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Carla vs Helvum: catalog facts
Carla	Helvum
Free Free to download; the project accepts donations.	Free Free and open source under the GPL 3.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux
Supports many plugin formats plus SF2 and SFZ files Rack and patchbay modes as well as JACK multi-client	Visual graph of PipeWire nodes and links Connect streams by dragging
Built around JACK, which has a learning curve Rack mode does not support plugins with non-stereo channels	Only works with PipeWire Linux only
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0-only
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

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