Say you buy 5.9 today that means you get free updates through 6.99, which should keep you current for several years. There's a 60-day unlimited trial version, and, if you buy it, you get free updates through the next full point version. Reaper is free of copy protection, and you can download the 400-page manual in PDF format from the company website. You can even run it off a portable or network drive, Cockos says. The program is a paltry 11MB download for Windows and 17MB on the Mac, and just 66MB when fully installed. Reaper is available in both PC and Mac versions, and a Linux version is currently in beta. If you plan to use it for commercial music purposes and you are grossing more than $20,000 per year from your audio work, it's $225.

Versions and InstallationĪ personal, school, or small business license for Reaper costs $60. Reaper covers nearly all of the bases of a Pro Tools or Cubase-equipped workstation at a fraction of the price. But put in the time, load it up with some free (or paid) third-party plug-ins, and it pays real dividends in power and flexibility. Reaper is a complex program that requires study-making it perhaps the complete opposite of something like Apple's GarageBand. Unlike many competing DAWs, Reaper lets you build your own menus, toolbars, and macros, as well as changing the entire look and color scheme of the interface. Reaper delivers live audio and virtual instrument recording, a full mixing console, and real notation editing, and it supports scoring for video. Reaper, the digital audio workstation (DAW) from a tiny California company with big dreams, has come a long way since its 2006 launch.

Reaper audio workstation