Daydream vs AIVA
Daydream Studio is a browser-based studio for hybrid music production: session players follow your part, chords and groove while it plays, you change any part as it goes, and every part comes out as its own stem. Daydream Songs makes a finished instrumental track from a description, with the mix and every stem. AIVA composes music in more than 250 styles and exports it as audio and MIDI, for you to arrange and edit.
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Which is better, Daydream or AIVA?
It depends on whether you want MIDI or a finished track. AIVA composes whole arrangements as MIDI you can take into a DAW; Daydream’s session players play audio. But on AIVA’s Free and Standard plans AIVA owns the copyright, and you own it only on Pro, at €49 a month plus VAT. On Daydream you own what you make on every plan, Free included, In Daydream Studio you make the track yourself, with every part as its own stem, and Songs is $4 a month for 500 tracks with unlimited downloads of mixes and stems.
The plans, side by side
Prices in US dollars, as of 20 October 2026. AIVA prices in euros, plus VAT; Daydream’s are in US dollars.
| Feature | Daydream Free | AIVA Free |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | €0 |
| Downloads | 3 a month, MP3 or stems | 3 a month, up to 3 minutes each |
| Formats | MP3, and stems | MP3 and MIDI |
| Who owns the copyright | You | AIVA |
| Commercial use | Yes | No, and you must credit AIVA |
| Feature | Daydream Songs | AIVA Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4 a month | €15 a month plus VAT (€11 billed yearly) |
| Downloads | Unlimited, mixes and stems | 15 a month, up to 5 minutes each |
| Formats | MP3, and stems | MP3 and MIDI |
| Who owns the copyright | You | AIVA |
| Commercial use | Yes | Only on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram |
| Feature | Daydream Max | AIVA Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $30 a month ($12.99 the first month) | €49 a month plus VAT (€33 billed yearly) |
| Downloads | Unlimited, mixes, stems and WAV | 300 a month, up to 5½ minutes each |
| Formats | MP3, WAV of the mix, and stems | Every format: MP3, WAV, MIDI and stems |
| Who owns the copyright | You | You (a business with 3 or more staff and over $300k a year in revenue needs a custom plan) |
| Commercial use | Yes | Yes |
| Studio | About 23 hours a month | Edit the tracks it makes |
| Train on your own tracks | Yes, a Style that sounds like you | Yes, your own style models from audio or MIDI |
Use AIVA if
- You want MIDI: orchestrated or reduced, to arrange and produce in your DAW.
- You want to choose from more than 250 styles.
- You want the copyright in tracks made before you subscribed: on AIVA, upgrading to Pro covers those too.
Use Daydream if
- You want to own what you make without paying for it. Daydream Free is yours, cleared for commercial use, no credit needed.
- You want to make the track yourself. Studio is a DAW in your browser: record or hum a part, book session players who follow your part, chords and groove while it plays, change any of them as it goes, then arrange, mix and export. Studio comes with Free, Pro and Max.
- You want your own sounds in it. On a Mac, Studio runs your own VST3 and AU instruments and effects on any lane, in the browser, through a small helper called Studio Bridge.
- You want every part as its own stem, on every plan, Free included.
- You need royalty-free background music for a video, a game, a stream or a podcast. Songs makes an instrumental track from a description, cleared for commercial use on every plan, and $4 a month gets you 500 tracks with unlimited downloads of mixes and stems.
Questions
- Who owns music made with AIVA?
- It depends on the plan you’re on when you download. On Free and Standard, AIVA owns the copyright; on Pro, AIVA assigns it to you, per AIVA’s pricing page; under AIVA’s licence a business with 3 or more staff and over $300k a year in revenue needs a custom plan, as of 20 October 2026. On Daydream you own what you make, copyright and all, on every plan: the terms assign it to you irrevocably, take no cut and ask for no credit.
- Can I monetize AIVA music on Spotify?
- Not on Free (no monetisation) or Standard (YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram only). AIVA Pro allows full monetisation. Daydream allows commercial use, release included, on every plan.
- If I cancel AIVA Pro, do I keep the copyright?
- Yes, for what you already owned: AIVA’s help centre says you keep the copyright of compositions you owned before cancelling. On Daydream, what you make is yours whatever plan you’re on, and cancelling doesn’t change that.
- Does Daydream export MIDI like AIVA?
- Not for what its players make: they play audio, and Daydream exports the mix as MP3, or WAV on Pro and Max, and every part as its own stem, on every plan. Studio’s own instrument lanes, which you play from a MIDI keyboard or write in a piano roll, import and export MIDI.
AIVA’s plans and limits are from AIVA pricing, AIVA licence, AIVA help: copyright when you cancel and AIVA help: download formats, checked 20 October 2026. AIVA changes its plans; check there before you buy. Daydream’s are on Pricing.
Looking at more than Daydream? AIVA alternatives, compared.