This article outlines the minimum and recommended system requirements for installing and running Avid Pro Tools. It also provides current compatibility information to help ensure your system configuration aligns with supported operating systems, hardware, and software dependencies. Avid tests and qualifies specific configurations. While systems that meet the minimum requirements may operate without problems, please understand we can only provide support for qualified systems.
We regularly get asked and see on forums questions from people wanting to know if a particular version of a DAW will work with a particular version of macOS or Windows, or whether a version of the OS will work on their computer. This article is designed to be a resource to help you access comprehensive information already provided by brands like Apple, Avid and Microsoft, and explain why every version of DAW won’t work with every version of a computer’s operating system.
Understanding the Importance of OS and DAW Compatibility
It's crucial to match the version of your DAW with the corresponding supported operating system versions. To do this, you should check the compatibility information in this article and find out which version of the Mac or Windows operating system is supported for your version of DAW, and choose the most appropriate operating system to go with the version of your DAW. One thing that makes it easier is that most software including DAWs are supported on a range of operating systems.
If you need a newer version of your operating system for other software then you will need to budget for upgrading your DAW to a version that is supported for the version of the operating system you want to use.
Deviating from these recommendations is likely to cause you problems, as your DAW, like any software, is looking for hooks in the operating system to access certain parts of the system. These hooks change with different versions of the OS and so your DAW, or any other software, cannot find the hooks into the OS it is looking for and that will cause reliability issues.
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DONT Install new Pro Tools version before watching this!
Pro Tools and macOS Compatibility
Pro Tools may function on earlier versions of macOS, but they are untested. Here's a breakdown of supported macOS versions for specific Pro Tools releases:
- Pro Tools 2025.10 and higher is supported with macOS Tahoe.
- Pro Tools 2024.10 and higher is supported with macOS Sequoia.
- Pro Tools 2024.3 and higher is supported with macOS Sonoma.
When it comes to Apple, a good rule of thumb is any Apple computer will not work on any macOS released before the first version of that computer was released.
Pro Tools and Windows Compatibility
These documents cover both macOS And Windows
ALERT: Windows 7 End of Support
Pro Tools 12.8.3 is the last release that will support Windows 7; releases after 12.8.3 will not be tested on Windows 7, and any new bugs that are Windows 7-specific will not be fixed. Please upgrade to Windows 10 before updating to Pro Tools versions past 12.8.3.
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ALERT: Windows 10 - Pro Tools 12.5 added support for Windows 10. Note that there are specific Hardware Buffer limitations for Pro Tools HD on Windows 10
Minimum System Requirements for Pro Tools
Below are the minimum system requirements for running Pro Tools on both Mac and Windows systems:
Mac
- Intel Mac with macOS 10.14.6, 10.15.7, 11.4 (check the document for detailed information in the macOS Compatibility Grid)
- Pro Tools - M1 or Intel® Core i5 processor
- Pro Tools | Ultimate - M1 or Intel® Core i7 processor
- 16GB RAM (32GB or more recommended)
- Internet connection for installation
- 15GB disk space for installation
- PCIe slot for HDX or HD Native card (incl. one power connection on motherboard), Thunderbolt port for supported PCIe-chassis or HD Native Thunderbolt
- USB port, FireWire port or Thunderbolt port for CoreAudio-supported audio device
Windows
- Intel PC Windows 10 Home, Pro, and Enterprise 64-bit Editions (check the document for detailed information in the Windows OS Compatibility Grid)
- Windows 10 for Workstations supported on Intel® Xeon processor-equipped machines
- Pro Tools - Intel® Core i5 processor
- Pro Tools | Ultimate - Intel® Core i9 or Intel® Xeon processor
- 16GB RAM (32GB or more recommended)
- Internet connection for installation
- 15GB disk space for installation
- PCIe slot for HDX or HD Native card (incl. one power connection on motherboard)
- USB-port, FireWire-port for ASIO-supported audio device
- Compatible NVIDIA graphics card (see machine-specific Slot Order & Configuration pages in the document for tested NVIDIA card models)
Note: For more detailed information, refer to the specific macOS and Windows OS Compatibility Grids in the Pro Tools documentation.
Optimizing Your System
Optimizing your system will simplify software installation and maximize the performance of Pro Tools. It is recommended that you follow our Computer Optimisations Guides for Mac and Windows before installing Pro Tools.
Additional Considerations
Here are some additional points to consider:
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- RAM: 16GB RAM is the minimum, but 32GB or more is recommended for optimal performance.
- Storage: Ensure you have one or more drives dedicated to audio record and playback, formatted as APFS or HFS+ Journaled for Mac, and NTFS for Windows.
- Internet Connection: An internet connection is needed for installation and activation.
Example Compatibility Alerts
Historical alerts can provide valuable insights. For example, the Pro Tools 12 documentation included these warnings:
- ALERT: Do not upgrade to macOS High Sierra version 10.13.4. Initial testing showed serious CPU performance issues at lower buffer sizes.
- ALERT: Pro Tools 12.8.3 is fully qualified for use with macOS 10.13.2 (High Sierra).
- ALERT: Pro Tools 12.8.2 Does Not Support Mac OS 10.10 Yosemite.
Pro Tools | Carbon and Carbon Pre Compatibility
Pro Tools | Carbon and Carbon Pre can be used as standalone units or as part of Expanded systems to be able to leverage all of the flexibility of Pro Tools Mic Pre Control and recall.
Pro Tools software, plugins, and 3rd party plugin offers, if included with your product, will be available in your Avid Account after you successfully complete your Pro Tools | Carbon or Carbon Pre registration.
Pro Tools | Carbon and Pro Tools | Carbon Pre come with a 1-year hardware warranty.* Get peace of mind and minimize creative downtime by investing in the Pro Tools | Carbon or Pro Tools | Carbon Pre 3-Year Extended Hardware Support.
* Pro Tools | Carbon and Pro Tools | Carbon Pre come with a 1-year standard hardware warranty, including replace or repair, which can take 4-6 weeks to complete at no cost to the customer (customers pay for inbound shipping only). The Pro Tools | Carbon Extended Hardware Support plan extends your hardware coverage to three years from the time of purchase and provides advance hardware replacement with overnight shipping-paid both ways by Avid (customers may be responsible for some customs duties and associated charges)-so you can get back up and running quickly. Please note that advance replacements are only available for defective hardware that isn’t caused by customer abuse or neglect.
Logic Pro Compatibility
Apple Official Minimum System Requirements for Logic Pro 10.6
- macOS 10.15.7 or later
- 6GB of available storage space for minimum installation or 72GB of storage space for full Sound Library installation
Looking at Logic Pro 10.6, as we reported when it was released. The minimum OS requirement is now Catalina (OS 10.15) or higher. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as it has been a long-standing policy of Logic’s developers to support one version earlier than the current operating system. And since Big Sur is now it, Catalina is the “legacy” version they still support.
Offical historical information for Logic Pro is very hard to come by, but the rule of thumb of one version earlier than the macOS that was current when the version of Logic was released will stand you in good stead. So for Logic Pro 10.5, you will need macOS 10.14.6 or later, but in reality, that basically means Mojave or Catalina. For Big Sur you are going to need Logic Pro 10.6.
As for suitable computers look up the supported computers for that OS. You can check this out from our macOS DAW compatibility articles…
- macOS 10.13 High Sierra Pro Audio Compatibility Guide
- macOS Sierra Pro Audio Compatibility
- macOS Mojave Compatibility - The Ultimate Pro Audio Guide
- macOS Catalina Pro Audio Compatibility
- macOS Big Sur Compatibility
The simple takeaway from this article is any piece of software will only work with a range of versions of your computer’s operating system. For example, do not expect to be able to run Pro Tools 8LE with macOS Big Sur.
We hope that with the information in this article, you will be able to find out which version of your DAW will play nicely with which version of your chosen operating system or vice versa.
If you are working with an older version of your DAW then do not expect to be able to have a nice new shiny computer, you will need to stick to a similar vintage of computer as your DAW. That will also impact the versions of any software you want to run on your computer, so don’t expect to be able to run the latest version of video editing software on the same computer as an older version of your DAW, something will not work.
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