Launchpad in 2026: is it worth buying?

What is it

8x8 grid with buttons and RGB LEDs and several other control buttons. It has been manufactured by Novation in 2009 first, then released other models.

Models

There’s a wide range of models, Novation has developed several models in the years.

Basic ones:

  • Launchpad MK1 (2009)
    64 pads, monochrome lighting, basic clip/scene launching for Ableton Live, no MIDI I/O, USB‑only

  • Launchpad S (2013)
    64 RGB pads, MIDI support, internal MIDI caching, focused on Ableton Live

  • Launchpad MK2 (2015)
    64 RGB pads with improved sensitivity, Ableton integration, more responsive pads and layout tweaks

  • Launchpad X (2019)
    64 velocity‑sensitive RGB pads, Dynamic Note/Scale modes, 4 custom user‑mappable modes, excellent for Ableton Live and Logic Pro Live Loops

Mini:

  • Launchpad Mini (2015)
    64‑pad layout, small, aimed at portable Ableton-style performance, fewer physical buttons

  • Launchpad Mini MK2 (2015)
    same size as Mini, 64 RGB pads, extra buttons and improved layout compared to original Mini

  • Launchpad Mini MK3 (2020)
    Very compact 64 RGB pads, three custom modes, Ableton Live Lite bundle, portable design for clip launching and basic performance

Pro:

  • Launchpad Pro (2015)
    64 RGB velocity and pressure‑sensitive pads, standalone sequencer, MIDI In/Out, deeper Ableton/DAW integration, custom modes

  • Launchpad Pro Mk2 (2017)
    64 RGB pads with velocity + pressure; compacted layout, 4‑track, 32‑step sequencer; full MIDI In/Out support; more advanced Ableton and Logic‑Live‑Loops integration than Mk1.

  • Launchpad Pro MK3 (2020)
    64 super‑sensitive RGB pads with polyphonic aftertouch, 4‑track 32‑step sequencer, extensive MIDI I/O, deepest Ableton/Logic integration, many custom modes

Though there are a lot of different Launchpad, I’d chose the MK2. To me it’s the best of all: it looks nice, it has MIDI support, you can do basically everything you can with the Pro versions and if you decide to buy from second-hand, it’s affordable (under 50€).

The second choice would be the mini one. This is because having a studio always with you, wherever you go, it’s something that sounds and is really comfortable. Ta

What you can do

  • control any midi software, but in particular Ableton

  • light show

How

  • Ableton - everything is NOT out of the box, you have to download projects and setup everything

  • Novation Online Launchpad (see https://intro.novationmusic.com/) - everything works out of the box

Pros

  • it’s fun

  • there are led

Cons

  • everything in the wild has only been developed for Ableton

  • Ableton is not free

  • requires setup even with Ableton “ready to use” projects

Final Verdict

After all, it’s really fun if you like to press keys or work with controllers.

music 

See also