Is Pro Tools Free? Pro Tools Intro and Its 8-Track Limit

Pro Tools is the recording software you'll find in professional studios, which is why a lot of podcasters, musicians and video creators assume it's out of reach. Avid's free version, Pro Tools Intro, changes that. It's a real version of Pro Tools rather than a cut-down demo, so sessions you start on it open in any studio. The main limit is the number of tracks.

What Pro Tools Intro includes

• Up to eight audio, eight instrument and eight MIDI tracks
• Effects and instrument plugins, including Xpand!2 with over 1,200 instrument presets
• Hundreds of loops from Loopmasters
• Splice integration, which Avid says gives access to over 2,500 free loops and samples
• Audio and MIDI editing and mixing tools
• A demo session to learn the basics

Avid's FAQ says there are no hidden costs and Pro Tools Intro includes everything you need to get started. Avid's main page counts 36 effects and instrument plugins, while its knowledge base counts 34 studio-essential plugins alongside Xpand!2, so you'll see both numbers quoted.

Pro Tools Intro vs paid Pro Tools

Version	Free?	Who it suits
Pro Tools Intro	Yes	Beginners, podcasters and home recording
Pro Tools Artist	No	Musicians who need more tracks and plugins
Pro Tools Studio	No	Producers and mix engineers
Pro Tools Ultimate	No	Professional studios and audio post-production

Avid says the paid versions add more tracks, more plugins and new capabilities, and its comparison chart shows exactly what each one includes.

The 8-track limit in practice

Eight audio tracks is plenty for a podcast with a couple of hosts and music, a singer-songwriter demo, or voiceover work for videos. It gets tight for a full band recording or a busy mix.

Avid explains what happens with bigger sessions. If someone sends you a session with more than eight tracks, you can open it, but it opens truncated to eight tracks, and Pro Tools Intro prompts you to save it as a new session. To reach other tracks, Avid says you can create a new session and use Import Session Data to choose the tracks you want, up to eight in total.

How Pro Tools Intro is licensed

Avid uses PACE iLok to license Pro Tools. If you're new to Pro Tools, Avid says you automatically get a free iLok account with a disk-based licence during sign-up and installation. You need to be online to download and authorise Pro Tools Intro through Avid Link, but after that you can use it without an internet connection.

There's also a handy fallback. Avid says that if you try a 30-day trial of Pro Tools Ultimate after installing Intro, Pro Tools opens as Intro again once the trial ends, so you don't lose access to your work.

How to get Pro Tools for free

1. Go to Avid's Pro Tools Intro page and create a free Avid account.
2. Download Avid Link and use it to install Pro Tools Intro.
3. Let the installer set up your free iLok licence.
4. Open the demo session to learn the layout.
5. Start a new session and keep an eye on the eight-track limit as you build it.

Using Pro Tools Intro for podcasts and video

Plenty of people who search for free Pro Tools aren't making music at all. For a two-person podcast, you might use two tracks for the hosts, one for a guest recorded remotely, one for intro music and one for sound effects, leaving room to spare. For video creators, Intro is a good place to clean up voiceovers, balance levels and add music before exporting the audio back into your video editor. The editing and mixing tools are the same ones the paid versions use, so what you learn carries over if you upgrade.

Pro Tools Intro or another free DAW?

If you're on a Mac, GarageBand is the other obvious free option, and my page on whether GarageBand is free covers what it includes. My roundup of free music production software compares the other free options, and my guide to the best DAW for beginners helps if you're choosing your first one.

The main reason to choose Pro Tools Intro over the others is compatibility. Avid points out that because Intro is Pro Tools, you can take your session into any studio to work with other artists and producers.

Whichever you choose, the skills transfer. Recording levels, editing, fades and mixing work the same way in every DAW, so starting free costs you nothing but time, and you'll know exactly what you need before you pay for anything.

Tips for working within eight tracks

• Bounce finished parts, such as a drum loop, to one track to free up space.
• Record backing vocals to a single track where you can.
• Use instrument tracks for virtual instruments rather than separate MIDI and audio pairs.
• Export stems from bigger sessions elsewhere before you bring them into Intro.

My verdict

Pro Tools is free in the form of Pro Tools Intro, and for podcasts, demos and voiceovers it's a serious tool rather than a toy. The eight-track limit is the real boundary. Start on Intro, learn the workflow the studios use, and only pay for Artist when you're regularly running out of tracks.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pro Tools Intro free forever?

Avid describes Pro Tools Intro as a free DAW and says there are no hidden costs.

How many tracks does Pro Tools Intro allow?

Avid says up to eight audio tracks, eight instrument tracks and eight MIDI tracks.

Can Pro Tools Intro open sessions with more than eight tracks?

Yes, but Avid says the session opens truncated to eight tracks and you're prompted to save it as a new session.

Do I need to be online to use Pro Tools Intro?

Only to download and authorise it through Avid Link. After that, Avid says you can use it offline.

What happens after a Pro Tools trial ends?

Avid says that once a trial is over, Pro Tools opens as Pro Tools Intro again.