Why is Cubase so expensive

I hope the moderator would understand this correctly on not remove this thread.

I’ve been cubase user since cubase SX2,
just wondering,
since we pay the price for upgrade the amount that other DAWs cost in full.

Which daws can you buy for the price of a Cubase update?

FL Studio with lifetime free updates,
Reaper for $69

Regular prices before discounts: (till June 3 2019, deduct 50%)
Cubase 9.5 to 10: $100
Cubase 9 to 10: $160

FL Studio: $300
Reaper is $69, till you make pro-level money (by their definition), then it’s $225

What about Live, S1 Pro, PT, Motu DP, and Bitwig Studio?

That’s FL studio XXL producer edition, but even then, you pay once and lifetime free updates.

Cubase full is like $500 ? And then updates are like $150 for each version. So by the time one upgraded from cubase 5 to cubase 10 if upgraded each version that’s over $1000

If you’re a Windows user, Cakewalk by Bandlab - essentially the successor to SONAR - is free. It is, of course, a loss leader for Bandlab.


Every software company sets its own pricing model. Steinberg offer a range of versions and do have periodic sales (though the current 50% off sale for Cubase is exceptionally generous and, I suspect, will not be repeated in a hurry). If all you need is Cubase Elements, the software is inexpensive. If you want the full feature set of Cubase Pro or Nuendo, which have built-in functionality that many competitor products do not, the price tag is fairly hefty.

Developing good quality software is expensive. If Steinberg cut their prices, they might gain some additional users which offsets the lower revenue per unit sold, but there is a point at which price cuts reduce their income and they must, as a result, cut their costs.


At least with Steinberg’s perpetual licensing, you are free to choose if and when you upgrade. If a particular version does all you need, there is no need to upgrade.

you said,



I compared top of the FL line to the top of the Cubase line, so your statement above doesn’t resolve to ‘‘true’’ except in the case of the hobbyist version of Reaper.

We can agree that everyone wants to get the best value for their money, and what each person values depends on a lot of things- workflow, music genre, personal taste, disposable income, etc. So I would expect that people for whom Cubase is not as good a value as some other sequencer, those folks would buy the one they like. Users are free to sell their Steinberg licenses also, and there are no limitations or fees associated with doing so, so there’s that as well.

I understand why you’re saying this from a financial point of view, but Steiny is a large company with employees to pay so they need income, which they get from us, which I personally am very glad to pay. Fruity loops,it’s ok and if that s the way you’d like to go you are welcome to it (here in South Africa its a damn nightmare as everybody and his dog has a pirated copy and the demos and backtracks or beats seem to end up in my studio and all sound the same). Reaper…, pretty damn good I think but a much smaller business concern.
We don’t want to end up with the Cakewalk situation, I for one don’t find Cubase all that expensive, it certainly ain’t cheap, but for what it can do…I reckon it’s ok.

Best Regards, Dave

I seem to remember Cubase being $800 at one point and that it came down to be competitive with Logic. Personally, I think it’s about right, now. Each upgrade offers new features that are worth the cost. (Ignoring the canadian exchange gouge of 150% which makes it only worth upgrading on a sale). If we want a dedicated team developing Cubase and all its plugins they have to pay salaries all year and paying for new features is far better than a subscription model, which is where I step off.

If Steinberg’s pricing is bothersome, don’t even glance at iZotope products. :open_mouth:

Quick point to consider

Is that a lot of 3rd party kit out there, such as music libraries ,FX plug ins, etc , cost a lot more to buy than Cubase does
As a hobbyist,the price of Cubase is a sensible one.But of course,took some saving up to buy it

After all each DAW no matter what it costs, or what features it has, does the same thing,to help the owner produce music

If Cubase is expensive or worth it is really up to you.

  1. Logic Pro X is cheaper and you can have it on several computer without a dongle - lots of sounds, plugins and extra features.
  2. Studio One is similarily priced as Cubase (unless you crossgrade, which is cheaper) but you also get mastering facilities (no need for Wavelab which is quite expensive), and you can also run it on several computers without a dongle, lots of sounds, pugins and extra features and an entire eco system of modern hardware controllers and so on. Cubase only has it’s CC121 for over 10yrs with no refresh.
  3. Reaper is constantly evolving and is way cheaper even if you go for the commercial license.
  4. Ableton similarily priced (unless crossgrading), a different approach but also with a plethora of controller devices and smart features.

And the list goes on.

I recently tried to upgrade my Cubase 5 and basically that’s impossible so I bought Cubase 10 Elements. I love the product and I had a good end of 2019 with Sync Licensing and beat sales. I got motivated and I had just got me a consistent side job in January that helped me build a very nice PC. I use my old HDD, firewire interface and monitor but the motherboard and i7 processor are amazing. I wanted to have room to grow…

I say all that to say that those of us who try our best to invest in ourselves and not pirate should be rewarded. I just opened my Cubase to start working on something and I see the #StayHome Elements collection and that is awesome. I then see a promotion for 40% off Pro 10.5 upgrades. Upgrade from Elements with the discount is $297.98.

Say it is spiritual or karma thing but I have been on a mission to invest in myself and buy plugins and software more.

I just paid $75 Aussie for the upgrade from LE5 to LE10. Pretty good value. Though I’m a real newbie and have yet to find out if the LE version has any important features missing.
(Gonna be a BIG learning curve!!!)