REAPER
Drop-in replacementPaidThe same program from Cockos, built for Linux. Your project files carry over.
Your files: Opens your existing REAPER projects. Plugins built for Windows will not load, so those tracks open silent.
Does REAPER run on Linux?
Verdict: Yes
Yes. Cockos builds REAPER for Linux alongside Windows and Mac, and your project files open on either. It is the strongest option on Linux for anyone who records or mixes audio.
The REAPER download page lists Linux builds next to the Windows and Mac ones, in several processor versions. This is a real release from Cockos, not a workaround, and it arrives at the same time as the others.
Your project files open, which makes this one of the very few music programs you can change computers with and keep working on the same song. Copy the project folder across and carry on.
The one thing that will not follow you is your plugin collection. Windows instruments and effects are Windows files, and most will not load on Linux. REAPER on Linux uses LV2, CLAP, VST and VST3 plugins built for Linux, and there are good free ones, but a project that leans on a specific Windows instrument will open with that instrument missing. Check which plugins you actually depend on before you move.
If you have not bought REAPER yet, there is a free 60-day trial with nothing to register, then a one-off payment, with a lower price for personal use and small businesses.
REAPER on Linux, and alternatives
Ardour
Close matchFreeFree alternative if you would rather not pay. Covers the same recording and mixing ground and is harder to learn.
Your files: Cannot open REAPER projects. Import audio files or exported stems.
Bitwig Studio
Different way of workingPaidPaid, official Linux version, and much better stocked with instruments if you write music rather than record it.
Your files: Cannot open REAPER projects. Import audio stems.
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