Today there are 69 different songwriting software. We spent 83 hours comparing the top 50 to find the seven best you can use to write your music with.
What is the Best Songwriting Software?
- Magix Music Maker — best of the best
- Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 — best for recording and mixing
- Hookpad — best for chord progressions
- MasterWriter — best for professional songwriters
- BandLab — best for beginners
- Chordbot — best for Android
- Noteflight — best for teachers
Our Verdict — Best Of The Best
Price: Starts at $59.99
Magix Music Maker is a complete music production studio built around loops and a drag-and-drop workflow. We think it's the best songwriting software because it carries you from a hummed idea to a mixed, mastered track without asking you to learn a separate DAW first.
The Best Part:
- Loops that always fit. You can drag any loop into your song and Music Maker locks it to your key and tempo, so the parts sit together on the first try.
The Worst Part:
- No free version. Magix doesn’t offer a free plan or a trial for Music Maker, so you have to buy in before you can test the workflow yourself.
Get it if you want to write, arrange, mix, and master a finished song in one place, especially if you write in loops and beats rather than in notation.
I recommend you start with Music Maker Premium for $59.99.
(one-time purchase)
Best For
Magix Music Maker is best for songwriters who want to arrange, mix, and master a full song without stitching together several tools.
Top Features
- Write without playing an instrument. Build a full arrangement by dragging pre-recorded parts into place, even if you don’t play guitar, drums, or keys yourself.
- Build your own beats. Program drum patterns step by step in the built-in sequencer, instead of hunting for a loop that almost works.
- Master it in the same window. Balance the loudness and tone of your finished song with the bundled mastering suite, without paying for a separate plug-in.
- Shape your sound in a click. Drop any of the 44 custom effects — reverb, delay, distortion, filters — straight onto a track and hear the change right away.
- A library you won’t run out of. Reach for over 650 sound collections and 260,000 sounds across more than 40 genres as your songs get more ambitious.
Pricing
Magix Music Maker offers three pricing plans:
- Music Maker Premium: $59.99 one time, for songwriters who want the full studio with a starter sound library, a beat sequencer, and mastering built in.
- Music Maker Ultimate: $129.99 one time, for songwriters who want more playable instruments, a guitar amp, and 9,000 extra loops on top of Premium.
- Music Maker Unlimited: $149.99 one time, for songwriters who want the entire sound library, including every new collection as it is released.
All plans are one-time payments with no auto-renewal. Magix discounts Music Maker almost constantly, so you will usually find these plans marked down by 30% or more.
Try Magix Music Maker today.
Our Verdict — Best For Recording And Mixing
Price: Starts at $19.99/month
Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 is a complete audio editor with AI woven through the whole workflow, from the first take to the final mix. It’s our pick for recording and mixing, because its AI cleanup tools pull wind, reverb, echo, and room noise out of a scratch vocal in a few clicks.
The Best Part:
- Rescue takes you thought were ruined. AudioDirector’s AI restoration tools strip wind, reverb, echo, and background noise from a recording, so a rough demo doesn’t send you back to the studio.
The Worst Part:
- The free tier is a teaser. The free Essential version comes with real limitations, so you’ll want the paid subscription to unlock the full toolset.
Get it if you want to record your vocals and instruments, clean them up, and mix your song in one program, with AI handling the tedious restoration work for you.
I recommend you start with the free Essential version, then upgrade to the annual plan for $69.99/year, which works out to about $5.83/month.
(free plan)
Best For
Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 is best for songwriters who record their own vocals or instruments and want to clean, mix, and master everything in one place.
Top Features
- Record straight into the editor. Capture vocals and instrument takes inside AudioDirector, so you can cut and polish them without bouncing files between programs.
- Edit without the fiddly parts. Trim, cut, and layer your takes on a clean timeline that keeps the full editing suite one click away.
- Fix bad audio in seconds. Point the AI restoration tools at wind, reverb, echo, or background noise and get a usable take back without touching an EQ curve.
- Mix it all in the same window. Balance levels and blend your tracks with the built-in mixing tools, instead of exporting stems to yet another program.
- Strip the vocal off any track. Turn a reference song into a backing track with vocal removal, so you can write and rehearse over it before you record your own.
Pricing
Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 offers three pricing plans:
- AudioDirector Essential: Free, for songwriters who want to try the basic editing features before paying anything.
- AudioDirector 365 Monthly: $19.99/month, for songwriters who want the full editor with AI restoration, mixing, and vocal tools on a flexible plan.
- AudioDirector 365 Yearly: $69.99/year, or about $5.83/month, for songwriters who plan to keep the full toolset around all year.
The annual plan provides a 71% discount. CyberLink discounts AudioDirector almost constantly, so you will usually find these plans marked down by 25% or more.
Try Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 today with the free version.
3. Hookpad
Our Verdict — Best For Chord Progressions
Price: Starts at $7.99/month
Hookpad is a piece of software that simplifies the songwriting process. We think it’s the best for chord progressions because of its visual chord palette, which lets you test several ideas for your song harmony before you commit to one.
The Best Part:
- Intuitive chord palette. Hookpad's visual chord palette enables you to experiment with creative ideas, and create unexpected, rich harmonies.
The Worst Part:
- Limited sound library. HookPad's sound library is not as extensive as some of its competitors.
Get it if you want a user-friendly tool to help you compose captivating songs and chord progressions, even without prior music theory knowledge.
I recommend you start with the free plan, then get the Standard plan for $7.99/month.
(free plan)
Best For
Hookpad is best for songwriters who want a user-friendly tool to get inspired and write unique songs.
Top Features
- Intelligent suggestions. Leverage Hookpad's AI-powered visual cues for chords, melodies, and harmonies to inspire your compositions.
- Customizable instruments. Choose from a selection of virtual instruments, including piano, guitar, and strings, to infuse your song with personality and flair.
- Band templates. Kickstart your songwriting process with pre-built bands, instruments, and rhythms in many styles and genres.
- Tempo and time signature control. Customize your song's tempo and time signature to create your groove just like you envisioned it.
- MIDI export. Export your songs as MIDI files to continue refining your masterpiece in your go-to digital audio workstation (DAW).
Pricing
Hookpad offers three pricing plans:
- Hookpad Free: Free forever, for songwriters who want to explore Hookpad’s basic songwriting features, with no credit card needed.
- Hookpad Standard: $7.99/month for songwriters who want the magic palette, 500+ instruments, MIDI and MP3 export, recording, and sheet music.
- Hookpad Lifetime: $199 one-time payment, for songwriters who want every Standard feature without a recurring bill.
Hookpad also sells Aria, its generative AI songwriting add-on, for $14.99/month on top of a paid plan.
Try Hookpad today with the free plan.
4. MasterWriter
Our Verdict — Best For Professional Songwriters
Price: Starts at $9.95/month
MasterWriter is a beast of a songwriting toolkit. We think it's the best for pro songwriters because of its rhyme 'thesaurus' tool, which helps you polish up your lyrics, phrasing, and rhymes.
The Best Part:
- Powerful rhyme and thesaurus tools. MasterWriter enables you to easily find the perfect words for your lyrics using powerful rhyme, phrase, and synonym lookup tools.
The Worst Part:
- English only. MasterWriter’s dictionary and vocabulary lookup features are limited to the English language.
Get it if you want a powerful and straightforward songwriting software to help you write the best lyrics for your songs in the shortest time possible.
I recommend you start with the Monthly plan for $9.95/month, then move to the 1 Year plan for $99.95 once you know it fits. Every purchase is covered by a 90-day money-back guarantee.
(90-day money-back guarantee)
Best For
MasterWriter is best for professional songwriters and lyricists who want a tool that quickly finds the perfect words for their songs.
Top Features
- Advanced speech types. Venture into word families and different parts of speech to create captivating and diverse lyrics for your songs.
- Song organization. Keep your songwriting projects neat and tidy with MasterWriter's easy-to-use project management features
- It keeps your work handy. Store your projects safely and automatically sync them across multiple devices.
- Copyright guardian. Safeguard your intellectual property by timestamping your songs within MasterWriter, to avoid potential copyright battles.
- 24/7 access. Be able to work whenever inspiration hits, no matter where you are, with MasterWriter's iOS and Android mobile apps.
Pricing
MasterWriter offers three pricing plans:
- MasterWriter Monthly: $9.95/month for professional songwriters who want a flexible, cancel-anytime payment option.
- MasterWriter 1 Year: $99.95/year, or $8.33/month, for seasoned lyricists and songwriters who want a cost-effective annual subscription.
- MasterWriter 2 Year: $149.95/two years, or $6.25/month, for committed songwriters who want to save even more with a longer subscription period.
The annual plan provides a 16% discount.
Try MasterWriter today, risk-free for 90 days.
5. BandLab
Our Verdict — Best For Beginners
Price: Starts at $99/year
BandLab is a beginner-friendly tool for songwriters. We think it’s the best for beginners because of its free plan, along with its user-friendly interface.
The Best Part:
- User-friendly interface. BandLab's beginner-friendly design features a drag-and-drop workspace, color-coded tracks, and easily accessible menus.
The Worst Part:
- Limited pro features. BandLab may not have all the professional tools and features that seasoned songwriters require for complex projects, such as advanced audio editing capabilities, comprehensive plugin support, and extensive automation options.
Get it if you want a beginner-friendly songwriting platform that provides a creative environment to experiment, learn, and collaborate with fellow songwriters.
I recommend you get started with BandLab’s free plan.
(free plan)
Best For
BandLab is best for beginner songwriters who want a user-friendly platform to develop their songwriting skills.
Top Features
- Virtual instruments. Experiment with BandLab’s assortment of over 200 virtual instruments, such as keyboards, drums, and guitars.
- Collaboration tools. Team up with friends or fellow songwriters to collaborate on your BandLab projects and albums.
- Free cloud storage. Store your projects in the cloud for free and work on them on Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS devices.
- Automated mastering. Make your tracks sound professional with BandLab's unlimited free algorithmic mastering.
- Unlimited free plan. Enjoy unrestricted access to BandLab’s suite of songwriting tools, music storage space, and collaboration features, completely free of charge.
Pricing
BandLab offers three pricing plans:
- BandLab Free: Free forever, for beginner songwriters who want access to a user-friendly platform to learn, create, and share music.
- BandLab Pro: $99 for your first year, then $149/year, for songwriters who want a 32-track studio, no ads, more beats and samples, and the mastering controls.
- BandLab Max: $199 for your first year, then $299/year, for songwriters who want unlimited beats, the advanced studio controls, and priority support.
The first-year price is a permanent introductory offer, not a limited promotion.
Try BandLab today with the free plan.
Our Top Three Picks
Here’s a quick summary of our top three picks:
- Magix Music Maker — best of the best
- Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 — best for recording and mixing
- Hookpad — best for chord progressions
Here’s a quick comparison of our top seven picks:
Tool | Entry Offer | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
Magix Music Maker | None | $59.99 |
Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 | Free plan | Starts at $19.99/mo |
Hookpad | Free plan | Starts at $7.99/mo |
MasterWriter | 90-day money-back | Starts at $9.95/mo |
BandLab | Free plan | Starts at $99/yr |
Chordbot | Free plan | $4.99 |
Noteflight | Free plan | Starts at $7.95/mo |
Here are the top 50 songwriting software we considered in this review:
- Magix Music Maker
- Cyberlink AudioDirector 365
- Hookpad
- MasterWriter
- BandLab
- Chordbot
- Noteflight
- Hum On
- Finale by Makemusic
- GarageBand
- IO-808
- RhymeZone
- Ableton Live
- Guitar Pro
- MuseScore
- Reverse Chord Finder
- Songwriter's Pad
- TuneSmith
- Cubasis
- Tracktion Waveform
- Audio Tool
- Scale in Ableton
- Scaler
- Rhythmiq
- Songwriting Apps
- Suggester
- Simple Songwriter
- Rhyme Genie
- Writer's Session
- SoundGym
- Rhyme Brain
- Circle of Fifths
- Song Topic Generator
- Theorytab
- Magic Chord
- Pitch Journal
- Songcraft
- Autochords
- LANDR Collaboration
- Chord Miner
- Chord Progressions
- Ludwig
- Song Sharpener
- Verse Perfect
- Chordwizard Songtrix
- OpenSong
- Four Chord Songs
- Easy Song Writer
- Jammer Songmaker
- Crescendo Music Notation Software
What to look for when buying songwriting software?
- Helpful tools like chord suggestions, virtual instruments, and other tools to simplify the creative process
- Simplified music theory lessons, applied to the songwriting process
- The ability to quickly generate and test song ideas with different grooves, chord voicings, and melody lines
- Drum machines, bass synthesizer, and other quality instruments
- Chord charts and a library of sounds, to help with harmonic paths
Frequently Asked Questions About Songwriting Software
What is the best songwriting software overall?
Magix Music Maker is our top pick. It takes you from a loop to a finished, mastered song without a second program, and it locks every loop to your key and tempo. One caveat: there is no free version.
How do I choose songwriting software?
Match the tool to how you write. Reach for Magix Music Maker for all-around use, Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 if you record your own vocals, Hookpad for chord progressions, MasterWriter if you write lyrics for a living, BandLab if you are a beginner, Chordbot on Android, and Noteflight if you teach.
Is there free songwriting software?
Yes. Hookpad, BandLab, Chordbot, and Noteflight all give you a free plan, and Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 has a free Essential version. Others hand you a trial instead, like MasterWriter's free trial. Magix Music Maker is the exception, with no free tier.
What is the best songwriting software for beginners?
BandLab is the one to reach for when you are starting out. It gives you a beginner-friendly, creative environment and a clean interface. One caveat: the pro features are limited.
What is the best songwriting software for professional songwriters?
MasterWriter is our pick for pros who want powerful, straightforward tools. Its rhyme and thesaurus tools are the standout. One caveat: it is English only.
What is the best songwriting app for iOS?
Chordbot is the one to reach for on your phone, and it gives you a free plan to start on. If you want to record song ideas on the go and clean them up later, Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 handles the cleanup once you are back at your desk.
Which songwriting software is best for Mac?
Hookpad and BandLab both run in your browser, so they work on a Mac with nothing to install. Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 is the one to reach for on Mac when you need to record and mix your own takes.
What features should I look for in songwriting software?
Look for chord suggestions and virtual instruments plus simplified music theory applied right in your writing. Then value the ability to generate and test ideas quickly, along with drum machines, bass synthesizers, chord charts, and a solid sound library.
The Bottom Line
To recap, here are the best songwriting software to try this year:
- Magix Music Maker — best of the best
- Cyberlink AudioDirector 365 — best for recording and mixing
- Hookpad — best for chord progressions
- MasterWriter — best for professional songwriters
- BandLab — best for beginners
- Chordbot — best for Android
- Noteflight — best for teachers