It is free
Audiotool describes itself as 100% free, with no feature behind a subscription. GOONS has free instruments and lessons, but its studio apps are a subscription after a 7-day trial.
Audiotool · honest comparison
An Audiotool alternative
An Audiotool alternative
For playing, not patching
Audiotool is free, has been in the browser since 2010, and with version 3.0 in July 2026 it became multiplayer: several people in one session, in real time. This page concedes all of that first, then describes the case where a set of instruments you play with your hands serves you better than a desk you wire together.
20+ APPS
5000 SAMPLES
2 DJ DECKS
27 WORLD INSTRUMENTS
0 INSTALLS
€9.90 PER MONTH
Playable · no account
An instrument, not a patch
Two slightly detuned oscillators through a resonant low-pass filter. Nothing to wire: pick a waveform, close the cutoff and play it with the mouse or the A to K row of your keyboard.
The concessions, first
Three things Audiotool does that GOONS does not
If any of these is a requirement, Audiotool is the better choice, and it costs nothing to find out.
Several people in one session
Since version 3.0, audio, MIDI and automation sync live between everyone in a session. GOONS apps talk to each other in real time for one person; two people cannot edit the same project.
A modular desk and plugins
Its devices are patched together on a desk, and a desktop helper brings in VST3 plugins. GOONS has no plugin support and no modular routing.
Side by side
Two different shapes of browser studio
Facts checked in November 2026 on each site and in the launch coverage of Audiotool 3.0.
| Audiotool | GOONS Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free instruments and lessons; studio at €9.90 a month after a 7-day trial |
| Workflow | Modular desk: place devices, wire them, arrange | One app per instrument, ready to play |
| Built-in devices | 37: 7 synths, 3 drum machines, 27 effects | 20+ apps: synths, drum machines, DJ decks, vocoder, looper, sampler |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes, since 3.0 | No |
| Plugins | VST3 through a desktop helper | None |
| DJ and performance | Not the focus | Two-deck DJ set, scratch turntable, XY effects pad |
| Acoustic and world instruments | Not the focus | Sampled piano, guitar, bass and 27 world instruments |
| MIDI controllers | Yes, MIDI learn | Yes, Web MIDI |
How to choose
Three questions
Are you making music with other people?
If two or more of you need to work in the same session, Audiotool does it and GOONS does not. That settles it.
Do you like building the signal chain?
If wiring devices together is part of the fun, a modular desk is the right tool. If you want to press a key and hear a finished instrument, look at playable apps.
What do you want to play?
Electronic production fits both. DJ decks, a vocoder, a theremin, piano, guitar or world instruments are where GOONS has something Audiotool does not.
Deep links
Instruments that open ready to play
Four of the GOONS apps that have no direct equivalent on a modular desk.
A desk you build, or instruments you pick up
Audiotool gives you a large desk and a box of devices: synths, drum machines and effects you place, connect and arrange. It is flexible and free, and since 3.0 it is social. GOONS takes the opposite approach: each app is a finished instrument with its own interface, a turntable you scratch, a vocoder you sing into, a synth you play from the keyboard, and they share one mixer.
Where the two overlap
Both run in a browser with nothing to install, both read MIDI controllers, neither works offline. For beat making on a laptop, either will do the job; the difference is how you like to work. The studio comparison puts them next to BandLab, Soundtrap and the desktop DAWs.
Try before you choose
Audiotool costs nothing to try. The GOONS instruments on the app pages each have a playable demo with no account, and the studio has a 7-day trial.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is a good alternative to Audiotool?
It depends on why you want one. For free collaboration, BandLab. For an installed DAW, the desktop options. For playable instruments, DJ decks and a vocoder in the browser, GOONS Studio.
Is GOONS free like Audiotool?
Partly. The piano, guitar, world instruments, lessons and app demos are free with no account. The studio apps are €9.90 a month or €90 a year after a 7-day trial.
Can I collaborate in real time on GOONS?
No. Its apps send audio to each other in real time for one user; there is no multi-user session. Audiotool and BandLab do that.
Does GOONS support VST plugins?
No. Everything runs in the browser on its own engines.
Can I export my work?
Yes, as WAV audio, and as MIDI from the instruments that record takes.
Does it work on a Chromebook?
Yes. GOONS needs a current browser and nothing else, which suits Chromebooks and school laptops.
Alternatives silo
Keep reading
Honest comparisons with the tools people already use. Each page says what the other one does better before it says where GOONS wins - that is the only version worth citing.
Hub
Studio alternatives
Six browser studios compared on the things that decide it: price, export, offline, plugins.
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Guide
vs BandLab
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vs Soundtrap
The classroom question: seats, logins, Chromebooks and what each one asks of a school.
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GarageBand on Windows
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FL Studio online
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Ableton online
Live has no browser version. What its loop-first way of working looks like in a tab.
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VirtualDJ online
VirtualDJ has no browser version. Two decks, a crossfader and a record to scratch, in a tab.
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Guide
vs Virtual Piano
Letter sheets on a QWERTY keyboard versus real sheet music with a piano that waits for you.
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vs Simply Piano
An app that listens to your real piano versus a free course that runs in any browser.
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vs Yousician
Scored practice on your own guitar versus free lessons, chords and songs on a sampled one.
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vs Chrome Music Lab
Playful sound experiments versus a piano for kids, songs by colors and world instruments.
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Ready when you are
Open an app and play it
Every app page has a playable demo with no account. The full studio is a 7-day trial.
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