REAPER 7.82

REAPER is a full digital audio workstation - the program you record, edit, mix and export music, podcasts and soundtracks in - and its Windows installer is smaller than two minutes of CD-quality audio.

It is not free software, but it is close to the fairest deal in audio: 60 days with every feature unlocked, then a 60-dollar licence for personal use or a small business.

That one licence also covers every update up to version 8.99, so there is no yearly fee and no paid upgrade waiting at version 8.

What REAPER Actually Does

REAPER records many inputs at once onto as many tracks as your computer can handle, then lets you cut, move, fade, stretch and mix them. Each track can hold audio at a different sample rate, bit depth or file format, and REAPER sorts out the differences for you.

Editing is non-destructive, which means your original recordings are never changed. Every cut and fade is an instruction REAPER applies on playback, and the undo history lets you step back through all of it.

It starts quickly, runs well on modest hardware, and scales up to projects with hundreds of tracks. That is the main reason home studios and professional ones end up using the same program.

What the 60-Day Trial Really Means

The evaluation is the full program - no watermark on exports and no locked features. When you decide to buy, there are two licences and the software is identical under both.

Either one includes free updates through version 8.99. If you own several computers, you can install the same key on all of them, as long as you use REAPER on one at a time.

What Is New in REAPER 7.82

7.82 is a polish release that came out a week after 7.81, and 7.81 is where the bigger changes landed. Taken together, this is the fades update.

• Better fades and crossfades (7.81). Fade curves now have separate curvature and S-curve controls, and the crossfade editor gained actions to cycle shapes, widen fades and nudge them in tenths of a millisecond.
• A proper colour picker (7.81). It stays open while you work, previews colours live, and keeps built-in, project and personal palettes.
• Windows fixes (7.82). Dark mode draws correctly in more windows, and pinned plugin windows sit in the right place on high-DPI screens.
• Linux fixes (7.82). Odd startup issues on some systems are fixed, and GTK is now only loaded when something actually needs it.
• Mixing default (7.82). The hybrid taper pan law is now marked as the default setting.

Plugins and the Effects It Comes With

REAPER loads VST, VST3, CLAP and LV2 plugins on every system, plus Audio Units on a Mac, so the effects and virtual instruments you already own will almost certainly work.

It also ships with its own set of effects - equaliser, compressor, reverb, delay, gate and more - that are good enough to finish a full mix with nothing else installed.

Exporting: MP3, FLAC and Batch Renders

MP3 export is built in and uses the LAME encoder, so there is nothing extra to install. If you encode MP3s outside REAPER too, our LAME MP3 Encoder page has the standalone tool, and the guide to the best LAME settings for music, podcasts and audiobooks covers which bitrate to pick.

REAPER also renders WAV, AIFF, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, Opus and WavPack. The render queue saves several jobs and runs them in one go - an MP3 for streaming, WAV stems for a collaborator and a FLAC archive from the same project.

To check a finished render, foobar2000 plays every one of those formats bit-perfect.

For converting files you did not make in REAPER, XMedia Recode handles big batches, and the online audio converter does a quick one-off in your browser.

Video in the Timeline

REAPER puts video files straight onto the timeline, so you can score a film, sync sound effects or clean up dialogue against the picture. It can do simple video cuts too, but it is an audio tool first.

For real video editing and colour grading, DaVinci Resolve pairs well with it - edit the picture there, finish the sound in REAPER.

A Studio on a USB Stick

The Windows installer offers a portable install, which puts REAPER and all its settings in one folder instead of spreading them across the system. Put that folder on a USB stick or portable SSD and you carry your whole setup between studios.

Which File to Download

REAPER still supports far older systems than most audio software - Windows XP through Windows 11, and macOS 10.5 through macOS 26. Pick the row that matches your machine:

Not sure whether your Windows is 64-bit? Open Settings, then System, then About, and check the line called System type.

Who Should Look Elsewhere

The tell is simple: if you will never record or mix more than one track at a time, a DAW is more program than you need.

• Cutting or trimming MP3s. mp3DirectCut does it without re-encoding, so there is no quality loss.
• Basic recording and cleanup, free forever. Audacity is open source and covers most voice and podcast work.
• A gentler editor with a friendly layout. WavePad is easier to pick up, and a fine stepping stone before REAPER.

The rest of the audio editors and audio encoders are worth a look if your job is narrower than a full studio.

Quick questions

Download REAPER 7.82 and try it for 60 days, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.