Ardour

About

Ardour is a professional-grade, open-source hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation (DAW) application, originating from the United States. It enables users to record, edit, and mix audio across Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, and BSD platforms. Its extensive product portfolio includes multitrack editing, audio recording, music mixing, non-destructive editing, support for VST and MIDI plugins, music sequencing, virtual instruments, live performance capabilities, and a music looper, all within a privacy-focused environment that offers dark mode and portability without requiring registration or tracking, and is jack-compatible. Operating under a GPLv2 open-source license, Ardour can be compiled from source for free, with official builds available for a small donation or through a 'pay what you think it's worth' model, reflecting its unique financial approach. While specific revenue figures, leadership, founding history, and employee count are not provided, Ardour is recognized as a robust and highly-rated alternative to commercial DAWs such as Bitwig, Pro Tools, and Logic Pro, serving a broad audience of musicians, sound designers, audio engineers, podcasters, and film professionals.