AI Music Generation: Mubert vs Suno vs Soundraw
AI can write, code, and make images. Can it make music?
I tested the three leading AI music tools to find out what’s actually usable.
The Test
Goal: Create a 2-minute background track for a YouTube video. Upbeat, electronic, suitable for tech content.
Same prompt to each tool. Compare results.
The Tools
Suno - Most Creative
Price: Free tier (10 songs/day) / $10/month Pro
What it does: Text-to-music. Describe what you want, get a complete song. Can include AI-generated vocals.
Mubert - Fastest
Price: Free tier / $14/month Creator
What it does: Instant AI-generated music. Select mood, genre, duration. Get track in seconds.
Soundraw - Most Customizable
Price: $17/month (no free tier)
What it does: AI generates loops, you arrange them. More control over structure.
Suno Results
Prompt: “Upbeat electronic track, tech video background music, energetic but not overwhelming, 2 minutes”
What I got:
Surprisingly creative output. Actual melody, builds, transitions. It felt like music, not just loops.
Quality: 7/10
- Real compositional structure
- Interesting sound design
- Occasional weird moments but mostly cohesive
The vocals thing: Suno can generate songs WITH vocals. I tested this too. Results were… strange. Impressive technically, uncanny valley in practice. Skip vocals for now.
Best for: When you want creativity and don’t mind some unpredictability.
Mubert Results
Same prompt.
What I got:
Instant generation. Very fast. The output was competent but generic.
Quality: 6/10
- Clean production
- Royalty-free
- Felt like stock music
- No surprises, good or bad
Best for: Background music where you just need something inoffensive quickly.
Soundraw Results
Same prompt, then customization.
What I got:
Started with AI generation, then I could adjust:
- Energy level per section
- Add/remove instruments
- Change tempo
- Extend or shorten sections
Quality: 7/10
- More control than others
- Felt customized to my needs
- Less creative but more predictable
- Professional enough for YouTube
Best for: When you need specific characteristics and want control.
Sound Quality Comparison
Production quality (how professional it sounds):
- Soundraw - Cleanest production
- Mubert - Good but generic
- Suno - Varies, sometimes great, sometimes rough
Creativity (how interesting it sounds):
- Suno - Actually creative
- Soundraw - Controlled creativity
- Mubert - Predictable
Speed:
- Mubert - Seconds
- Soundraw - About a minute
- Suno - 1-2 minutes
Use Case Recommendations
YouTube background music:
Winner: Soundraw or Mubert
You need consistent, professional, inoffensive music. Both deliver. Soundraw gives more customization.
Podcast intro/outro:
Winner: Suno
You want something memorable. Suno’s creativity helps create distinct audio branding.
Social media content:
Winner: Mubert
Speed matters. Generate quickly, move on.
Gaming content:
Winner: Suno
Creative, varied, matches dynamic content better.
Corporate presentations:
Winner: Soundraw
Predictable, professional, won’t raise eyebrows.
The Licensing Question
Critical for commercial use.
Suno:
- Free tier: Personal use only
- Pro ($10/month): Commercial use allowed
- Full rights with subscription
Mubert:
- Free tier: Attribution required
- Creator ($14/month): Commercial use, no attribution
- Business tiers for larger use
Soundraw:
- All plans include commercial rights
- Full royalty-free for subscribers
- Must have active subscription to use commercially
My advice: If using commercially, pay for the subscription. The legal clarity is worth it.
What AI Music Can’t Do (Yet)
Human vocals:
Suno tries. Results are uncanny. Not ready for real music.
Complex emotion:
AI can do “happy” or “sad” in broad strokes. Subtle emotional nuance? Not yet.
Unique style:
Everything sounds somewhat similar within each tool. No truly distinctive artistic voice.
Professional music production:
These tools make decent background music. They don’t replace musicians for serious work.
Who Should Use AI Music
Good fit:
- Content creators needing background music
- YouTubers who can’t afford licensing
- Social media managers
- Podcast producers
- Game developers with small budgets
Bad fit:
- Professional music production
- Anything requiring unique artistic identity
- Projects where music is the product
- Commercial releases
The Honest Reality
AI music has crossed the “usable” threshold for background content. It’s no longer obviously fake or amateur.
For most content creators, this solves a real problem. Licensed music is expensive. AI music is cheap and good enough.
It’s not replacing musicians. It’s replacing stock music libraries and expensive licensing for casual use.
My Recommendation
Start with:
Suno free tier - Test creativity, see what it can do
For regular use:
Soundraw ($17/month) if you want control and consistency Suno Pro ($10/month) if you want creativity and variation Mubert ($14/month) if you need speed above all
For occasional use:
Stick with free tiers. They’re generous enough for light use.
Bottom Line
AI music is usable for content creation. Not revolutionary. Not perfect. But genuinely useful for background music needs.
Best overall: Suno for creativity or Soundraw for control
Best free: Suno’s free tier is most generous
Fastest: Mubert
The technology is improving rapidly. What’s “good enough” today will be “quite good” next year. Worth keeping an eye on.
Frequently Asked Questions
For background music and simple tracks, yes. For complex compositions with vocals, not quite. AI music is usable for content creators but not for professional music production. Getting better fast.
Suno for creativity and vocals. Mubert for quick background tracks. Soundraw for customizable royalty-free music. Best choice depends on your use case.
Usually, with paid subscriptions. Check each platform's terms. Most allow commercial use on paid plans. Free tiers often have restrictions. Always verify before using commercially.