There are some cheaper alternatives, as we will come to later on in the article.

The price for the full version is similar to the price of Pro Tools, a competing piece of software, which is also extremely powerful, and aimed at musical professionals. You can still carry on using the old versions of Ableton though but you will always feel like you are missing out on something! These new versions come out every few years on average. This upgrade cosy is a bit of a hidden cost to consider, you do have to pay to upgrade if you want all the features of the new software. Luckily, once you have purchased one version of the software, Ableton will let you upgrade, so you don’t have to pay the full price to get the next level of software.

It is definitely designed to try and get you to upgrade to Standard or Suite. For instance, you can’t add more than 16 tracks to a piece of music you are making. While Ableton Live Lite might be decent for playing around and getting used to the interface, the cheaper price tag shouldn’t be enough to tempt in serious musicians. Plus, Ableton Live Intro restricts quite a few of the features and functions of the software. They all look very similar to start with, but if you buy Standard or Suite then you can enjoy extra VST instruments, effects and loops included.

Artists that use ableton