Mixing and Mastering Services
- Professional Mixing and Mastering Services
- EDM Mixing and Mastering Services
- Hip Hop Mixing and Mastering Services
- Rock Mixing and Mastering Services
- AI Mastering Services
- Online Mastering Services
- Stem Mastering Services
Mastering FAQ Guide
- What is the difference between Mixing and Mastering?
- How Much Does Mixing & Mastering Cost?
- How Long Should Mastering Take?
As you’ve been looking into AI mastering, you probably landed on this article, wondering whether it’s worth the money or if it can hold up against a real, professional mixing and mastering engineer. In this article, we tested the top online mastering services, using multiple tracks and mastering settings to hear the differences, so you can make an informed decision. We thought CloudBounce was the best for quality and price, scroll on to see why!
Contents
Is Online Mastering Worth It? (TL;DR)
Online mastering is worth it for people who need a quick, decent-sounding master. It is no match for a real mixing and mastering service, but it’s useful for DJs and music producers who want to test tracks on a crowd and then make adjustments after. Also, if you don’t have much money and have a pristine mix, it can be a good way to get your tracks radio ready.
Please don’t think you’re getting studio quality masters for a 1/10th of the price.
On the flip side, don’t think that paying an engineer what you pay an online mastering service will get you a better result either. Good mastering, from a professional engineer, should generally cost $50+
This price varies depending on the engineer and the style of mastering you’re getting (for instance stem mastering is much more expensive)
The Top Online Mastering Services Shootout (Audio Examples)
Here are some of the best online mastering services you can use right now. For a fair test, we played two different songs from different genres. All of the audio clips were taken from cambridge-mt.com.
Here is where you can find the artists whose music is on this page:
This is a huge collection of songs that haven’t been mixed or mastered. You can download them and try mixing or mastering them yourself. We highly recommend it if you want to learn to mix and master tracks yourself.
What Are The Best AI Online Mastering Services? (Paid Options Included)
Here is the complete list of the best online mastering services:
1. CloudBounce
Compatibility: Desktop App, Online Browser.
Audio Formats: hi-res 24-bit WAV, 320kbps MP3 files.
Price: $10.90-$219.99
Pros
✅ Good quality masters for $10.90/track on pay-as-you-go plans with uncompressed WAV file delivery.
✅ Sounds way better than what a human engineer would offer for $11/track.
✅ CloudBounce covers over 15 genres.
✅ With 10 mastering styles, there’s enough variety for everyone to choose from.
✅ Working like your personal mastering engine, the Desktop app is highly customisable.
✅ The unlimited cloud storage on subscription plans comes in handy as well.
Cons
❌ The unlimited cloud storage isn’t applicable for single tracks.
❌ Don’t expect it to sound like a human mastering engineer.
CloudBounce’s machine listening technology uses an array of Multiband Compressors, EQs, and Limiters to achieve the tonal balance and loudness of your selected genre.
With more than 15 specialized genres, CloudBounce has you covered. With options to switch across 10 different mastering styles, there’s enough variety for everyone to choose from.
Along with unlimited cloud storage, installing the desktop app provides loads of options for customising the sounds to your heart’s content.
Founded by a group of Abbey Road Red Alumni, CloudBounce has gained a lot of reputation over the years. Its currently backed by the likes of:
- CDBaby
- Roli
- Focusrite
- Abbey Road Red
The only drawback is the high level of compression applied to achieve loudness, which squashes the dynamics completely. However, at $11/track, you can’t expect more.
Pricing
- Single track music mastering ($10.90/track) – 1 track mastered in hi-res, uncompressed WAV format, and 320 kbps MP3.
- Infinity Monthly ($21.90/month subscription) – As many tracks as you like/month, 16-bit CD quality, hi-res 24-bit WAV audio files, or 320 kbps MP3s, track statistics, and lifetime cloud storage for backup.
- Infinity Yearly ($219.99/year subscription) – as many audio masters as you like for a year, hi-res 24-bit WAV audio files, 320kbps MP3 files, track statistics, and lifetime cloud backup.
2. eMastered
Compatibility: Online Browser.
Audio Formats: hi-res MP3 files, WAV, HD WAV.
Price: $19-$156
Pros
✅ Highly customisable mastering with an extensive palette.
✅ Provides cloud storage for your pre-masters allowing you to work from anywhere.
✅ Unlimited HD WAVs on their subscription packs sound compelling.
✅ ‘Reference mastering’ is a great way of getting close to what you exactly want.
Cons
❌ It’s very expensive unless you commit to the yearly plan.
eMastered is an excellent AI mastering service, that provides ‘reference mastering’. Being similar to how you would work with a mastering engineer, you get to set a reference track that you would like your track to sound like.
Other than the usual EQ, Multiband, and Limiter, you get to change a lot more parameters like the stereo width, mastering and compression intensity.
Other than offering analytics of who’s listening to your music, it also allows you to share your music with anyone.
The only drawback is the price. You need to really love it to be able to commit to the reasonably priced yearly subscription. It’s rather tempting to go for an inexpensive mastering engineer than pay so much and commit to AI.
Pricing
- Monthly Subscription/paid monthly/cancel anytime ($49/month) – Unlimited tracks + downloads, hi-res MP3s, unlimited WAVs, unlimited HD WAVs. Track statistics, shareable library, and cloud storage.
- Yearly Subscription/paid monthly ($19/month 1-year commitment) – Unlimited tracks + downloads, hi-res MP3s, unlimited WAVs, unlimited HD WAVs. Track statistics, shareable library, and cloud storage.
- Yearly Subscription/paid upfront ($156/year subscription) – Unlimited tracks + downloads, hi-res MP3s, unlimited WAVs, unlimited HD WAVs. Track statistics, shareable library, and cloud storage.
3. Landr
Compatibility: Desktop App, Online Browser.
Audio Formats: WAV &HD WAV, hi-res MP3 files.
Price: $10-$300.
Pros
✅ Much better quality than what a mastering engineer would offer at this price.
✅ Landr Studio offers many more exciting services packaged with AI Mastering.
✅ Lifetime cloud storage access on Landr.
✅ Unlimited high-quality WAVs and HD WAVs can be downloaded with Landr Pro.
Cons
❌ Costlier than some of the other AI mastering services.
❌ Doesn’t match up to a human engineer’s touch.
Landr uses intelligent AI to make decisions that an experienced mastering engineer would take upon listening to your track for the first time. Using ‘micro-genre detection’, Landr analyses your music to come up with the ideal EQ, Multiband compression, saturation, and stereo enhancement that your track needs.
Landr allows you to reference a track that you would like your master to resemble. Mimicking the nuances of that reference track, Landr’s algorithm comes up with something similar.
Since Landr is much more than an AI mastering service, you can get interesting deals on the Landr Studio, inclusive of their samples and distribution services.
The sound quality is quite good, given the price that you’re paying. The unlimited free previews offered, allow you the cushion to get comfortable with Landr before committing to pay.
We found it a great mastering tool for live DJ sets to test tracks, where you don’t want to pay or wait for a real engineer to deliver. You can get all your tracks sounding good for a live set in no time.
All in all, Landr has a great sounding AI mastering service, which works out even better if you’re interested in some of the other services they provide.
Pricing
- Single track music mastering ($10/track) – 1 track mastered in hi-res, uncompressed WAV format, and 320 kbps MP3.
- Landr Studio-Yearly Subscription- $149.99 billed upfront (comes up to $12.50/month for a subscription) – 36 WAV masters per year, unlimited 320 kbps MP3s, 1200 sample credits, and secured cloud storage for backup.
- Landr Pro- Yearly Subscription- $300 billed upfront (comes up to $25/month for a subscription) as many audio masters as you like for a year- 16-bit WAVs, hi-res 24-bit HD WAVs, 320kbps MP3 files, and secured cloud storage for backup.
4. BandLab – Free Online Mastering
Compatibility: Desktop Assistant, Online Browser.
Audio Formats: WAV & MP3 files.
Price: Free!
Pros
✅ All you have to do is drop & drop your track. Extremely easy to use.
✅ Wonderful UI experience.
✅ Access the cloud storage for free.
Cons
❌ It sounds too compressed & the sound quality isn’t as good as the paid ones.
❌ Only four options for customising your sound.
As a breath of fresh air, BandLab provides free AI online mastering services. Designed by mule-platinum Grammy-winning engineers, BandLab is a quick easy solution if you’re hesitant about paying for AI mastering.
You can simply drag and drop your track onto BandLab and the master is ready in no time. The algorithm listens to your track and makes decisions pertaining to loudness and clarity on the spot.
You get to choose between four types of mastering styles:
- Universal.
- Fire.
- Clarity.
- Tape.
While the customisation options and sound quality are nowhere close to the paid ones, it’s worth trying it out.
Pricing
Free!
5. Chosen Masters
Compatibility: Online Browser.
Audio Formats: WAV & MP3 files.
Price: $2.49-$219.99.
Pros
✅ Free demos with affordable ways to upgrade to subscription plans.
✅ You can master a single track for as less as $2.49.
✅ They also offer OGG format for video game music requirements.
✅ They also offer a HD Waveform viewer which comes in handy.
✅ It provides 10 intensity settings, four mastering modes, and over 40 real-time mastering options.
Cons
❌ Pricey $19.97 per month compared to other options
❌ Tone and dynamic range control of master is worse than others
Chosen Masters is a semi-automated AI mastering service that uses professional-grade processing to add warmth, clarity, and crispness to your tracks. With 10 intensity settings, four mastering modes and over 40 real-time mastering options, Chosen Masters is certainly worth checking out.
Along with the usual hi-res MP3s and HD WAVs, they also offer OGG format for video game music requirements.
Chosen Masters provides a shareable private link to share your masters with producers or composers who could help critique your work before releasing it.
The good thing is you can start for free, try out their demos and then hop on a paid version. The free version has 5 intensity settings and offers temporary storage.
Without worrying about commitment like some of the other services, you can master a single track for as less as $2.49. Even the yearly subscription is very reasonably priced at $149.
Pricing
- Single track music mastering ($2.49/track) – 1 track mastered in hi-res, uncompressed WAV format, and 320 kbps MP3. 10 intensity settings with real-time controls.
- Pro Monthly ($19.97/month subscription) – As many tracks as you like/month, 16-bit CD quality, hi-res 24-bit WAV audio files, or 320 kbps MP3s, 10 intensity settings with real-time controls.
- Infinity Yearly ($149/year subscription) – as many audio masters as you like for a year, hi-res 24-bit WAV audio files, 320kbps MP3 files, 10 intensity settings with real-time controls.
6. Major Decibel
Compatibility: Online Browser.
Audio Formats: FLAC, WAV & MP3 files.
Price: $6-$25.
Pros
✅ Free package allows uploads of up to 250MB, 2 tracks a month.
✅ If you like the quality, the Yearly $25 unlimited masters is a no-brainer.
✅ $6 monthly, cancel anytime is a great option to avail of the hi-res WAV + EQ options.
Cons
❌ The free services’ sound quality is quite ordinary, with a predominantly large volume boost.
Touted as an ‘Independent Service For Independent Artists’, Major Decibel operate a mastering engine within their premises, which has been crafted by them.
Without using external audio processing or hardware, Major Decibel uses state-of-the-art signal processing that can stand up to the rest of the AI mastering services.
With a delivery time of just over a few minutes, the mastering engine is quick to catch the dynamics, applying the necessary Multiband and stereo enhancement.
With three levels: Low, Medium, and High, you can decide much dynamics you want to preserve in your tracks. High would sacrifice your dynamics for added loudness. The Premium version comes with 5 dedicated EQ options for added control.
The best part of this service is that you can master two tracks for free every month, without having to create an account. Branded as a service for indie artists, this business model should work for most indie artists. Major Decibel is a great option if you’re releasing one to two tracks a month.
However, the free version is nothing close to the quality you get with some of the paid AI packages.
Pricing
- Free music mastering (2 tracks/month) – 2 tracks mastered for free in 192 kbps MP3, 3 intensity settings to control dynamics.
- Infinity Monthly ($6/month subscription) – As many tracks as you like/month, hi-res 24-bit FLAC, hi-res 24-bit WAV audio files, or 320 kbps MP3s, 3 intensity settings, 5 EQ selections.
- Infinity Yearly ($25/year subscription) – As many tracks as you like/month, hi-res 24-bit FLAC, hi-res 24-bit WAV audio files, or 320 kbps MP3s, 3 intensity settings, 5 EQ selections.
7. Maztr
Compatibility: Online Browser.
Audio Formats: Low-res to hi-res MP3, WAV & WAV HD files.
Price: $4.99-$199.
Pros
✅ Way more customisable than most services in this price range.
✅ Prices slashed in half for the first month of purchase on all plans.
✅ Additional DIY section to tweak your sound further.
✅ Gradual increase in pricing plans from free to Pro Plus.
Cons
❌ Not many options for control over your master’s tone or dynamics
❌ Not AI mastering, more of a preset tool
Maztr is an interesting mastering service that offers a great deal of control for the user. As you drag and drop your file onto Maztr, the algorithm scans for data points that shall be used later during signal processing.
For added control, you’re offered a DIY section with a 12-band EQ, Multiband compressor, stereo widener, and their custom limiter, called Slammer.
Along with being reasonably priced, Maztr also offers streaming and sharing services. With up to 5GB of storage space in the $19.99 monthly plans, Matzr is worth checking out.
The great thing about Maztr, which has a gradual increase in price from free up to the pro services, is that the user doesn’t need to get into the AI vs human mastering battle. You can try it for free, and upgrade as you best see fit.
Pricing
- Monthly MP3 music mastering ($4.99/month or $49/year) – As many 320 kbps MP3 tracks as you like/month, unlimited remasters, unlimited stems, 150MB file size storage with 3 tracks max.
- Pro monthly music mastering ($9.99/month or $99/year) – As many 320 kbps MP3s, 16-bit WAVs and 24-bit HD WAVs tracks as you like/month, unlimited remasters, unlimited stems, 300 MB file size storage with 5 tracks max. MP3/WAV editor.
- Pro Plus monthly music mastering ($19.99/month or $199/year) – As many 320 kbps MP3s, 16-bit WAVs and 24-bit HD WAVs tracks as you like/month, unlimited remasters, unlimited stems, 5000 MB file size storage. MP3/WAV editor. Stream & share tracks with a webpage for each track.
8. Music Gateway
Compatibility: Online Browser.
Audio Formats: Low-res to hi-res MP3, WAV & WAV HD files.
Price: $7.5-$370.
Pros
✅ You can get a wholesome package with publishing, distribution, and mastering for a decent price.
✅ The $7.5 lite plan is worth it if you’re not making more than a couple of tracks a month.
Cons
❌ Mastering service isn’t as comprehensive as some of the other dedicated services.
Music Gateway is an interesting online mastering service with an innovative business model. Along with their mastering services, they also offer publishing, distribution, and promotion.
They make their money back by charging between 5 to 30 percent commission on your sync and publishing revenues.
With plans starting at a modest $7.5 per month after a 14-day free trial, Music Gateway is surely worth checking out.
However, if you’re in it just for the masters alone, it’s probably not a great idea unless you get the $37/month Unlimited plan.
Pricing
- Lite ($7.5/month or $75/year) – Upto 2 masters/month. 20% Commission on distribution & publishing. 50% Commission on sync revenue.
- Pro ($22/month or $220/year) – Upto 5 masters/month. 0% Commission on distribution & 10% on publishing. 30% Commission on sync revenue.
- Unlimited ($37/month or $370/year) – Unlimited masters/month. 0% Commission on distribution & 5% on publishing. 20% Commission on sync revenue.
Summary
CloudBounce is our pick for the best-sounding mastering service. While Maztr, Major Decibel, and Chosen Masters are rather inexpensive, they don’t match up to the quality of Landr or CloudBounce. Landr sounds great, but we wish it had more control like Maztr. Music Gateway and Landr are great if you need a comprehensive package.
- CloudBounce is certainly above the rest when it comes to sound quality. The desktop version allows the service to integrate with your music production workflow. But priced at $219/year, it’s certainly not the cheapest.
- eMastered is expensive but sounds fantastic. You can bring the cost down if you’re willing to commit to the $156 yearly plan paid upfront. Their track referencing feature is the highlight of their service.
- Landr sounds great and the Landr Studio plan is especially worth it if you’re looking for a package including distribution, high-quality samples and mastering. While Music Gateway promises to do the same at a cheaper price, their mastering service isn’t as comprehensive as CloudBounce or Landr.
- While BandLab is completely free, Maztr and Major Decibel have free services too. Music Gateway offers a 14-day free trial before charging $7.5/month. All these free services are worth checking out if you’re still hesitant about paying for AI mastering.
To recap, here are the best online mastering services:
FAQ
Is AI Mastering Worth It & Should I Pay for It?
AI Mastering is worth it if you want a quick radio-ready track and don’t have the budget to pay a mastering engineer. However, it’s never going to sound as good as a human engineer, as his decisions are based on his emotional reactions to years of listening to music. But, AI mastering will do the trick if you’re on a budget.
There’s a good reason why AI mastering is so debated. Robots aren’t yet capable of doing mastering at a high standard (yet).
However, it might help you achieve the desired volume and make your tune suitable for distribution to all major streaming services. Sometimes this is sufficient, and a professional master is unnecessary.
Spending more than $40 on a good master is unnecessary if you’re just releasing songs for fun or don’t have a large following. To be honest, you might need some music-making skills improvement at this point.
Also, note that mastering is the last stage and it’s hard to make a great mix sound bad. Hence, AI occupies this territory.
Is AI Mastering Better Than Human Mastering?
No. AI mastering is still very primitive. The signal processing decisions made by the algorithms are still quite generic. Although you can get AI to reference your favourite track to make it sound similar, it’s not at the level of a mastering engineer yet.
The conversations you have with your mastering engineer and the decisions made by him to suit your taste, make a lot of difference. Since the mastering engineer is also a music fan, his decisions are influenced by his emotional connection to a specific genre.
While AI does a great job at coming close to replicating tonal balances on different sub-genres as well, it’s still got a long way to go before it can match some of the best mastering services out there.
How Do I Choose The Right AI Mastering Service For Me?
When picking an AI mastering service, you should consider:
- Sound Examples – What do the before and after sound like?
- Don’t get influenced by loudness – Loud always sounds better to our ears. These masters give you loudness, but might sometimes compress everything. Look for the soft and loud parts of your track to check if the dynamics are preserved.
- Genre – Some AI algorithms may sound great for EDM, but might not cut it for other genres. Check to see if it does a good job on your style of music. If not we have tested mixing and mastering services for different styles
- Controls – To be able to refine your master to your taste, you need to go beyond the generic three types of mastering options provided by default. Check the level of customisation your service provides.
- Price – what’s your budget, how much can you afford?
- Additional Services– If you’re looking for distribution, publishing, and mastering services, it might be cheaper to go for an all-inclusive subscription.
Are There Any Free Online Mixing Services?
No due to the nature of mixing there are no services that offer a free mixing service yet. There is no online service that does this yet. The closest you get to it is with Sonible’s smart plugins, Zynaptip’s proprietary AI-based MAP, along with iZotope.
For example, Sonible’s SmartEQ, analyses and optimises your signal constantly and makes real-time decisions to give you the freedom to focus on other important things.
Even with these advances in AI, mixing is too intricate and delicate a process to be taken over by AI and offered as a comprehensive service. As mixing is still considered an extension of the music production process, there are innumerable creative decisions to be made, maintaining the overall vision of the track or album in mind.
Mastering is more feasible since, if you have a great mix, the AI can just boost the volume, while mimicking the tonal balance of your genre or reference track.
Sai is a full-time music producer located in India, and is head of Faculty at D7 Media Institute. He is the most passionate music production guru I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Fantastic at sound design, mixing, and recording, Sai heads most of the review content, as well as dabbling in some mixing and mastering content too here at WCS. Give Sai any topic and he could write forever about it. He has over 10 years of experience working in the industry and has earned both Music Production and Music Composition & Piano degrees.
