Pedalboard vs pyo

Both process audio in Python and they solve different problems. pedalboard applies effects to audio you already have. Pyo is an environment for building synthesis and DSP from scratch.

Side by side

Where they actually differ

pedalboard hosts real plugins

Loading VST3 and Audio Unit plugins from Python is pedalboard’s standout capability, and Pyo has nothing comparable. If your processing chain depends on a specific commercial plugin, this is the only one of the two that can do it.

Pyo makes sound, pedalboard changes it

Pyo has oscillators, envelopes, tables, physical models and a full DSP vocabulary — you can build an instrument in it. pedalboard has no synthesis at all; it needs audio to start with.

Speed favours pedalboard for batch work

pedalboard’s C++ core is genuinely fast, which matters when processing a large library of files. Pyo is designed around real-time streams rather than throughput on a folder of WAVs.

Licensing differs and it matters

pedalboard is GPL-3.0, Pyo is LGPL-3.0. For distributing closed-source software, LGPL is considerably easier to live with. Worth checking before you build a product on either.

Which should you choose?

Choose Pedalboard when…

• You are applying effects to existing audio
• You need to host VST or AU plugins
• You are batch-processing a library of files
• Throughput matters more than interactivity

Choose pyo when…

• You are building synthesis from primitives
• You need real-time audio in Python
• You want a complete DSP environment
• LGPL suits your distribution better than GPL

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