Is Studio One Free or Paid? Full Pricing Breakdown for 2025

Studio One isn’t free, but it does offer a version that lets you start making music without spending a cent. If you’re wondering whether Studio One is worth paying for, the answer depends on what you want to do with it. For hobbyists, the free version might be enough. For producers, engineers, or anyone serious about recording and mixing, the paid versions unlock tools that make a real difference.

Studio One Prime: The Free Version

Studio One Prime is the free version of PreSonus’s DAW. It’s not a stripped-down demo or a watermarked trial. It’s a full-featured, usable DAW that lets you record up to 16 audio tracks and 16 MIDI tracks. You get access to the same core interface as the paid versions-drag-and-drop editing, real-time pitch and time manipulation, and a solid mixer with built-in effects.

What’s included in Prime? You get the original Studio One instruments: Impact XT (drum sampler), Sample One XT (sample player), and the Polysynth. You also get the ARA2 integration for Melodyne, which lets you edit vocal pitch and timing directly inside Studio One without leaving the timeline. That’s a feature most free DAWs don’t offer.

But there are limits. Prime doesn’t include third-party plugins. You won’t find the Studio One FX Suite-no compressor, reverb, or EQ beyond the basic ones. No external plugin support. No automation lanes for volume, pan, or sends. And you can’t export projects in high-res formats like 24-bit WAV or AIFF. You’re stuck with 16-bit MP3 or WAV exports. That’s fine for sharing demos on social media, but not for professional mastering.

Studio One Artist: The Sweet Spot

Studio One Artist is the version most home studio owners buy. It costs $99.99 as a one-time payment. That’s cheaper than most competing DAWs that charge yearly subscriptions. Artist gives you everything Prime has, plus:

• Unlimited audio and MIDI tracks
• Full access to the Studio One FX Suite-compression, EQ, saturation, reverb, delay
• External plugin support (VST, AU, AAX)
• Automation for all parameters
• Export in 24-bit and 32-bit formats
• Project templates and loop libraries
• Support for 5.1 surround mixing

Artist also includes the Studio One 6 Sound Library with over 10,000 loops and one-shots. These aren’t generic royalty-free samples-they’re recorded in professional studios with real instruments. You’ll find acoustic guitars with room mics, analog synth basses, and live drum kits with overheads. It’s enough to build entire tracks without buying extra packs.

Many producers in India, the UK, and the US use Artist as their main DAW. It’s stable, fast on mid-range laptops, and doesn’t crash when you load 50+ tracks. The user interface is clean. Everything is drag-and-drop. If you’ve ever struggled with Logic’s complex menus or Ableton’s cluttered browser, you’ll appreciate how simple Studio One is.

Studio One Professional: For Studios and Pros

Studio One Professional costs $399.99 one-time. It’s the full package. You get everything in Artist, plus:

• Advanced mixing tools: Channel Strip 2, Frequency Splitter, Mid/Side EQ
• Real-time audio to MIDI conversion
• Score editing for notation
• Multi-track recording with time-stretching
• Integration with PreSonus hardware (AudioBox, Quantum, Studio 192)
• Support for 7.1 surround and immersive audio formats
• Advanced automation modes: write, latch, touch, trim
• Project Exchange for collaboration with Pro Tools users

Professional is the version studios use. If you’re recording bands, doing film scoring, or mixing for clients, you need the tools that come with it. The Frequency Splitter lets you compress only the low end of a bass track without touching the mids. The Score Editor lets you write orchestral parts and export them as MIDI to other notation software. The Project Exchange feature lets you send your Studio One session to a Pro Tools engineer without losing track names or automation.

One thing professionals love: Studio One’s Bounce to Track feature. You can render a whole mix with effects, automation, and plugins into a single audio file in seconds. No waiting. No rendering queue. Just click and go. That saves hours on tight deadlines.

What You Don’t Get in Any Version

Studio One doesn’t include sample packs from third-party companies like Splice or Loopmasters. You won’t get exclusive plugins from Waves or FabFilter. If you want those, you buy them separately. That’s true for every DAW. The difference is that Studio One gives you a lot more built-in than most.

Also, Studio One doesn’t have a cloud-based collaboration feature like Audiomovers or Soundtrap. You can share projects via USB or cloud storage, but there’s no real-time remote editing. If you work with remote musicians, you’ll need to send stems or use a separate tool for feedback.

Studio One vs Other DAWs: Price and Value

Here’s how Studio One stacks up against the competition in 2025:

Studio One is one of the few DAWs that gives you a true free version with real functionality. Reaper is cheaper, but its interface is outdated and lacks built-in instruments. Logic Pro is cheaper than Professional, but it’s only for Mac users. Ableton Suite is expensive and subscription-based if you want the full plugin pack.

Studio One’s one-time payment model is a big plus. No yearly fees. No surprises. You buy it once, and you own it forever. Even if PreSonus releases Studio One 7 next year, your Studio One 6 license still works. That’s not true with Adobe or Apple’s subscription apps.

Who Should Use Studio One Free?

If you’re just starting out and want to record your first song, Studio One Prime is perfect. You can record vocals, layer MIDI, and mix a basic track. Many bedroom producers in Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai use Prime to build demos before upgrading. It’s also great for podcasters who need a simple, reliable editor.

But if you’re planning to release music, sell tracks, or work with clients, Prime won’t cut it. You’ll hit walls: no 24-bit export, no plugin support, no automation. You’ll end up spending more time working around limitations than making music.

Who Should Upgrade to Artist or Professional?

Upgrade to Artist if you:

• Record more than 16 tracks
• Use third-party plugins
• Want to export high-quality files
• Need automation for dynamics and panning
• Plan to mix or master your own tracks

Upgrade to Professional if you:

• Work in a studio with multiple engineers
• Score for film or TV
• Need notation tools
• Work with surround sound
• Collaborate with Pro Tools users

There’s no reason to stay on Prime if you’re serious. The jump from Prime to Artist is $99. That’s less than the cost of one decent microphone. And you get back that investment in time saved and better-sounding results.

Final Thoughts

Studio One isn’t free in the sense that you get everything. But it’s free enough to start. And when you’re ready to grow, the paid versions are among the most affordable in the industry. No subscriptions. No hidden fees. Just a clean, fast, powerful DAW that doesn’t get in your way.

If you’re in India and working on a tight budget, start with Prime. When you’re ready to go pro, upgrade to Artist. You won’t regret it. The workflow is smoother than most paid DAWs, and the sound quality is professional-grade from day one.