Pro Tools First
Pro Tools First is Avid's free entry-level digital audio workstation for music production, recording, mixing and editing. It is a stripped-down version of the professional Pro Tools suite, offering essential multitrack recording, MIDI editing, audio editing tools, virtual instruments and plugins, alongside cloud collaboration features via Avid's ecosystem. It is widely used by musicians, podcasters, students and hobbyists learning audio production who cannot yet justify the cost of a full Pro Tools subscription. Pro Tools First includes basic mastering and mixing features but lacks some of the advanced functionality found in the full Pro Tools application.
AI Recommendation
1 suggestionWe could not find recent public information about Pro Tools First's native Apple Silicon support status. Avid's main Pro Tools application has had native Apple Silicon builds available for several versions, but Pro Tools First — being a free tier product — may be on a separate update cycle and deserve confirmation. Contact Avid directly (via their support portal or the Pro Tools community forums) to ask whether a native Apple Silicon build exists or is planned for Pro Tools First before macOS 28 ships in September 2028, since an Intel-only build will stop launching on that release. If Avid has not committed to a native version and you rely on Pro Tools First for serious work, consider evaluating actively maintained alternatives like Reaper, Studio One, Logic Pro, or Ableton Live — all run natively on Apple Silicon and are actively developed. For free alternatives, GarageBand (included with macOS) and Cakewalk by BandLab (free cross-platform DAW) both support Apple Silicon.
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