveforms in Ableton Live, but you aren’t going to enjoy it. Whether for vocals, instrumentals, or even dialog for podcasting, you’re better off editing in Pro Tools.
Somewhat limited to electronic and hip-hop styles: Obviously not a con if you’re doing this kind of music, but Ableton Live does tend to get pigeonholed into MIDI- and sample-heavy genres. Its limitations with vocal/instrumental track editing get in the way of it being more broadly used.
Final Thoughts: Pro Tools vs Ableton
As you work to determine which DAW is right for you, perhaps it’s time to stop framing the discussion as “Ableton vs Pro Tools.” The truth is, both DAWs have distinguishing features that make them better than the other for certain kinds of audio work.
If your workflow involves more vocal and instrumental recording and editing, Pro Tools is the clear choice. If you’re doing mostly MIDI and sample work, using your DAW as a canvas more than a workspace, then Ableton Live is the better choice for you.
And if you’re doing equal amounts of both — you may well be better off learning both programs.