I’ve been looking to get more serious with music making so I wanted to look up a good sale on Ableton. I couldn’t find anything right away so decided to research it more and write my findings on Ableton going on sale (and if they ever do) right here.
Ableton does go on sale for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. Ableton has even gone on sale for Thanksgiving and sometime in the Spring or early Summer in the past as well. Sales during the major holidays (like Christmas) usually last 1 whole month while smaller sales (like random Summer sales) usually lasting for 2 weeks.
Any sale directly on the Ableton website can be discounted as much as 30% off the regular price. However, this discount can range from 20% to 33% off throughout the year. You can use the tables I’ve created below to keep track of when these sales usually happen.
In my research, I did also find out that there are several options from third party retailers such as music stores and music making websites. These websites offer software-only sales but also usually bundle other products with the Ableton software.
It can be tricky to find the best deal and choosing the right DAW is one of the main costs of making electronic music, so I’ve broken it down further below for you.
The Best Software-Only Sales To Look For
Now that we know that Ableton does go on sale, what are the best deals to look for?
This mostly depends on whether you are looking to make music with just the Ableton software or if you would like to get a product bundled with Ableton to help you make music.
This choice is up to you, it is more fun making music with some kind of hardware, but you can always start with software and add in fun hardware products later on (that’s what I did at least lol).
Regardless, how long it takes to learn Ableton mostly depends on how much time you put into it. So make sure you get started as soon as you can!
I’ve gone ahead and researched some key dates that the Ableton software has gone on sale in the past, so you can get a pretty good idea of when it may go on sale next.
In addition to checking the current price on Amazon, here are some dates and sales to look out for if you want to get the Ableton software on sale from either Ableton themselves or third-party retailers:
| Date | Sale | Website |
|---|---|---|
| May 1st – May 20th | 30% Off | Thomann.de |
| May 20th – 30th | 30% Off | Ableton Website |
| Black Friday / Cyber Monday | 25% Off | Ableton Website |
| Christmas | $100 Off | Sweetwater |
As you can see, Ableton mostly goes on sale during the major holidays and most sales are directly from the Ableton website.
Other music stores do offer sales on the Ableton software but where they really shine is when they can bundle the software with other products to help you make music.
Does Amazon ever offer sales on the different versions of Ableton software?
Bigger retail stores like Amazon don’t usually have the Ableton software on sale at regular times but you can check if a sale is available to you right now by checking the links below:
The Best Ableton Bundle Sales To Look For
If you want to get the Ableton software bundled up with cool things like synthesizers and MIDI controllers then you have two options:
- Get an Ableton Live + Push 2 controller bundle
- Get a third-party synthesizer or MIDI controller that comes with a Lite version a Ableton Live.
Ableton Live + Push 2 Bundles
One very popular bundle is the Ableton Live software paired with the Ableton Push 2 controller. The Push 2 is a MIDI controller that is actually made by Ableton that has been designed and built to integrate really closely with the Ableton software.
If you are considering Push 2, check out my article, Is Ableton Push 2 Worth It?, for an in-depth look into how to decide for yourself.
Breaking away from the computer screen is huge and it can be a great way to dip your toes into what it feels like if you want to go DAWless eventually.
The bundle with the Ableton Push 2 is the only bundle that is available directly from the Ableton website and it usually goes on sale at the same time that the Ableton software goes on sale.
Just remember that even though it seems to have inputs and outputs, you may be surprised to learn that the Ableton Push 2 is not an audio interface.
I’ve again gone ahead and researched some key dates that the Ableton bundles have gone on sale in the past. This may not be 100% the same every year but at the very least you can get a pretty good idea of when it may go on sale next.
Friendly Tip: If you have a local music store near you, use the dates in the chart below to keep an eye on when your local store may have sales on Ableton and Ableton bundles. You may be able to pick it up in-store instead of having to order online and wait!
I personally got my Ableton Push 2 at the store, love it, and would recommend it as the best gear to make deep house music with.
Here are some dates and sales to look out for if you want to get the Ableton software on sale from either Ableton themselves or third-party retailers:
| Date | Sale | Bundle | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1st – May 20th | 30% Off | Ableton + Push 2 | Thomann.de |
| May 20th – 30th | 30% Off | Ableton + Push 2 | Ableton Website |
| Black Friday / Cyber Monday | 25% Off | Ableton + Push 2 | Ableton Website |
| Christmas | 20% Off | Ableton + Push 2 | Ableton Website |
Does Amazon ever offer sales on the Ableton bundles?
Yes! But there is a catch: Amazon usually only has sales on Ableton Live software and Ableton Push 2 bundles. To see if a bundle is on sale for you right now, just click right here.
Products That Include a Copy of Ableton Live Lite
Several music making products from synthesizers to MIDI controllers include a stripped down version of Ableton called Ableton Live Lite. For no extra cost, you can actually get a half decent copy of Ableton with a hardware product that you can use to make music.
There is a very long list of products that come bundled with Ableton Live Lite, but I’ve researched some of the more popular products and listed them here for you. These products go usually on sale during the normal holiday periods like Black Friday and Christmas, but watch out for some Spring and Summer deals as well!
Friendly Tip: Most of these products are definitely available in your local music store. If you don’t want to shop online, just look for these at your local music store! As a bonus tip, sign up for your local music store’s newsletter (if they have one) and they will almost certainly email you when they are having a store-wide sale.
AKAI APC Key 25
AKAI MPK Mini MK2
Novation Circuit
Novation Launchkey MK2
The Best Way To Get Ableton Second-Hand
If you want to get Ableton for even cheaper than the regular sale price, you can actually get Ableton “used” or second-hand. However, you may want to be careful going this option.
Purchasing Ableton from someone on Kijiji or the Facebook Marketplace could be sketch and you could very well get ripped off.
The safest way would be to get a Ableton Live license second hand would be from a forum with a trusted community such as:
As you can see if Ableton has a section for this in their forum, they are more or less okay with people selling their licenses. Just remember to use caution when purchasing anything second-hand if you do want to go this route.
I don’t want you to get screwed over and spend money on a phony license. But, if you are willing to take a bit of a risk, you can definitely save some cold hard cash this way.
How To Get Notified Of An Ableton Sale
So what’s the best way to get notified of when Ableton is on sale? You could always keep checking back here, but I can imagine that would be quite annoying!
The best way to get notified of an Ableton sale is to sign up for their newsletter. You can sign up at the Ableton website by scrolling to the bottom of the homepage and looking for the email address sign up box.
But also, (like anything going on sale really) just remember that there will be some kind of sale during the major sale holidays like Black Friday and Christmas. There are smaller sales throughout the year but you will have to be a bit more vigilant and on the ball to catch them.
Also remember that the sales last between 2 weeks – 1 month, so when Ableton does go on sale you will have a decent amount of time on your side.
What Next?
Once you’ve got your copy of Ableton and recorded some sweet music, you might want to look into getting those tracks up on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.
Thankfully, it is actually 100000X times easier to do this than it was 10 years ago.
Sure, when you look at how much Spotify pays per stream, it is not too much but it can definitely add up. Plus, it’s pretty cool to have your music available where everyone can hear it and it takes your musical project to the next level.
To get started, all you will need is a “music distributor” to get your music uploaded to all the popular streaming services and stores.
My top suggestion for a music distributor is definitely DistroKid because you get unlimited song uploads for a small annual fee (it’s also what I personally use).
With that said, I’ve compared DK to other popular services if you would like to search around first to find the right digital distributor:
- DistroKid vs TuneCore
- DistroKid vs CdBaby
- DistroKid vs UnitedMasters
- DistroKid vs Ditto
- DistroKid vs Amuse
- DistroKid vs SoundCloud
Or, if you would like a more detailed look into what DistroKid has to offer, you can check out my big fat DistroKid review. 🙂
In that review, I go over quite a bit, including deep dives into DistroKid pricing as well as everything you will need to know about DistroKid wait times.
P.S. If you also want to learn about music publishing and make sure that you are not leaving any money on the table with your music distribution setup, I’d recommend checking out these 2 articles:
Related Questions
How Many Times A Year Does Ableton Go On Sale?
Ableton goes on sale during most major holidays and sometimes in the summer. You can expect Ableton to go on sale 4 – 5 times a year.
Does Ableton Provide A Student Discount?
If you are a student or teacher you can save even more on Ableton Live. Ableton does provide a student discount of 40% off to students or teachers. You can learn more about that here.
Does Ableton Have Discount Codes Available?
Ableton only goes on sale site-wide or through coordinated sales with third party retailers. Ableton does not have discount codes available.
