Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Qtractor VS LMMS

Compare Qtractor VS LMMS and see what are their differences

Qtractor logo Qtractor

Qtractor is an Audio/MIDI multi-track sequencer application.

LMMS logo LMMS

Make music with a free, cross-platform tool
  • Qtractor Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-15
  • LMMS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-06

Qtractor features and specs

  • Open Source
    Qtractor is an open-source Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), meaning it's free to use and modify, which encourages community contributions and transparency.
  • Linux Compatibility
    Designed specifically for Linux, Qtractor is well-integrated into the Linux audio ecosystem, leveraging technologies like JACK, ALSA, and LV2.
  • MIDI and Audio Handling
    Qtractor supports both MIDI and audio tracks, providing flexibility for users who work with different types of audio data.
  • Non-destructive Editing
    The DAW allows for non-destructive editing, meaning users can experiment with various edits without permanently altering the original files.
  • Lightweight
    Qtractor is relatively lightweight compared to other DAWs, making it faster to install and run on less powerful hardware.

Possible disadvantages of Qtractor

  • Linux Only
    Qtractor is designed exclusively for Linux, which limits its accessibility to users on other operating systems like Windows and macOS.
  • Learning Curve
    New users, especially those unfamiliar with Linux, may find the interface and workflow of Qtractor challenging to learn and navigate.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    Compared to some commercial DAWs, Qtractor may lack certain advanced features and sophisticated plugins that professionals might require.
  • Smaller User Community
    Being a niche product, Qtractor has a smaller user community, which may result in less community support and fewer tutorials or resources online.

LMMS features and specs

  • Cost
    LMMS is free and open-source software, making it accessible for anyone without the need for purchasing licenses.
  • Cross-Platform
    LMMS runs on multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux, providing flexibility for users regardless of their platform.
  • User Community
    Being open-source, LMMS has a strong and active user community that contributes to its development and offers support via forums and online resources.
  • Plugins and VST Support
    LMMS supports various plugins and VST instruments, allowing users to extend its functionality with third-party tools.
  • Built-In Instruments and Samples
    LMMS comes with a variety of built-in instruments, effects, and sample libraries, offering immediate resources for music creation.
  • MIDI Compatibility
    LMMS is compatible with MIDI keyboards and controllers, enabling hands-on control and easier music production.

Possible disadvantages of LMMS

  • User Interface
    While functional, the user interface of LMMS may be considered less intuitive and dated compared to other professional DAWs, potentially leading to a steeper learning curve.
  • Stability
    As an open-source project, LMMS may face stability issues or bugs, particularly when using some third-party plugins or VSTs.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    LMMS may lack some advanced features that professional musicians and producers expect, such as more intricate audio manipulation tools and advanced mixing capabilities.
  • Less Industry Adoption
    LMMS is less commonly adopted in the professional music industry compared to other DAWs like Ableton Live, FL Studio, or Logic Pro, which might limit collaboration opportunities.
  • Documentation
    Although there is community support, official documentation and tutorials may not be as comprehensive or professional as those available for commercial DAWs.

Qtractor videos

Qtractor Tutorial and Review

More videos:

  • Review - Qtractor - Getting Started
  • Review - Why, Phil? #01 Qtractor : 1st steps

LMMS videos

Review LMMS 2020 - BEST or WORST for beginners?? Free DAW

More videos:

  • Review - I Tried Making a Beat in LMMS !
  • Review - LMMS 1.2 is FINALLY HERE!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Qtractor and LMMS)
Audio & Music
10 10%
90% 90
Audio
13 13%
87% 87
Audio Recording
13 13%
87% 87
Tool
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Qtractor and LMMS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Qtractor and LMMS

Qtractor Reviews

Top 18 Free Music Making Software for Beginners [2023]
Qtractor is a Linux-based audio and MIDI multitrack sequencer that originally started as a hobby project but has expanded over the years into one of the most popular open-source music software projects.
Top 10 LMMS Alternatives and Similar Software
No matter if you’re an accomplished musician or a budding talent, Qtractor, a digital music mixing software which is in the form of a multitrack recorder capable of plugins and effects. It’s meant for Linux and is written using the C++ language.

LMMS Reviews

Best FL Studio Alternatives In 2022
If you’re someone who is looking for a free option and you are familiar with FL Studio, I highly recommend checking out LMMS. While it LMMS doesn’t have every feature FL Studio does, it does offer many of the traditional features.
Top 10 LMMS Alternatives and Similar Software
The software LMMS is for those who are musically inclined. It helps you create music. We share with you brief details of LMMS alternatives. You can try them out for a new experience of creating music. Coming back to LMMS, the best thing about it is that it’s completely free. Hosted on GitHub, it’s an open-source digital audio workstation (DAW) that works on several operating...
Best LMMS Alternatives 2017
Alternatives to LMMS 2017: LMMS is a free cross-platform alternative to profit making programs like Minor FL Studio icon FLStudio, which permit you to harvest music with your computer. This comprises the creation of tunes and beats, the synthesis and involvement of sounds, and positioning of samples. You can consume fun with your MIDI-keyboard and much extra, all in a...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, LMMS seems to be a lot more popular than Qtractor. While we know about 98 links to LMMS, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Qtractor. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Qtractor mentions (2)

LMMS mentions (98)

  • Arpeggiator Cube
    Have you tried LMMS? It's not my favorite, but being 100% free and self contained (seq, fx, instruments) it's easier to install and get going with it even on an old laptop. https://lmms.io/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6tEolVz3_4. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Free Quality SoundFonts (Sf2)
    As an (extremely) amateur musician I've had hours of fun with free soundfonts like these and the open source LMMS[0], which was nice and familiar to me since I'd played with pirated copies of FruityLoops (now FL Studio) as a teenager. [0] https://lmms.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Ask HN: Getting Started with DAW?
    So, I saw the other day the release of the ep-133, and it happens that I want to get started doing that kind of stuff (e.g., creating simple beats). I have zero knowledge about DAW/sampling and music in general (my background is in soft. engineering), so the first thing that I searched on Google is "open source daw" and I found LMMS (https://lmms.io/). I'm going through the documentation right now. Do you know... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Midi I/O vs USB
    Of course, you need some kind of DAW software in your PC that receives MIDI (from LPK), creates the audio data and sends them to Volt. If you have zero experience with this, start with some kind of simple and self-contained DAW, like e.g. "LMMS" (free download). Later you can graduate to more complex (and expensive) DAWs and separate VST plugins. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Linux for Video Editing and Photo Editing and Music DJ: Some idea?
    For music making, it kind of depends on what you use normally but LMMS is a decent free DAW. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Qtractor and LMMS, you can also consider the following products

Ardour - Record, edit, and mix on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

Reaper - Reaper is a focused digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by Cockos. In the creation of the software, the digital audio technology company intended to make audio editing accessible to the masses.

Audacity - Audacity is a free and open-source audio production software suite that includes a surprising array of editing tools and recording systems.

FL Studio - Image-Line's FL Studio, now on it's 12th version, is a well-known music production suite and the most popular beat processor on the market, due no doubt to its longevity. Read more about FL Studio.

AudioMulch - AudioMulch is an interactive musician's environment for PC and Mac.

GarageBand - GarageBand is a fully equipped music creation studio for Mac