Ableton Live 13 DAW: Step Sequencer, ARA 2, Drum Synth, Capture Automation and 32-Macro Racks. Intro €99, Standard €279, Suite €599, out early 2027.
Plugin comparison
Ableton Live 13 vs Cubase 16
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which daw to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
8.8Great
Steinberg Cubase 16 is a desktop DAW for composing, recording, mixing and scoring, sold as a perpetual license in Pro, Artist and Elements editions.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Ableton Live 13 | Cubase 16 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €99 / €279 / €599 | $99.99 to $599.99 |
| Dubspot Score | — | 8.8 |
| Formats | VST2, VST3, AU, macOS, Windows | VST3, standalone, macOS, Windows |
| Editions | Intro, Standard, Suite | Pro, Artist and Elements, plus Cubase AI and LE bundled with hardware |
| Tracks | Intro: 16; Standard and Suite: unlimited | Unlimited in Pro and Artist; limited in Elements |
| Instruments | Intro: 8; Standard: 13; Suite: 20 | — |
| Audio effects | Intro: 20; Standard: 35; Suite: 58 | — |
| New in 13 | Step Sequencer, ARA 2, Drum Synth, Capture Automation, Contextual Browsing, Device Slots, Multiband and Mid-Side Racks | — |
| Suite extras | Max for Live, Melodyne essential, Looplet, Clipper, Transient Shaper, Classic Dynamics & EQ by Softube | — |
| Plug-in hosting | VST2, VST3, AU2, AU3 | — |
| Release | Early 2027; public beta now | — |
| License | — | Perpetual license, no subscription; free 30-day trial |
| List prices | — | Pro $599.99, Artist $299.99, Elements $99.99 |
| Instruments and effects | — | Pro 12 and 98, Artist 12 and 75, Elements 7 and 45 |
| New in 16 | — | Instrument Stacks, Strum and Stretch, piano and guitar stems, Spectral AudioWarp, Ableton Link, 16 sends per track |
| System | — | 64-bit Windows 11 (25H2 or later) or Windows 10 (22H2 or later); macOS 15 Sequoia, 26 Tahoe or 27 Golden Gate; native on Apple silicon |
| Processor | — | 4 or more cores: Intel Core i5 (8th gen), AMD Ryzen 3000 or Windows on Arm; on Mac, Apple silicon or an Intel Core i5 from late 2018 or later |
| RAM / storage | — | 16 GB RAM minimum; 1.5 GB for the core install, 89 GB free with all content |
| Plugin support | — | VST3 instruments and effects |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.