Going Native

The Mac version of FL Studio is 64-bit only, and requires OS 10.11 or later – not great for older Macs, but a fair compromise at this point in time. Stability wise, FL ran solidly on my mid-2015 MacBook Pro, though I noticed some playback glitches when changing plugin presets. Setup and registration was easy. On Mac, FL supports VST and AU plugin formats, and I had no problems with any of the third party instrument or effects.

There are a few elements of FL Studio yet to be ported across for the Mac version. At the time of writing, Mac users can’t load FL Studio 20 as a VST client in a third party host, unlike on Windows systems. Rewire support is absent too. Image-Line say the former is currently being worked on. Several plugins are currently unavailable. Some, like the FL Studio Mobile plugin, Dashboard and Blood Overdrive are being worked on; other older tools, like Fruity LSD or the WASP synth won’t be making the jump at all. Some other Image-Line plugins are available on Mac within FL Studio, but are yet to be made available as standalone VSTs. For details of what is/isn’t available, head to: bit.ly/image-line_comp