GarageBand is Apple's free music-creation app for Mac, iPhone and iPad, covering recording, virtual instruments, loops and a virtual session drummer. It suits anyone who wants a full DAW at no cost on Apple hardware, and what decides whether it suits you further is mostly whether you need surround mixing or real-time collaboration, since it has neither.
What is GarageBand?
GarageBand is made by Apple Inc. It runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad as an installed application, with no account needed to use it.
Making music in GarageBand
GarageBand's Piano Roll Editor handles MIDI editing, and its built-in software instruments and Sound Library cover virtual instruments alongside a browsable library of Apple Loops across genres like EDM, Hip Hop and Indie. The Audio Editor includes pitch correction for audio regions, and the app hosts third-party Audio Unit plugins. Drummer, a virtual session drummer, plays along with your song and takes direction, with a choice of 28 drummers and three percussionists across six genres, acting as an AI session player rather than a fixed loop. A Score Editor displays music notation for a project.
GarageBand has no stem-separation feature and no built-in surround or Atmos mixing.
Working with other people
GarageBand has no real-time collaboration for co-editing a project; its iCloud integration is used for exporting and for remotely adding new tracks to a Logic Pro project from an iPhone or iPad. It can also share songs by AirDrop, Mail, the Music app and to SoundCloud. GarageBand runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Support runs through Apple's phone, chat and community channels.
GarageBand pricing: what it costs
GarageBand is free, with no paid tier or in-app purchase of any kind. There is nothing to trial and nothing to subscribe to.
Privacy and support
GarageBand is installed software on Mac, iPhone and iPad that needs no account to run, so questions about training on your work, SOC 2 and GDPR do not arise the way they do for a cloud service: there is no vendor server your songs pass through. Support runs through Apple's phone, chat and community channels.
Who GarageBand suits
GarageBand suits anyone who wants a free, full DAW on Apple hardware, with virtual instruments, a loop library, MIDI editing, pitch correction and Drummer's AI session drumming across 28 drummers and three percussionists. Its Score Editor also suits anyone who wants to see a project as music notation.
It suits less well anyone who needs surround or Atmos mixing, stem separation, or real-time collaboration with others on the same project, since GarageBand has none of those, or anyone outside the Mac, iPhone and iPad ecosystem, since it runs nowhere else.
How GarageBand compares
GarageBand scores 6.1 out of 10 among the music production apps (DAWs) we rate. These three do the same job and are the closest to it, compared on what each vendor publishes.
Logic Pro
GarageBand is free from Apple on both Mac and iOS, with nothing to buy; Logic Pro is bought once on Mac, or through a $12.99 monthly plan with the same features. Both include an AI session player, Drummer in GarageBand and its own player in Logic Pro, plus a score editor and loop library. Logic Pro adds AI stem splitting and surround mixing with a Surround Panner, neither of which GarageBand offers.
Pick Logic Pro if if you want AI stem splitting and surround mixing too.
Pick GarageBand if if you want the same core tools for free.
FL Studio
GarageBand is free from Apple with nothing to buy, while FL Studio sells one-time purchase editions and also offers a free plan, a never-expiring version that will not reopen saved projects until you buy one. FL Studio can split a song into stems with AI from Producer Edition up, a feature GarageBand lacks. GarageBand instead has Drummer, an AI player that writes parts, and a Score Editor, neither of which FL Studio has. Both ship a loop library.
Pick FL Studio if if you want AI stem splitting and are willing to pay.
Pick GarageBand if if you want Drummer and notation for free.
Ableton Live
GarageBand is free from Apple with no purchase needed at all; Ableton Live sells one-time purchase editions and has no free tier, only a paid Intro edition. Live's Suite edition can split a song into stems with AI and mix in surround, capabilities GarageBand does not have. GarageBand instead includes Drummer, an AI player that writes parts, and a Score Editor, both missing from Live. Both ship a built-in loop library.
Pick Ableton Live if if you want AI stem splitting and surround mixing in Suite.
Pick GarageBand if if you want Drummer and notation with no cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GarageBand really free?
Yes. GarageBand has no paid tier or in-app purchase anywhere, on Mac, iPhone or iPad. There is nothing to subscribe to and nothing to trial.
Can I use plugins I already own in GarageBand?
Yes, through Audio Unit plugin support, which lets GarageBand host third-party Audio Unit plugins.
Does GarageBand have an AI drummer?
Yes. Drummer is a virtual session drummer that plays along with your song and takes your direction, with a choice of 28 drummers and three percussionists across six genres.
Does GarageBand collect or train on my songs?
The question does not really arise: GarageBand is installed software with no account needed to run it, and there is no vendor server your songs pass through.
