Notes 
Ardour is a free, open source digital audio workstation for Windows, macOS and Linux, used for recording, mixing and mastering audio. It is a full production environment with unlimited tracks, plugin support and precise automation, aimed well beyond simple clip trimming.
Reviewed by Marcus Holmberg
Ardour
ardour.org 1 rating so far*
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Threat level
Hardened
A hardened pick. Worth the effort once you have chosen to shrink your footprint on purpose. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
Ardour is overkill for trimming a podcast and exactly right for producing a record. It is a true DAW with the depth to rival commercial tools, and the project has been developed continuously since the early 2000s. That depth is also the warning: it is the steepest learning curve in this category, and it assumes you already understand audio routing and signal flow. Choose Ardour if you make music or do serious multitrack work. For quick edits and cleanups, Tenacity is the saner starting point.
GitHub at a glance
Ardour/ardour audioc-plus-plusdawjacklv2midivst
Stars
5,406
+16 this week
Forks
1,016
162 watching
Last commit
today
healthy
Star history
Commits, last 26 weeks
791 commits, active 25 of 26 weeks
230 contributors since Mar 2013
Languages
- C++ 54.6%
- C 41.6%
- JavaScript 1.3%
- Other 2.5%
Updated daily from the GitHub API. Star tracking since Jun 22, 2026.
Website at a glance
ardour.org
D score 30
Weak website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 2d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
Ardour alternatives
Kdenlive Mature, full-featured open source video editor from the KDE project, with multi-track timelines and a deep effects library, all offline.
Shotcut Cross-platform open source video editor with native multi-format timelines, so mixed clips need no conversion.
OpenShot Beginner-friendly open source video editor with a simple drag-and-drop timeline. Cross-platform and free.
OpenCut Open source video editor that runs in your browser and processes footage locally instead of on a server. A privacy-first CapCut alternative.
Tenacity Privacy-respecting open source audio editor forked from Audacity, with the telemetry stripped out.
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