Windows Vs Mac For Music Production

Most people starting with music production confuse over whether to choose a Mac or a Windows pc for music production.

In this article, I am sharing with you a head-to-head comparison of Windows vs Mac(Apple) for Music Production.

Should You Buy a Mac Or A Windows PC For Music Production?

If you have a good budget and are looking for an easy to work with, secure and reliable machine for both studio and live performances, buy a Mac. Mac is reliable and usable both in studios and live performances. If you are not concerned with live performances and are on a budget and need a machine for your music studio, build yourself a Windows machine. Windows offer powerful and upgradable machines for music production, on a budget.

For laptops and tablets, Mac machines are a winner for music production. For custom-builds, nothing will beat a Windows PC build.

Both Mac and Pc have their advantages and disadvantages. Mac and Windows PC offer a completely different workflow and experience. Your music production computer should serve the purpose it is meant to. So whether to buy Windows or a Mac completely depends on your requirements as a music producer.

Windows vs Mac Comparison For Music Production

Windows Vs Mac — Comparison Category	Category Winner
Processing Power	Draw
Storage Space	Windows
DAW and Plugins Compatibility	Mac
Live Performance	Mac
Upgradability	Windows
Ease Of Use	Mac
Reliability	Mac
Budget-Friendly	Windows
Life Span	Mac
Aesthetic	Mac
Hardware Connectivity	Windows
User Continuity	Mac
Flexibility	Windows
Security and Support	Mac

 

Processing Power

Both Mac and Windows PC do exceptionally well when it comes to processing power. In Mac, you get Intel Core i processors and Max M1 Processors. Both are powerful processors for music Production use.

In Windows, you can opt for Inter Core I processors or AMD Ryzen processors. Both Intel and AMD Processors will do a great job.

Storage Space

Windows PC offers more storage space and storage upgrade options at an affordable price. Most Macs on the other hand offer integrated storage that cannot be upgraded.

Whether you are buying a laptop or building a PC. Windows is a clear winner in terms of storage space.

DAW and Plugins Compatibility

Even though both Windows and Mac are compatible with most DAWs like Ableton, FL Studio, Pro Tools, Cubase, Luna, Studio One etc. Mac offers Logic Pro DAW which is a favourite of many music producers. Also, the stock plugins offered in logic prod are great and useful. This gives Mac an upper edge.

Windows on the other hand offer a lot of free third-party plugins that are not available with Mac.

Just because Logic Pro — Mac wins in this category. If you are a fan of Logic Pro, you have no choice. Buy a Mac.

Live Performance

If you perform live, do not ever take a windows' laptop with you to a gig. You never know when things might go wrong, and you might end up with a blue screen or a restart required. You can for sure perform with windows laptops, but you never know. Mac is the only machine reliable enough for live gigs.

Mac is the clear winner.

Upgradability

Windows offer you the flexibility to upgrade your components with time. This makes windows affordable as well. You can add remove storage, peripherals according to your needs. Mac on the other hand offers no or very limited upgrade options.

Windows is a clear winner in terms of upgradability.

Ease Of Use

Mac is easy to use. There are no driver installations or installation packages that need to be worked with. Most people find the interface and workflow design of Mac easy to use as compared to windows.

Reliability

Mac is way more reliable than a Windows system. In windows, you often come across crashes and faults. Sometimes the crashes are fatal, sometime they are fixed with a restart.

On the other hand, Mac is reliable and one will hardly encounter any crashes or bugs using a mac. This makes mac ideal for situations where reliability matters, like live gigs.

Mac is a clear winner when it comes to reliability.

Budget-Friendly

Windows is a clear winner. Windows pc/laptops come in all various price ranges. Mac on the other hand are premium and need good investment. On top of that, you need to invest in peripherals like HDMI connectors, USB connectors to get started using a Mac for music production.

Life Span

All Mac completely outperform Windows pc and laptops when it comes to life span. In windows, the average life of a machine completely depends upon the make and model. Some may last for 2 years, others may last for a decade.

On the other hand, most Mac machines will last for five to six years easily. 

I have a 2010 Mac that is eleven years old as of today and still work great for basic computer operations.

Mac is a clear winner when it comes to life span.

Aesthetic

All macs are pleasing to the eye and very beautifully crafted.

On the other hand, some windows laptops are pleasingly beautiful while some are ugly.

Mac is a clear winner.

Hardware Connectivity

One area where windows excel is hardware connectivity. You can connect all sorts of hardware from MIDI devices to External Monitors without the need for any additional connectors.

In this category, Mac sucks big time. You require additional connectors, even for connecting a 3.5 mm headphone jack to most Mac machines. And all the connectors are expensive like crazy.

This is one category because of which a lot of people are turning away from Mac, and I am among one of them. I can spend my money in better places than buying expensive connectors.

Windows is a clear winner.

User Continuity

Mac offers a great ecosystem. If you use an iPhone, mac iPad and other mac devices, they can be connected seamlessly wirelessly.

This feature is great, especially if you are in situations where time is money.

Mac is a clear winner.

Flexibility

Windows machines are the clear winner. You can experiment all you want without much worry. With a Windows Pc, you can easily experiment with hardware and software. You can install Linux or Even macOS and make a Hackintosh. There are no limits.

Mac on the other hand is controlling. They want you to follow certain rules and guidelines if you wish to get “Mac Care Official Support”. I am not a fan of this model.

Windows is a clear winner.

Security and Support

If you do not experiment much with machines, Mac wins when it comes to security and support. Mac hardware and software with advanced technologies that work together to run apps more securely, protect your data, and help keep you safe on the web.

Mac also offers Os upgrades and support for a long time.

Mac is a clear winner in this category

Other Considerations

If you decide to get into the Mac ecosystem, Apple provides OS upgrades and support on a regular basis, but the DAWs, plugins and pieces of hardware you use do not get updated as often. So if you plan on getting an Apple machine, make sure you upgrade it accordingly with your hardware and software programs.

If you are getting into the Windows ecosystem, Make sure you are comfortable working with drivers and installation. There will be a lot of installation and driver update that you will need to do for your music production machine.

I hope this article helped you out in deciding which Operations system and ecosystem is better for you.

In the next article, learn about Computer or Laptop Specifications For Music Production