Which DAWs support ARA?

ARA support depends on both the DAW and the plug-in format. This list uses vendor documentation checked on 30 August 2026. Always check the release notes for the exact DAW and plug-in version you plan to use.

Hosts named in current vendor documentation

DAW	Current evidence	Important note
Studio One	Listed by Celemony	PreSonus co-developed ARA with Celemony
Cubase and Nuendo	Listed by Celemony	Integration depends on the plug-in and version
Logic Pro	Listed by Celemony	Native Apple Silicon mode has an important limitation; see below
Pro Tools	Avid documents integrated ARA Melodyne workflows	Check the edition and version required by Avid
REAPER	Listed by Celemony	Check the plug-in format used by your editor
Cakewalk	Listed by Celemony	Vendor and product status can change
Samplitude and Sequoia	Listed by Celemony	Check the exact MAGIX product version
Mixcraft and Waveform	Listed by Celemony	Support depth varies by host and plug-in
Digital Performer	Announced by Celemony and MOTU	Check the supported plug-in format
LUNA	Universal Audio announced ARA support in LUNA 2.0	Check current LUNA requirements
Ableton Live	No native ARA host is documented in current Live 12 material	ARA plug-ins use their normal realtime or transfer workflow

This is a host guide, not a compatibility guarantee. ARA covers several levels of integration, and one DAW may support a particular editor more completely than another.

What ARA actually does

Without ARA, a plug-in only receives audio as it plays. To analyse a whole clip, it has to capture that clip in realtime first. You arm the plug-in, play the part through from start to finish, and only then can it work on the result.

ARA gives the plug-in direct access to the audio file and the arrangement around it. The plug-in reads what is already on disk, so there is no capture or transfer step. Its edits stay live against the DAW's own timeline.

Celemony developed ARA with PreSonus and introduced it in 2011. The SDK has been available on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 licence since May 2021.

The Logic Pro exception

This is the one that catches people out, and it is the reason "Logic Pro supports ARA" is a misleading answer on its own.

When Logic runs natively on Apple Silicon, it hosts Audio Unit plug-ins outside its own process. That is good for stability, and it does not currently support third-party extensions like ARA. So a native Apple Silicon Logic session will not give you ARA, even though Logic has supported ARA since 10.4 and Melodyne has run natively since 5.2.

The workaround is to launch Logic under Rosetta, which puts plug-ins back inside Logic's process and restores ARA. Celemony says it is working with Apple on it. If you are buying a Mac and a DAW specifically for an ARA workflow, know this before you choose.

What "no ARA" costs in practice

In a DAW without ARA hosting, an ARA-capable plug-in may still work as a normal plug-in. Two common routes remain:

Capture in realtime. Put the plug-in on the track, arm it, and play the part through in full before you can edit. Each new take or revision needs another pass. On a stacked chorus, the waiting adds up quickly.

Export and come back. Bounce the parts out, open a DAW that has ARA, do the work there, and bring the audio back. You judge and manage the edit away from the original Arrangement.

The limitation sits in the host, which lacks the feature.

Live's external editor is not ARA

This is worth clearing up because it comes up in every thread on the subject. Ableton Live has an External Sample Editor setting under Preferences, and it does open a clip in another application. It is not ARA.

Live's own manual describes what actually happens: the sample goes offline while the Edit switch is engaged, and when you return to Live the edited version is played back. That is a destructive round trip through a file on disk. The external app never sees your arrangement, nothing stays editable, and there is no live link to undo. Useful for destructive repair work. Not a substitute for ARA.

How to check your own setup

Version numbers move, and summary lists go stale. Check two things:

1. Check your DAW's release notes. Blog posts, including this one, can go stale. Search the vendor's own changelog for "ARA".
2. Check the plug-in format. ARA is integrated through a supported plug-in format. Having the editor installed does not prove that the required ARA build is available to that host.

If you are on Ableton Live

Current Live 12 documentation does not describe native ARA hosting. Ableton has not publicly explained why, and we will not speculate about its roadmap.

We are building null.audio ALIGN for the VocAlign workflow and null.audio EDIT for detailed work in compatible ARA editors. Both start from audio selected in Live and return the result to Arrangement View, removing the realtime capture or the trip through another DAW.

The null.audio app hosts the third-party tool in the background and returns the result to Live; Live itself isn't changed. EDIT works with Melodyne, SpectraLayers, RePitch, Vovious and NoiseWorks VoiceAssist, and plays every edit in the Live mix while you work. See the tested setups and the EDIT guide.