--- title: "REAPER Software Reviews, Demo & Pricing - 2026" description: "Review of REAPER Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs." source_url: "https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/" page_type: "product" language: "en" --- [Home](https://www.softwareadvice.com/) / [Audio Editing Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/) / REAPER Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee. Overview [Reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/reviews/)[Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/alternatives/) # REAPER Review From $60 1 plan On this page - Overview - User Interface - Popular Alternatives - Pricing and Plans - Features - User Reviews - Popular Comparisons ## Overview REAPER 4.8 [(60)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/reviews/) Pricing Pricing available upon request Top Alternatives ### About REAPER REAPER is an on-premise solution that helps small businesses and non-profit organizations streamline processes related to audio producing, editing, transformation, and customization. It enables staff members to overdub and record multi-takes or layered audio and MIDI in several formats and on multiple disks according to individual requirements. REAPER allows team members to utilize a drag-and-drop interface to import, move, split, re-seize, loop, crossfade, pitch shift and render audio files. It lets employees switch between multiple layouts and change colors, icons and toolbars. Staff members can intuitively handle changes across tempos, time signatures, pitch-shifting and varispeed. Additionally, it lets users embed plug-ins into track control and mixer panels, such as ReaFIR, ResEQ and ReaXcomp. REAPER comes with an application programming interface (API), which lets businesses integrate the platform with several third-party solutions. It is available on a perpetual license and support is extended via email, documentation, community forum, FAQs, video tutorials and other measures. ## REAPER User Interface ## Popular REAPER Alternatives Main Product REAPER 4.8 [(60)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.27Ease of use - 4.85Value for money - 4.28Customer support - 4.62Functionality Pricing Available upon request Alternative Product [ReMasterMedia](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/remastermedia-profile/) 4.7 [(86)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/remastermedia-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.79Ease of use - 4.77Value for money - 4.75Customer support - 4.58Functionality Pricing Starting at $0.50 one time Alternative Product [Adobe Creative Cloud](https://www.softwareadvice.com/video-editing/adobe-creative-cloud-profile/) 4.7 [(7345)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/video-editing/adobe-creative-cloud-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.23Ease of use - 4.16Value for money - 4.17Customer support - 4.67Functionality Pricing Starting at $19.99 per month Alternative Product [Audacity](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/audacity-profile/) 4.5 [(468)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/audacity-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.33Ease of use - 4.80Value for money - 4.09Customer support - 4.41Functionality Pricing Available upon request Alternative Product [Logic Pro](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/logic-pro-profile/) 4.8 [(152)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/logic-pro-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.36Ease of use - 4.48Value for money - 4.29Customer support - 4.68Functionality Pricing Available upon request Alternative Product [Adobe Audition](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/adobe-audition-profile/) 4.6 [(245)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/adobe-audition-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.25Ease of use - 4.27Value for money - 4.12Customer support - 4.57Functionality Pricing Starting at $19.99 per month ## REAPER Pricing and Plans Starting price: $60.00 Free Trial Free Version Basic $60.00 No plan information available ## REAPER Features - Popular features found in Audio Editing Audio Manipulation Audio Mixing Audio Recording Plug-in Integration Video Editing - More features of REAPER API Audio Capture Audio Editor Custom Development Data Import/Export Drag & Drop Graphical Workflow Editor Mastering Monitoring Multi-Channel Management On-Demand Recording Synchronous Editing Third-Party Integrations ## REAPER User Reviews ## REAPER customer ratings - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Total reviews: 60 ### Rating distribution - 5 stars: 45 reviews (75%) - 4 stars: 15 reviews (25%) - 3 stars: 0 reviews (0%) - 2 stars: 0 reviews (0%) - 1 star: 0 reviews (0%) ### Secondary ratings - Ease of use: 4.3/5 - Value for money: 4.9/5 - Customer support: 4.3/5 - Functionality: 4.6/5 --- ### Reaper, when the community makes a daw great. - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Cristhian Josue J. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Design - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: August 2021 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 3/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros Reaper is the daw you always wanted if you are looking for a great community that will welcome you with open arms, in my opinion, the ability of the developers of this daw to listen to the community is undoubtedly the best of this software. despite its visual ineffectiveness, reaper is the right alternative for Linux users, because this daw bets for simplicity and compatibility with any operating system, leaving aside more visual or unnecessary aspects. #### Cons Reaper can look intimidating, it looks like software from the '00s rather than a current daw, usually, people who want to give a chance to this daw are novices in the field of music production, so they might be overwhelmed by many aspects of this daw, either the poor quality in the visual aspect, the unpopularity of this daw in the mainstream or simply the prejudices that each person may have. --- ### Great software for independent artists - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Benjamin M. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Music - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: January 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I started using Reaper when I realized that my version of Cubase was obsolete. A friend recommended it and I tried it, band members started using it as well and now we can teach each other things. I use Reaper on Windows now and have not tried the Linux build but I think that's great! I used to run Reaper on a laptop I found in a dumpster, the Windows build run through WINE in Ubuntu. I didn't have any issues, but I think I only used it for editing, maybe not for recording. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It was free to try and there are tons of tutorials online and other people using Reaper to learn tips and how to use it. It's similar enough to the other programs I've used (Cubase/Protools) that I could jump in and learn from there. The EQ plugin interface is very nice as well. I find it is very convenient to use the waveform and move/change band points. #### Cons The only problems I've run into have involved things that I overlooked or didn't completely understand. I have been able to fix them, easily though not always quickly. I can't say that I have anything I like least about it. It's great. #### Reasons for switching to REAPER A friend started using Reaper and told me about how cool it is. I realized that my version of Cubase was pretty old and I gave Reaper a try. --- ### Reaper - Best for the money! - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Tony R. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Entertainment - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used monthly for less than 12 months - Reviewed: March 2021 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 3/5 - Functionality: 3/5 #### Pros The cost of Reaper is why it is so attractive. In the end if you are going pro you will need to spend more money. But you can purchase a user license extremely cheap and have most of the functions you need in a DAW to create and mix great music. #### Cons It just wasn't "pro" level. But again, for the money there is nothing out there that has as much to offer as Reaper does. If you aren't trying to mix to a movie or do some other pro level recording with advanced work flow requirements this is the DAW for you! #### Reasons for switching to REAPER Logic is MAC only. Reaper will run on Windows, which is my preferred OS. --- ### Customizable DAW for College Dropout - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Jon G. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Music - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: February 2022 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 4/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Reaper is so easy to use and learn with lots of customizability for how you want your layout to look. I've mixed literally thousands of hours in the program and it's the only program I mix with now. #### Cons The only downside of Reaper I can think of is that it doesn't come with a suite of cutting edge plug-ins or have an option to purchase different tiers of the program with elite plugins included. #### Reasons for switching to REAPER Pro Tools is too expensive compared to the amount of functionality Reaper has for much less but still allows it to compete in the field. --- ### Reaper reaped expensive competitors - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: FLAVIO V. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Music - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 2 years - Reviewed: March 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. During this pandemic era, I and friends played remotely and recorded some songs without getting together. Reaper made this much more fun and easier than using traditional heavy softwares such as Sonar and Cubase. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 3/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Reaper is light, fast, cheap, effective, intuitive, fun to use! I tried last 3 decades many other music production softwares, most of them are huge slow monsters, full of bugs. #### Cons The online help is not as good as the software itself, but most of time I found on YouTube tutorials produced by the users which helped me a lot. #### Reasons for choosing REAPER Reaper price is much more attractive and it is faster with much better usability. #### Reasons for switching to REAPER Reaper is faster and consume less computer resources. It has also a great stability. --- ### My go to DAW - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Maciej N. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Financial Services - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: February 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I am a hobbyist musician and have been using Reaper since 2009 (switched from ProTools). I am a big fan of this DAW as I know it, yet I have so much more to learn and so many features I did not get to know yet. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Reaper has the most intuitive workflow for me. Before using Reaper, I tried Pro Tools, Cubase and Cakewalk. Reaper fits my needs the best. I love that the developers are conbstantly updating it and adding new features. #### Cons There is nothing I don't like in Reaper. There is maybe a steep learning curve if you are used to using another DAW, but Reaper is definitely worth it. #### Reasons for switching to REAPER Reaper is much cheaper option and at the same time does not lack features. --- ### A DAW That Challenges Standards - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Jeremy D. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Media Production - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: December 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I had to learn REAPER for a gaming audio job, and it was very tough to get used to coming from Pro Tools, Cubase, et al., compared to other DAWs. The right-click mouse selection was particularly painful: no other DAW works like this, and it's hard to see what the benefit of this is. I often would summon a right-click menu instead of a selection and you still use the standard left-click selection for most things, causing more confusion. Despite REAPER's customizability, I could never change this to work like other DAWs. But that being said, REAPER is incredibly fast, light, and reliable. Once I dug into Actions, I immediately missed it on other DAWs. But ultimately, REAPER is a bit too much of an odd duck for me. But I would happily recommend it as a fully professional DAW. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 3/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros REAPER is almost limitless in scope: virtually everything about the app can be customized, with powerful actions (macros) and scripts that can automate complex tasks. The small footprint and low price explains why it has such a large, loyal user base, and the powerful batch tools show why REAPER has wide adoption in the gaming industry. REAPER is definitely a contender for the "best DAW". #### Cons REAPER's interface can be very intimidating, with extremely small, hard-to-read fonts, and no included instruments or sounds. Furthermore, there are some very counterintuitive functions, like using right-click to select audio clips (trying to change this in Preferences is a real headache that I could never resolve) that will cause headaches for new users. Experienced users will also come across features they need that are missing, with feature requests dating back years. --- ### Reaper is a professional sound production tool for everyone. I recommend it. - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Délcio R. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Music - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: December 2022 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered My experience has been the greatest. I finally found a professional and easy software to produce, mix and master my sounds, and increase my costumers in my studio. Thanks. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros One of the great features, is the easy and intuitive interface, and professional commands to manage sound. Great mixing and much more features. This software changed my life, and my costumers are very happy with the results. Thanks to the developers. #### Cons I don't have a thing to complain yet. But sometimes it just has some bugs. But maybe this is a problem with my computer memory. Beside this, I love it. --- ### The go-to DAW for anyone starting out - even if you have no budget! - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Simon M. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Media Production - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: April 2022 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered After having used REAPER for over a decade, I can proudly say that it was the best investment I've made in terms of time and money. Starting out with a shoestring budget right out of college, REAPER was the only piece of audio production software I could afford. 14+ years later, it still delivers beyond any other DAW I've used before. For anyone starting out reading this, please go ahead with closed eyes. The software is strong and the community is stronger. There is absolutely no place for regrets! #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros The relatively inexpensive start up costs is what helped with choosing REAPER. The wide array of included plugins, with industry leading levels of customization - this is why REAPER is one of the best in the industry. To top it all off, the ease of setup and use, regardless of the use case, is what makes this the best software out there. From recording to mixing to mastering, every step of the process can be easily accomplished with REAPER - no third party needed. #### Cons To be honest, REAPER is a little too perfect thanks to its constant update cycle and bug fixes. Add to it a robust community that develops and supports each other, there's nothing left to be desired. --- ### For experts and begginers - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Rafael H. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Information Technology and Services - Company size: 11-50 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 2 years - Reviewed: November 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. After two years using this DAW, i definitely won't change anything of the software, the way that the company offers the DAW is really generous, i'm not welling to give a chance to other software. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 4/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros In my opinion, Reaper is the most friendly software to use among all the options that someone could choose. It is easy to use, easy to watch, you have a great work flow with the interface and also the native plugins are so good and have a great quality. #### Cons I think that the only thing that i dislike is the design of the desing of the native plugins, it is so simple, maybe if developers change this just a little bit, with some colors and different icons, people would use it more. --- Showing 1 - 10 of 60 Reviews [See All Reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/reviews/) ## REAPER Popular Comparisons [Audacity vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/audacity-profile/vs/reaper/)[Logic Pro vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/logic-pro-profile/vs/reaper/)[Adobe Audition vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/adobe-audition-profile/vs/reaper/)[Adobe Premiere Pro vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/video-editing/adobe-premiere-pro-profile/vs/reaper/)[Pro Tools vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/pro-tools-profile/vs/reaper/)[Riverside vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/vs/riverside/)[Cubase vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/cubase-profile/vs/reaper/)[FL Studio vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/fl-studio-profile/vs/reaper/)[WavePad vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/vs/wavepad/)[VEGAS Pro vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/vs/vegas-pro/)[Descript vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/speech-recognition/descript-profile/vs/reaper/)[Blender vs REAPER](https://www.softwareadvice.com/video-editing/blender-profile/vs/reaper/) [Compare All Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/audio-editing/reaper-profile/alternatives/) ## See what companies are saying about Software Advice