Audacity: An open-source DAW that gives you the basics (not as functional as the other DAWs, but still a good option considering it’s free).GarageBand: Preloaded or available for free on any newer Apple device (Apple products only).Reaper: Free download of the full version, and buying a license is based on the honor system ($60 for most people).In my experience, here are the best free DAWs: And you can record vocals using the phone’s mic (more on that below).īut for those of you with a laptop, you’ll first need a digital audio workstation (DAW).

You can record your instruments direct-in (you can borrow a friend’s guitar cable and cable-to-phone adapter). iPhones in particular come preloaded with GarageBand. If you don’t, you literally can use your smart phone in most cases. If an 18-year-old can use an iPhone to produce a song for Kendrick Lamar’s hit album, you can find a way to record a song for nothing.įirst, I’ll assume you have a laptop, as most people do. And you don’t have to spend a single penny. You can make a song that can hang with Charlie Puth’s or Avicii’s on a Spotify playlist. This article originally appeared on Soundfly.

Master my song for free