Comparison of free software for audio#Players

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| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

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| Dual channel FFT tool for equalization of sound systems using the transfer function.

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Paul Boersma and David Weenink of the University of Amsterdam

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

| A program for the analysis of speech in phonetics.

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Centre for Digital Music at Queen Mary, University of London

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

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| GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

|

|BSD-like

|Fabrice Bellard

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

| Audio & video.

| LGPL-2.1-or-later, GPL-2.0-or-later

| Robert Kausch

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| formerly BonkEnc

| GPL-2.0-or-later

|Libav team

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

|{{yes}}

| Audio & video.

| LGPL-2.1-or-later, GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Audio & video.

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Mixxx Development Team

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Mark Hills

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

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| GPL-2.0-only

|

| Linux distribution

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| various

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| Linux distribution

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| various

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| Linux distribution

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| various

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| set of packages (in RPM format)

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|

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| Linux distribution

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| various

| Birmingham Conservatoire

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

|

| GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

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| LGPL-2.1-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

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| GPL

| Han-Wen Nienhuys and Jan Nieuwenhuizen

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| a music engraving program

|GPL-3.0-or-later

| Werner Schweer

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}} Various BSDs{{Cite web|title=Download|url=https://musescore.org/en/download|access-date=2021-10-05|website=MuseScore.org|language=en}}

| {{yes}}

| a WYSIWYG scorewriter with midi playback and audio export

| v4: GPL-3.0-only
v0-3: GPL-2.0-only
with font exception, Proprietary (mobile app and online service)

| Bob Keller

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| lead sheet notation, jazz improvisation, auto-accompaniment

|GPL-2.0-or-later

| Andreas Egler

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Music typesetting, TeX-based notation, high-quality scores

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Qt

| C++

| MySQL

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{maybe|Unstable}}

| Inactive since 2018

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Swing

| Java

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| GTK / Qt

| C

|

| {{yes}}

|

|

| {{yes}}

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| BSD 2-Clause

| GTK+

| C#

| SQLite

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

| Inactive since 2014

| MIT

| Qt

| C++

| SQLite3

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

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| GPL-3.0-or-later

| GTK+

| C, C++, Objective-C, Assembly

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

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| GPLv2, zlib

| GTK

| Python

| Pickle

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

|

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| wxWidgets

| C++, C

| SQLite3

| {{yes}}

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|

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| Development ceased as of {{date|2023-09-29|mdy}}

| GPL-3.0-or-later

| Qt

| C++

|

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Linux (KDE)

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| WebKit in GTK/Cocoa

| Python

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

| Discontinued in 2013

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| GTK#

| C#

|

| {{yes}}

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|

|

| Can use GStreamer and xine

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| XULRunner

| C++

| SQLite?

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

| Fork of Songbird; inactive since 2014

| GPL v2, MPL, BSD

| GTK

| Python

| Pickle

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

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| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Qt

| C++

|

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| GTK

| C

|

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

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| Not GNU Data Access

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Qt

| C++

|

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

|

|

| GPL-3.0-or-later

| XULRunner

| C++

| SQLite?

| {{Unofficial}}

| {{yes}}

| {{Unofficial}}

| {{yes}}

| Abandoned, final release on {{date|2013-02-04|mdy}}

| GPL v2 with exceptions, Android client closed source

| Qt

| C++

| SQLite

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

| Abandoned, final release on {{date|2015-04-15|mdy}}

| GPL-3.0-or-later

| GTK+

| C++

|

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

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| Discontinued in 2007

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Csound community, Barry Vercoe

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}?

| {{yes}}

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| LGPL-2.1-or-later

| Ge Wang, Perry Cook

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}?

| {{yes}}

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| GPL-2.0-or-later (Mac, Linux, Windows versions)

Proprietary (iOS version)

| Computer Music Project at Carnegie Mellon University, Roger B. Dannenberg

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

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| Pd Community, Miller Puckette

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| BSD-3-Clause

|Sam Aaron

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{dunno}}

| {{yes}}

|

|MIIT

| SuperCollider community, James McCartney

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}?

| {{yes}}

|

| GPL-3.0-or-later

|Alex McLean et al

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

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|GPL-3.0-or-later

| Sourcefabric

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{dunno}}

| {{no}}

| Successor to Campcaster

| From 2.5.2: AGPL-3.0-only
1.6 to 2.5.1: GPL-3.0-only

| Sourcefabric

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{dunno}}

| {{no}}

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|GPL-2.0-or-later

| OpenBroadcaster

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

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|AGPL-3.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

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|GPL-3.0-or-later

| Paul Davis

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| GTK+

| multi-track audio recorder and editor

|GPL-2.0-or-later

| Dominic Mazzoni

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| wxWidgets

| multi-track audio recorder and editor

|GPL-2.0-or-later, CC BY 3.0 (documentation)

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}} limited support through Cygwin

| command line

|audio recorder

|GPL-2.0-or-later

|Jeff Welty

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|

| {{no}}

| GTK+

|audio editor

|GPL-2.0-or-later

| Jokosher community

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|

| {{yes}}

| GTK+

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|GPL-2.0-only with exception

| Tobias Doerffel

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}} as of 0.4.0 with Qt4

|

| {{yes}}

| Qt

| multi-track audio editor intended as a replacement for Cubase-like software (DAW)

|GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

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| {{no}}

| Qt

|MIDI sequencer

|GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|

| {{no}}

| Qt

|A non-destructive multi-track audio and MIDI Workstation (DAW)

|GPL-2.0-or-later

| Chris Cannam

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|

| {{no}}

| Qt

|MIDI sequencer and multi-track recorder

|GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| command-line

|multi-track audio editor/processor

|LGPL-2.1-or-later,

GPL-2.0-or-later

| Conrad Parker

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|

|

|GPL-2.0-or-later

| Remon Sijrier

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

|

| multi-track audio recorder and editor

|GPL

| Centre for Speech Technology at KTH

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Tk

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|BSD-like

| Stargate DAW

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

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| multi-track audio recorder and MIDI Workstation (DAW)

| GPL-3.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| SoundFont player/renderer

| LGPL-2.1-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Alan Calvert

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}} Various BSDs

| {{no}}

| Forked from ZynAddSubFX in 2009

| GPL-2.0-or-later

| Paul Nasca

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

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| GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| ?

| ?

| ?

| Some alternative to TiMidity

| Player: GPL-3.0-or-later
Library: LGPL-3.0-or-later

| Surge Synth Team

| ?

| {{yes}}

| ?

| {{yes}}

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|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

|streams music to DAAP clients like iTunes and Rhythmbox

|GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|a broadcast server, serves audio signals to clients over the HTTP protocol

|GPL-2.0-only

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| media and server programs for video and audio streaming

| VLC: GPL-2.0-or-later
libVLC: LGPL-2.1-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

|

|

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| the sound card driver and management system in the Linux kernel

|GPL-2.0-or-later
LGPL-2.1-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

|

|

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| an audio programming API and sound server for general desktop, no longer in development

|GPL

|

| {{yes}}

|

|

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| a plugin architecture for software synthesizers

|LGPL-2.1-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| a graph-based multimedia framework

|LGPL-2.1-or-later

| JACK Team, Paul Davis

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}} (JACK OS X)

|

| {{yes}} (jackdmp)

| a sound server for integration of general and low-latency pro audio applications, including timebase transport

|GPL-2.0-or-later
LGPL-2.1-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

|

|

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| a plugin architecture for digital signal processing

|LGPL-2.1-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

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| a sound card management and driver system for Unix operating systems

|BSD-2-Clause
CDDL-1.0
GPL-2.0-only
Proprietary (formerly)

|Wim Taymans

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}} (FreeBSD)

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| a media daemon, unifying JACK Audio Connection Kit, PulseAudio, and GStreamer

|MIT License

|Ross Bencina

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

| {{yes}}

|a cross-platform, open-source C language library for real-time audio & midi I/O

|MIT License

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}} (Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD)

| {{yes}}

| a sound server for general desktop and multihost LAN applications

|LGPL-2.1-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}} (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD)

| {{no}}

| sound and MIDI server

|ISC

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Also runs on various other platforms including Windows Mobile, PlayStation and AmigaOS 4.

|GPL-3.0-or-later
MilkyPlay: BSD-3-Clause

| Olivier Lapicque

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| Released as free software in 2004

|BSD-3-Clause (since OpenMPT 1.17.02.53) / GPL-2.0-or-later, partly public domain

|

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Fast Tracker clone

|GPL-2.0-or-later

| Alexander Zolotov

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Also runs on Windows CE.

|Proprietary (Music Creation Studio)
BSD-3-Clause (Engine)

| Mark Sheeky

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

|

|CC BY-SA 4.0

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Binaural beat and pink noise generator

|GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{partial}}

| {{partial}}

| an advanced drum machine

|GPL-2.0-or-later

|

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| library for reading and writing many sound formats

|LGPL-2.1-or-later

| Wellington Wallace

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Effects processing for applications using PipeWire sound server

|GPL-3.0-or-later