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Articles / Suno alternatives for people who want to write the song (2026)

Suno alternatives for people who want to write the song (2026)

By the builder of Mozarella, a software engineer and musician. Updated September 26, 2026.

Suno, Udio, AIVA, Soundraw, and Boomy generate a track from a prompt. Hookpad, BandLab, MuseScore, and Mozarella leave the chords, melody, and lyrics with you. Mozarella is ours.

What you wanted from Suno

If you want finished audio and no writing, stay with Suno. Nothing below matches it at that job. If you want the chords and melody you already hear, write those parts, and use a tool for the vocal, the recording, or the mix.

Suno in September 2026

The v6 models arrived on September 9, 2026, trained on licensed Warner, BMG, and Believe catalogs and on users' own creations. Suno Studio 2.0, a browser DAW with MIDI import, is Premier-only. Pro is $10 a month, Premier $30. The free tier gets 50 credits a day, seven downloads for life, personal use only, and Suno owns the songs. Universal and Sony have not settled: they filed a second suit over v6 on September 18, and a Munich court ruled against Suno for GEMA in July. None of that changes the writing question. A prompt is still not a melody.

Other generators

Udio matches Suno on audio quality, and since the Universal Music settlement the tracks only stream inside Udio, with downloads of audio and stems turned off, still, as of September 2026. The licensed replacement app, Starstruck, will not export either. AIVA leans orchestral and exports editable MIDI, and below Pro, at 33 euros a month billed annually, AIVA keeps the copyright. Soundraw is instrumentals only, editable by section, and trained on in-house music. The license needs a subscription, and a streaming release needs a higher plan plus a substantial edit. Boomy is built to send releases to streaming quickly.

The split is what each license lets you keep. Full comparison: Mozarella vs Suno and Mozarella vs Udio.

If you want to stay the songwriter

Mozarella (ours)

A song sketch pad in the browser. You choose the key, the chords, the sections, and the melody, and hear it as you go. AI sings the melody you wrote, supplies sounds for the instruments you picked, and exports stems and MIDI when you move to a DAW. The song is yours because you wrote it. Free to start: open the app.

Hookpad

The theory workbench. Chords are color-coded by function, and a library of analyzed hits shows why the progression works while you write. $7.99 a month, or $199 lifetime.

BandLab

A free studio in the browser. You record yourself, arrange loops, program drums, and mix without paying. The AI features master and split stems, and the writing stays with you. Use BandLab when you are recording your own voice or instrument.

MuseScore Studio

Free, open source notation software for desktop. You write the score, and it plays back. Production stays in a DAW.

Vocals, stems, and mastering

Singing voice synthesis performs a melody you wrote (the options are compared here), stem separation isolates a part, and assisted mastering finishes the mix. The writing stays with you. The best tool for each stage, with September 2026 prices: Best tools for writing a song from scratch.

Copyright

The US Copyright Office says prompting a generator does not make you the author of the output, however many times you reroll. A melody and lyrics you wrote stay copyrightable in the ordinary way, even when an AI performs them. If you plan to release the song, write those parts yourself. Sources: Who owns a song made with AI?

Common questions

Is there a generator that keeps my melody?

Not reliably. Generators are trained to produce a whole track from a prompt, and your melody is at best an influence. If the notes matter, use singing voice synthesis for the vocal and write the track yourself.

Is Udio still worth trying?

Since the Universal deal, Udio only streams inside its own platform, and you cannot download the audio, video, or stems.

What is the cheapest way to end up with a song I own?

Write it in a free sketch tool, then pay only where you need help: a sung vocal, a mix, or a master. The copyright sits on the melody and lyrics you wrote.

What do the free tiers include?

Suno's free tier is personal use only, capped at seven downloads for life since September 2026, and Suno keeps ownership of the songs. Udio has no downloads. AIVA keeps the copyright below Pro. Soundraw's free tier is preview only. Mozarella's free tier is the composition, which is yours because you wrote it, and you pay for the vocal engine and studio export.

Related

All articles. Mozarella is a song sketch pad in the browser, free to start. Open the app or read the FAQ.