nowfound

Work · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to macOS native DAW with Git branching model

I am working on building (and have made my first prerelease) for a Digital Audio Workstation with git like branching version control. It's free for local use and paid for cloud syncing or collaboration.

ScratchTrack is a macOS digital audio workstation featuring a Git-like branching model for version control, allowing users to manage multiple versions of their projects. The software is free for local use, with paid… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier.

  1. 1

    A collaborative DAW with built-in version control. Record, branch, merge, and collaborate on music without losing creative control.

    Feb 2026 · scratchtrackstudio.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    I’ve recently released my solo project Audiocube I wanted to make a 3D DAW, where spatial audio, physics, and virtual acoustics are all directly integrated into the engine. This makes it easy to create music in 3D, and experiment with new techniques which aren’t possible in traditional DAWs and plugins. I’d love to get any feedback on this software (Mac/Windows) to make it better. You can download it for free through the website. Thanks, Noah

    2025 · audiocube.app · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    The native macOS sample manager built for every instrument

    Apr 2026 · samplestack.app · its alternatives →

  4. 4IM

    2022 · signalsandsorcery.org · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    The Unofficial SoundCloud App for macOS

    2017 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Some time ago I moved from Spotify to Apple Music for a few reasons. As someone who builds iOS and macOS apps, I quickly noticed how rough the Apple Music experience felt on Mac. It just wasn’t fun to use. So I decided to challenge myself and see if it was possible to build a full, complex, and performant Apple Music client using SwiftUI. At first, it went surprisingly well. SwiftUI made it easy to build out the main structure and experiment quickly. The UI came together nicely, and it was exciting to see how modern and flexible the framework could be. But the deeper I went, the more cracks…

    2025 · daftmusic.app · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    Hey HN i’m a platform engineer and my day job I mainly focus on kubernetes clusters and terraform with the occasional C#, Typescript when building services, so this could well be completely out of my depth. Jolt started as an experiment to see whether I could build my own network at all. I’ll also be honest that most of this code was agentically written. However the high level decisions and architecture were mine based on research, experimentation, trial and error. Canary testing was one of the consequences of that when you build this way you need something slapping your AI-driven confidence…

    Aug 2026 · alexanderwanyoike.github.io · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    Multitrack synth, sampler, drum machine, and looper for iOS.

    Aug 2026 · arc24.app · its alternatives →

  9. 9
    Coddo▲126

    Voice transcription lives in the Mac notch

    Mar 2026 · coddo.ai · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    Minimalist, text editor-based task management for macOS

    2024 · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    Spotify wrapped for Github Repos with AI

    2024 · wrapped.dev · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Online step sequencer & music scratchpad

    2022 · muted.io · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    Record, edit & organize song ideas between bandmates

    2018 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14

    Use your trackpad as a MIDI controller.

    2019 · audioswiftapp.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Keyboard-controlled music sequencer, sampler, and synth - kofigumbs/typebeat

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    Hi HN, I'm a longtime web dev, but this is my first macOS app. Feedback is very welcome <3 I built TongueType because every dictation app I tried failed at least one of three things: it sent my audio to someone's cloud, it charged me monthly fee, or it felt clunky or enterprisy. The cloud thing kills it for anything sensitive. The subscription thing is insulting for what amounts to "Whisper + a hotkey." TongueType runs Whisper locally on Apple Silicon via CoreML. It's built to feel like a second keyboard: tap the hotkey, talk, let go, words appear. It sits in the menu bar (no dock icon, no…

    May 2026 · tonguetype.app · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    so i got sick of scrolling through sample libraries, buying plugins, and trying desperately to make original music and sound design with suno. built a DAW that's free to try for any music producers or content creators! you can generate individual stems, one shots and sfx standalone or in studio mode. you can also share and remix tracks instantly, something incredibly painful in the existing audio space. shoot me an email at [email protected] if you wanna come work on this with me :)

    2025 · sonurastudio.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    GitHub for music, collaborate on music DAW projects remotely

    2023 · aux.app · its alternatives →

  19. 19
    Jamboree▲102

    Multiplayer synthesizer

    Jul 2026 · jamboree.space · its alternatives →

  20. 20IM

    I'm developing Hyperstep[0], a spatial language for music production. I find using existing DAWs frustrating because they don't allow me to navigate and operate intuitively on the latent spaces behind my musical ideas. This is why I've decided to build my own set of "seeing tools".(Bret Victor)[1]. I'm also convinced that by framing music as processes and interactions in the 3D world, spatialization and mixing should become fairly pain-free. I'm still early in development and I would love to build this into an actual product that can be integrated into existing DAWs or even turn it into a…

    2022 · a-sumo.github.io · its alternatives →

  21. 21
    Scapefree tier, from $9.99/mo▲59

    Hey HN, we've been using Claude Code daily for months, and built Scape to fix our biggest pain point: managing multiple worktrees quickly & reducing the mental load of switching between them quickly. What we built: Scape is a macOS menu bar app that sits on top of Claude Code and gives you: - One-click worktrees: click a button, get a new git worktree with a Claude session already working on it. Develop in parallel without leaving your current branch. - Toolkit: per-session actions like "Create PR", "Commit & Push", "Run & Fix Tests." Add your own with bash scripts or prompts. -…

    23d ago · scape.work · its alternatives →

  22. 22CF

    Your co-pilot sample manager

    2024 · kickspro.app · its alternatives →

  23. 23
    FnKey▲104

    macOS dictation with Deepgram stream

    Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    I recently got Ableton Move and was disappointed by how difficult it was to convert samples into Move-compatible drum racks, so I made a simple CLI tool for that. I hope others find it useful, and at some point, Ableton sees the need and provides us with a built-in solution.

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

Also compare

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →