Cakewalk Sonar vs FL Studio
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which daw to buy.
Which should you buy?
On the Dubspot Score, FL Studio comes out ahead (8.7). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Specs compared
| Cakewalk Sonar | FL Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free / membership | $99 |
| Dubspot Score | 7.8 | 8.7 |
| Formats | standalone, Windows, VST3 host | Hosts VST2 plugins, Hosts VST3 plugins, Hosts Audio Unit (AU) plugins (macOS), Hosts CLAP plugins, Native FL Studio plugin format, Exports WAV, Exports MP3, Exports FLAC, Exports OGG, Exports MIDI |
| Product type | daw from BandLab | — |
| Developer | BandLab | — |
| Typical price | Free / membership | — |
| Formats | Standalone DAW (Windows); hosts VST3 | — |
| Primary job | focused daw work in modern sessions | — |
| Catalog status | Current as of 2026 | — |
| Operating systems | — | Windows and macOS |
| Editions | — | Fruity, Producer, Signature, All Plugins |
| Included plugins (Producer Edition) | — | 100+ instruments and effects (27 instruments, 59 effects) |
| Included plugins (All Plugins Edition) | — | 116 plugins (39 instruments, 70 effects) |
| Updates | — | Lifetime Free Updates (all future versions free, forever) |
| FL Cloud | — | Built-in library of over 1 million royalty-free samples |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.