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Music · head to head

Logic Pro vs Studio One

Logic Pro logo

Logic Pro

Music

Apple's digital audio workstation, sold outright on Mac and by subscription on iPad

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Studio One logo

Studio One

Music

Single-window workstation with album mastering built into the same project, now owned by Fender

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Logic Pro has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Logic Pro requires macOS 15.6 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon, so it will not run on an Intel Mac or on Windows at all; Studio One the bundled Melodyne is the Essential tier, which corrects monophonic pitch only; polyphonic editing and the tools most people actually want are a paid upgrade from Celemony on top of the workstation licence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Logic Pro and Studio One actually diverge.

Attributes where Logic Pro and Studio One differ
AttributeLogic ProStudio One
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, iPadOSWindows, macOS

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Music).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Logic Pro

Nothing recorded that Studio One does not also cover.

Only in Studio One

  • Project page
  • Single window drag and drop
  • ARA2 with Melodyne
  • Scratch Pad
  • Chord Track
  • Show page
  • Impact XT and Sample One
  • Faderport integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Logic Pro

  • Music productionnot Studio One
  • Audio recordingnot Studio One
  • Mixing and masteringnot Studio One
  • Scoringnot Studio One
  • Sound designnot Studio One

Studio One

  • Delivering an album or EP where mastering must stay linked to the mixes, so a late vocal fix does not mean rebuilding the masternot Logic Pro
  • Project studios already on PreSonus interfaces and Faderport surfaces, where the control mapping is done for younot Logic Pro
  • Songwriters who want pitch editing in the timeline without buying Melodyne separatelynot Logic Pro
  • Running the same session live from the Show page rather than rebuilding the set in a separate performance toolnot Logic Pro

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Logic Pro

  • Requires macOS 15.6 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon, so it will not run on an Intel Mac or on Windows at all
  • On iPad it is not available as a one-time purchase, only through Apple Creator Studio at $12.99/month or $129/year
  • The iPad version requires iPadOS 26 or later and an iPad with an A12 Bionic chip or later
  • The standalone Mac app is $199.99, paid before any evaluation beyond the 30 day Apple Creator Studio trial

Studio One

  • The bundled Melodyne is the Essential tier, which corrects monophonic pitch only; polyphonic editing and the tools most people actually want are a paid upgrade from Celemony on top of the workstation licence.
  • PreSonus now sells a subscription alongside the perpetual licence and the two are easy to confuse at checkout; the subscription stops working when payment stops, which is a very different asset for a studio planning in decades.
  • Fender acquired PreSonus in 2022, so the roadmap sits inside a guitar hardware company, and long-term investment in the workstation is now a bet on that parent rather than on the original software team.
  • There is no Linux build, and the MIDI editing tool set is shallower than Cubase, so composers doing rule based MIDI transformation or serious notation work will hit limits quickly.
  • The plugin scanner has a long history of struggling with large third-party plugin collections, producing slow startup and occasional missing plugins when sessions move between machines.

Pricing, plan by plan

Logic Pro

Free
  • Apple Creator Studio (Subscription)$12.99/month
    • Logic Pro for Mac and iPad
    • Final Cut Pro
    • Motion
  • Apple Creator Studio (Annual)$129/year
    • All monthly plan features
  • Logic Pro (Standalone Mac)$199.99/one-time
  • Student/Educator Subscription (Monthly)$2.99/month
    • All subscription features at reduced rate

Studio One

On request
  • Studio One Pro (perpetual licence)$undefined/one-time
    • Bought outright and keeps working indefinitely
    • Next major version is a separate paid upgrade
    • Melodyne Essential included
  • Studio One Pro+ (subscription)$undefined/month
    • Workstation plus sound content and cloud storage
    • Stops working when the subscription lapses
    • Billed monthly or annually

Which should you pick?

Choose Logic Pro if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, iPadOS.
Logic Pro review

Choose Studio One if

  • You need project page.
  • You work on Windows, macOS.
  • You also want single window drag and drop.
Studio One review

Questions people ask

Is Logic Pro or Studio One better?
Neither clearly leads. Logic Pro starts at Free and Studio One at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Logic Pro or Studio One?
Logic Pro has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Logic Pro and On request for Studio One.
Does Logic Pro or Studio One run on more platforms?
Logic Pro runs on macOS, iPadOS. Studio One runs on Windows, macOS.
Can I use Logic Pro for free?
Yes. Logic Pro has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Studio One starts at On request.
What is Logic Pro best used for?
Logic Pro is most often used for music production, audio recording, mixing and mastering, scoring. Of those, music production and audio recording are not what Studio One is typically brought in for.
What can Logic Pro do that Studio One cannot?
Studio One covers Project page, Single window drag and drop, ARA2 with Melodyne, Scratch Pad.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Logic Pro: How much does Logic Pro cost?

Logic Pro is available through Apple Creator Studio at $12.99/month or $129/year (annual subscription saves $25.88 versus monthly). Alternatively, Logic Pro for Mac can be purchased as a one-time $199.99 standalone license on the App Store. Students and educators receive discounted pricing at $2.99/month or $29.99/year.

Source
Studio One: Who owns PreSonus?

Fender acquired PreSonus in 2022. Development continues, but the roadmap now sits inside a guitar hardware company rather than an independent software vendor.

Logic Pro: Does Logic Pro offer a free trial?

Yes, Apple Creator Studio (which includes Logic Pro) offers a 30-day free trial, allowing users to test all bundled apps including Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor before committing to payment.

Source
Studio One: Is Studio One a subscription?

Both are sold. Studio One Pro is a perpetual licence you keep; Studio One Pro+ is a subscription bundling sound content and cloud storage that stops working when you stop paying.

Logic Pro: What is the difference between Logic Pro subscription and one-time purchase?

The Apple Creator Studio subscription at $12.99/month includes Logic Pro for Mac and iPad plus Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor, and other apps. The $199.99 one-time purchase for Logic Pro for Mac standalone provides only Logic Pro without bundled applications.

Source
Studio One: Why is no price listed here?

PreSonus publishes current pricing, but the tier structure has been restructured across recent versions, so this entry points at the vendor page rather than quoting a figure that may already be wrong.

Studio One: What does the Project page actually do?

It sequences and masters a whole album inside the same file as the songs and stays linked to them, so changing a mix updates the master without a manual export and reimport.

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