What's "missing" from Reaper is you don't get all the "extras"...
No Addictive Drums, No Nomad Factory...etc...

What you do get is a solid DAW with tremendous support,
and a very small footprint.

But, again, that's going to boil down to if it works for you
or not
 

cclarry
What's "missing" from Reaper is you don't get all the "extras"...
No Addictive Drums, No Nomad Factory...etc...

What you do get is a solid DAW with tremendous support,
and a very small footprint.

But, again, that's going to boil down to if it works for you
or not
 

Reaper is getting bloated ... the current x64 download is up to 11M 

Do you know if Reaper has a Utilities Menu feature like Cakewalk has?  I have Sonar set up where I can use Izotope RX6 from the Sonar Utilities menu, edit the audio in RX6 and then save it and it comes into Sonar.  Here is the link for Sonar's Utility setup:    https://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013099/Adding-third-party-audio-editing-software-to-SONARs-Utilities-menu
 
If you don't know, where could I find out about this feature in Reaper?
 
[EDIT:  I just googled this and found this on the Izotope site showing how to set up RX as an external editior in Reaper:  https://www.izotope.com/en/support/knowledge-base/how-to-use-rx-as-audio-editor-with-cockos-reaper.html     So, at least Reaper has this covered nicely.]

C2
 

Another tidbit for Reaper ... if you use the Portable install option, it can go anywhere by simply copying the install folder.  Want to try some some new config options?  Copy the folder and hack away without concern for messing up anything.
 

Python is a good way to "play" with Reaper also...

dubdisciple
More of a matter of what is different than "missing". Some different things off topnof my head:

Comes with minimal effects plugins. The instruments included can barely be called that. For people with tons of third party vsts this is no big deal.

I don't believe it has integrated Melodyne support.

No step sequencer

No pro channel

No matrix view

No bus channels per say, bit very flexible routing

I don't think there is an arpeggiator.

 
Reaper has an exelent stepsequencer called megababy. It's a JS pluggin that is very usable (but looks like a toy).
Same goes for arpeggiator . JS pluggin, works fine, but looks like a toy

cclarry
What's "missing" from Reaper is you don't get all the "extras"...
No Addictive Drums, No Nomad Factory...etc...

What you do get is a solid DAW with tremendous support,
and a very small footprint.

But, again, that's going to boil down to if it works for you
or not
 

I'm using the Addictive Drums license that came with Sonar in Reaper. Works fine.

RogerH thanks for the correction. I forgot about js plugins. I think it is for the reason you stated. They look like toys. Will gave to give another look.

Matron Landslide 
Try it, you'll either like it or not, the demo is fully functional, and it doesn't expire, 

... then why "buy" it?
 
I've tried Reaper a few times. I too like the Imperial theme, but this and other themes start loosing balance and positioning at certain resolutions. Graphics start covering each other up or get misaligned making it hard to do any work. MIDI isn't as straight forward as Sonar. It'll be a tough change.

soens

Matron Landslide 
Try it, you'll either like it or not, the demo is fully functional, and it doesn't expire, 

... then why "buy" it?
 
I've tried Reaper a few times. I too like the Imperial theme, but this and other themes start loosing balance and positioning at certain resolutions. Graphics start covering each other up or get misaligned making it hard to do any work. MIDI isn't as straight forward as Sonar. It'll be a tough change.

Why buy it?  Are you serious?
 
Imperial was designed to be full screen.  Search the stash for LCS.  Lucas has an Imperial mod that works great less than full screen, and incorporates folder controls in the mixer panel.
 
LCS has some others you might like as well.
 
White Tie has been working on a new Imperial theme for the last year.  You can find a preview in the forum.  Stunning and designed to correct Imperial's size constraints.

In my experimenting with Reaper, I liked the look of the Imperial themes, but was frustrated by the size constraints. So I tried the Default_Commala_5 theme, and I like it. It's a good compromise between having a "hardware" look, which I like, and still being very space efficient and flexible. Give that one a try, if you haven't already.