As with much expensive software, the biggest difference isn't what it does but who uses it. You didn't mention it, but Pro Tools is the dominant (and truly pric

As with much expensive software, the biggest difference isn't what it does but who uses it. You didn't mention it, but Pro Tools is the dominant (and truly pricey) DAW in professional studios, and so a big reason for using it is if you want to work with those folks and share projects back and forth. Logic Pro is actually pretty darn affordable as DAWs go ($199, which is more than base Reaper but actually less than Reaper commercial license), and it's essentially an upsell of Garage Band and almost a loss leader for Apple to keep a "creative" tinge (except I'm sure they make money on it, just less than they could if they pushed it - it was more expensive before Apple bought it). It's well worth trying if you have a Mac, comes with lots of virtual instruments that are arguably worth the price alone - but it is opinionated about AU format whereas Reaper is nice and compatible with other things, programmable, etc. Ableton is a different and interesting beast, a DAW but also oriented towards live performance, electro-DJ-loop stuff, etc. If that's your bag then definitely give it a go (the full version is expensive but you can get Ableton Lite for free or close to it via special offers and hardware bonuses), but if you're working with more sequential music then a traditional DAW is probably more natural. (See also in this space, Bitwig and FL Studio.) At the end of the day, all modern DAWs can do all the same common/core tasks. It's just a matter of community and workflow/UX - different tools are optimized for different things and entrenched with different users. And Reaper is almost a meta-tool that you can optimize yourself, if you take the time to do it.