01Our pick
by Jordon Lumley
Glitch, stutter, tape stop, chops, reverb, delay and vocal tune in one free plugin. One button rolls a new FX chain: the cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 positions. Not just for loops: drum buses, 808s, hats, vocals and the master bus. Mac + Windows.
Free synths that hold up next to the paid ones: wavetable, analog-style, FM and modular.
See all 13 →02
by Matt Tytel
Wavetable synth with a free tier full of presets and wavetables. The free Serum alternative most producers start with.
03
by Surge Synth Team
Open-source hybrid synth with hundreds of presets and a huge sound range.
04
by TAL Software
Virtual analog synth for basses, leads and plucks. Light on CPU.
05
by Daichi Laboratory
The legendary free analog-style synth, with thousands of user patches online.
06
by Digital Suburban
Six-operator FM synth that loads classic 80s cartridge patches. Great for e-pianos and bells.
07
by The WaveWarden
Semi-modular hybrid synth with 24 voices, free and open source.
08
by Matt Tytel
Polyphonic subtractive synth from the maker of Vital. Free and open source.
09
by u-he
Six-voice analog-style synth from the makers of Diva.
10
by u-he
Simple, CPU-light virtual analog synth from u-he.
11
by u-he
Free single-oscillator version of u-he Zebra's sound engine.
12
by u-he
Comb-filter synth with a metallic, plucky character.
13
by Trackbout
Chord tool: play full chords from single keys. Loved in trap and R&B.
14
by DISTRHO
Free modular synth with hundreds of open-source modules.
Free pianos, strings, guitars, orchestras and sample players.
See all 6 →15
by Spitfire Audio
Free sampled instruments: soft piano, strings, choirs, textures and more.
16
by Native Instruments
Native Instruments' free bundle of instruments, effects and the Kontakt Player.
17
by Decent Samples
Free sample player with a big library of free instruments.
18
by Ample Sound
Free acoustic guitar instrument with strumming and riffs.
19
by Ample Sound
Free precision-style bass instrument.
20
by IK Multimedia
Free version of SampleTank with a starter sound set.
Free drum kits, drum samplers and drum crushers.
See all 4 →21
by Manda Audio
Free acoustic drum kit with a groove library.
22
by Steven Slate
Free version of the SSD rock drum sampler.
23
by Decomposer
Drag-and-drop 16-pad drum sampler. Perfect for one-shots.
24
by Tritik
Bitcrusher, drive and filter. Great for dirty drums.
Free plates, halls and huge ambient spaces.
See all 4 →25
by Valhalla DSP
Huge reverbs and delays for pads, vocals and ambient tails. A must-have.
26
by TAL Software
Vintage plate-style reverb with a lush, dark tone.
27
by Michael Willis
Open-source hall, room, plate and early reflection reverbs.
28
by Ghost Note Audio
Open-source algorithmic reverb for huge, endless spaces.
Free tape, dub, glitch and modulated delays.
See all 4 →29
by Valhalla DSP
Frequency-shifting delay for spacey echoes and alien sounds.
30
by Sixth Sample
Clean, modern delay with diffusion and modulation.
31
by Glitchmachines
Glitchy delay with stutters, modulation and lo-fi grit.
32
by Valhalla DSP
Flanger and doubler built from the Supermassive engine.
Free compressors, limiters and transient shapers for punch and loudness.
See all 7 →33
by Xfer Records
Upward and downward multiband compression. The famous "make it pop" plugin.
34
by Tokyo Dawn Records
Super clean, mastering-grade compressor.
35
by Klanghelm
Vari-mu style tube compressor with two knobs.
36
by Klanghelm
One-knob compressor that just sounds good on everything.
37
by Audio Damage
Aggressive, pumping compressor for drums.
38
by Thomas Mundt
Simple, transparent brickwall limiter.
39
by Auburn Sounds
Transient shaper: more punch or less attack in seconds.
Free EQs, from surgical dynamic EQ to warm vintage-style tone.
See all 4 →40
by Tokyo Dawn Records
Dynamic EQ: tame harshness and boom only when it happens.
41
by Tokyo Dawn Records
Musical three-band EQ with built-in saturation.
42
by Ignite Amps
Free Pultec-style EQ for low-end weight and air.
43
by Slate Digital
Adds high-end air and brightness in two knobs.
Free saturation, tape and drive for warmth and grit.
See all 3 →44
by Klanghelm
Analog-style saturation and distortion.
45
by Chowdhury DSP
Physically modelled reel-to-reel tape, open source.
46
by Chowdhury DSP
Model of a famous transparent overdrive pedal, open source.
47
by iZotope
Free vinyl crackle, wear and warp. A lo-fi classic.
Free chorus, filters, auto-pan and stereo wideners.
See all 6 →48
by TAL Software
Juno-60 style chorus. A producer favourite on keys and pads.
49
by TAL Software
Filter with LFO and step modulation.
50
by Blue Cat Audio
Chorus, flanger, phaser, EQ, gain and more in one free pack.
51
by Cableguys
Free auto-pan with drawable curves.
52
by Polyverse
Mono-compatible stereo widener.
53
by iZotope
Free stereo imaging and width from iZotope.
Free auto-tune, doubling, vocoder and de-essing.
See all 6 →54
by Auburn Sounds
Pitch correction and pitch shifting for vocals.
55
by MeldaProduction
Free automatic pitch correction with formant control.
56
by GVST
Classic free auto-tune style plugin.
57
by TAL Software
80s-style 11-band vocoder.
58
by iZotope
Natural-sounding vocal doubling in one slider.
59
by Techivation
Simple, free de-esser for harsh S's.
Free effect bundles and glitch tools to mangle sounds.
See all 5 →60
by Kilohearts
A bundle of clean effects: chorus, delay, distortion, filter, trance gate and more.
61
by MeldaProduction
A big pack of free effects and utilities.
62
by Airwindows
Hundreds of Airwindows effects in one free plugin.
63
by Glitchmachines
Buffer effect for glitchy, broken-up sounds.
64
by Cockos
Reaper's EQ, compressor, delay, gate and more as free plugins.
Free LUFS meters, analyzers and clippers to finish your mix.
See all 3 →65
by Youlean
Check LUFS before you upload to streaming.
66
by Voxengo
Spectrum analyzer. See what's going on in your low end.
67
by MeldaProduction
Detailed spectrum analyzer.
68
by IK Multimedia
Free version of AmpliTube with a starter set of amps and pedals.
69
by Steven Atkinson
Free player for neural captures of real amps.
70
by Ignite Amps
High-gain amp sim, a metal favourite.
71
by Ignite Amps
Cabinet impulse response loader.
72
by TSE Audio
Free model of the classic green overdrive pedal.