# Free alternatives to Pro Tools

> Pro Tools (Artist) costs $99 a year. Free alternatives: Ardour. Data checked 2026-10-17.

- Page: https://stoprenting.dev/apps/pro-tools/
- Category: Audio (https://stoprenting.dev/categories/audio/)
- Vendor: Avid
- Plan: Artist
- Price: $8.25/month, $99/year
- Billing: annual (monthly option exists, not shown)
- Price quote from the vendor's page: "Artist Essentials for music recording, MIDI composition, and production SAVE $21 WITH ANNUAL$99$99USD/year"
- Price source: https://www.avid.com/pro-tools (checked 2026-10-17)

## Alternatives

### Ardour

- Website: https://ardour.org
- Repository: https://github.com/Ardour/ardour (5,352 stars, last push 2026-10-16)
- License: unknown
- Open source: not verified
- Type: desktop app
- Linux: Arch extra: ardour; Flathub: org.ardour.Ardour
- Self-hostable: no
- Install: `sudo pacman -S ardour`, `flatpak install flathub org.ardour.Ardour`
- Note: It imports Pro Tools sessions but can't save them back, and ready-made installers ask a small payment.
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/ardour/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

## FAQ

### Is there a free alternative to Pro Tools?

Yes. The free alternative is Ardour (License unknown, license not verified).

### How much does Pro Tools cost?

Pro Tools's Artist plan costs $8.25 a month, which is $99 a year (annual (monthly option exists, not shown)). Source: the official pricing page at avid.com, checked Oct 17, 2026.

### Which Pro Tools alternatives run on Linux?

Ardour (Arch extra: ardour; Flathub: org.ardour.Ardour).

### Can you self-host a Pro Tools alternative?

Ardour is a desktop app that runs on your own machine, so there's nothing to host.

### Are these Pro Tools alternatives open source?

Ardour's license couldn't be verified automatically.

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Source: Stop Renting (https://stoprenting.dev). Methodology: https://stoprenting.dev/methodology/