AIVA vs SOUNDRAW: pricing, features and which to choose

AIVA, short for Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist, is a commercial music generation company co-founded by Pierre Barreau, Denis Shtefan, and Vincent Barreau. The company describes a team combining composition, software, and deep learning expertise, and lists Horizon 2020 grant support from the European Union. AIVA became known for classical and cinematic composition before expanding its web product. Its service targets beginners who need quick cues and professionals seeking editable musical material, including MIDI, audio influence, and custom style models. This focus gives AIVA a role closer to a composition workstation with generative assistance than a text only song generator. It suits users who want to shape instrumental music, review generated arrangements, and continue composing rather than receive a finished pop track, so composers and music makers should pick AIVA.

A typical AIVA workflow starts with a selected style, musical settings, duration, or an uploaded audio or MIDI influence. The service then generates a composition for review. Users can edit the arrangement, create a custom style model, and export supported formats. AIVA says it covers more than 250 styles and can generate songs in seconds. Its helpdesk lists MP3, orchestrated MIDI, reduced MIDI, WAV, stems, and chord exports, although availability depends on the subscription plan. MIDI export is particularly useful for composers who want to replace instruments or continue arranging elsewhere. The service also presents more than 150 AIVA tracks arranged by human musicians, reinforcing its focus on instrumental, score-like, and soundtrack use. AIVA should appeal to composers, filmmakers, and creators who need editable musical material.

AIVA’s licensing is its major differentiator and largest constraint. Free output cannot support commercial activity, Standard permits monetization only on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram, and Pro’s copyright assignment depends on the EULA and plan eligibility. The agreement limits simultaneous generation, hourly and daily generation, and stored compositions. Refunds are restricted after premium features are used, and cancellation does not refund paid membership. Suno and Udio are stronger choices for prompt-driven vocal songs and rapid song ideation, while Soundraw focuses on quick royalty-free creator music. Pick AIVA for editable instrumental composition, MIDI export, custom style control, and a clear route to copyright through Pro. Teams should confirm the applicable license before publishing music or uploading third-party material. AIVA is best for composers and creators needing control over instrumental scores.

SOUNDRAW is a Japanese AI music company founded in 2020 by Daigo Kusunoki. It makes instrumental music that users shape through genre, mood, theme, tempo, length, instruments, and song structure controls. Music Business Worldwide reported a $3 million funding round in March 2024, led by Carbide Ventures with participation from investors including Eminem manager Paul Rosenberg. The company says its model is trained on input from its in-house music team rather than scraped catalogues. That rights-first positioning is central to the product: SOUNDRAW sells a usage license for generated recordings instead of presenting the service as a conventional stock-music library or a tool for cloning named artists.

A typical workflow starts with selecting a genre, mood, theme, and track length, after which SOUNDRAW generates candidate compositions. Users can alter sections, transitions, intensity, tempo, instruments, and arrangement, then download the result for a project. Creator is aimed at background music, while Artist plans let producers work with beats as the basis for songs. Artist Pro and Artist Unlimited add WAV and stem downloads, which makes the service more useful in a DAW than an MP3-only library. The company also offers an API for video platforms, games, apps, marketing tools, and creator software. Its API supports generation and customization, with documented asynchronous generation and endpoints for composing, customizing, and making similar tracks.

SOUNDRAW is strongest when a creator needs a usable instrumental quickly and wants to fit its arrangement to video timing. It is less suitable for a composer seeking detailed MIDI-level authorship, a permanent free tier, or permission to register generated audio with Content ID. Its license also restricts distributing an unmodified beat and limits downloaded tracks used for meditation, lo-fi, and relaxation content to the period of an active subscription. Suno is a closer choice for full vocal songs from prompts, while AIVA offers more composition-oriented control and licensing options; Beatoven.ai is another direct background-score alternative. Pick SOUNDRAW for commercial video music, adjustable beats, and a clearly priced path from MP3 downloads to stems, especially if avoiding scraped training data is a priority.