A pocket-sized 8×8 grid controller — 64 RGB pads, USB-C bus power and not much else — built mainly to launch clips and scenes in Ableton Live for around $110. Reviewers and owners agree almost unanimously on two things: it's remarkably compact and portable (roughly the size of a coaster, ~380 g), and it's excellent value and a natural first controller, with Ableton Live Lite in the box and Session view mirrored across the full-colour pads. They also agree on what it isn't: the pads are simple on/off buttons with no velocity or aftertouch, there are no knobs or faders, and connectivity is just USB-C — no 5-pin MIDI, no sustain jack. The arguments are about how much that matters. On the pads, one camp treats the missing velocity as a fair trade for a dedicated clip launcher, while finger-drummers and expressive players call it a real limitation and point to the Launchpad X. On integration, it's plug-and-play and widely loved in Ableton Live, but there's no mixer or record-arm mode by default (you reach for Novation's Components app or community scripts), and other DAWs — FL Studio especially — range from fiddly to not recognized at all. Build is generally called solid for the size, with one reviewer's unit showing a slight diagonal bend. In short: a superb, cheap, ultra-portable Ableton launcher — as long as you don't need velocity pads, hands-on controls, or deep support outside Live.
About this product
The 8×8, 64-RGB-pad grid controller — the smallest, cheapest Launchpad. Its pads are simple on/off buttons: not the velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads of the Launchpad X, nor the sequencer/aftertouch/MIDI-DIN Launchpad Pro MK3. Also not the Launchkey Mini, which is a mini-keyboard.
Novation's Launchpad Mini MK3 is the smallest and cheapest member of the Launchpad family — an 8×8 grid of 64 RGB pads built, first and foremost, to launch clips and scenes in Ableton Live. It's the third generation of the Mini, now with full-colour pads and USB-C, and it remains one of the default first controllers new Ableton producers reach for.
Its reputation is a study in trade-offs. It's near-universally loved for how tiny, cheap and travel-ready it is, and just as consistently flagged for what it leaves out: the pads don't sense velocity, there are no knobs or faders, and its talents mostly stop at Ableton's door. What reviewers actually argue about is whether those omissions are the honest cost of the size — or a reason to spend more on a Launchpad X.
