Alternatives to Steinberg WaveLab

Mastering suite with phase scope, multimeter and loudness analysis tools. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Steinberg WaveLab.

  • REAPER

    Full digital audio workstation for multitrack recording, editing, mixing and MIDI.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    REAPER is a paid general DAW that also runs on Linux and is customisable through scripts, but it is not a dedicated mastering suite like WaveLab.

  • Ardour

    A full digital audio workstation for recording, editing and mixing, with no subscription and no dongle.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Ardour is an open-source GPL-2.0 DAW for Windows, macOS and Linux with a flexible mixer, though it lacks WaveLab's purpose-built mastering and metering toolset.

  • Audacity

    A multi-track audio editor and recorder that has been the free default for twenty-five years.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Audacity is a free, open-source editor across Windows, macOS and Linux, suited to simpler editing and processing without WaveLab's phase scope and loudness analysis tools.

  • Adobe Audition

    A professional audio workstation for recording, editing, mixing and restoring audio for video and podcasts.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOS

    Adobe Audition offers waveform, multitrack and spectral editing with restoration tools, but is subscription only and not a dedicated mastering suite like WaveLab.

  • ocenaudio

    A free, cross-platform audio editor built for fast, straightforward editing of audio files.

    FreeProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    ocenaudio is a free, closed-source cross-platform editor for quick edits, much simpler than WaveLab and without its mastering and phase metering tools.

  • Tenacity

    A fork of Audacity created after the 2021 telemetry row, built to record and edit audio with nothing phoning home.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Tenacity is a GPL-2.0 Audacity fork with no telemetry, running on Windows, macOS and Linux, but it has no specialist mastering or loudness analysis tools.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Steinberg WaveLab as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • iZotope Insight 2

    Professional metering suite for loudness, true peak and spectral analysis.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOS

    Steinberg WaveLab is a paid mastering suite with phase scope, multimeter and loudness analysis built in, replacing a metering plugin with a full standalone mastering application.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.