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Ardour vs Steinberg WaveLab: catalog facts
Ardour	Steinberg WaveLab
Freemium The source is free software and Linux distributions package ready-made builds at no cost…	Paid Commercial software sold by Steinberg.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS
A complete DAW with unlimited tracks, unlimited undo and a genuinely flexible mixer Floating-point processing and support for hardware control surfaces	Purpose-built mastering toolset rather than a general DAW Detailed metering for loudness and phase
Official prebuilt binaries are paid, though the price is up to you A steep learning curve if you have not used a DAW before	Paid software aimed at mastering engineers Overlaps with metering plugins some users already own
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-2.0	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.