A collection of free plug-ins by genre, for people who want to start music production without spending money. The ranks are given on the same criteria as paid products in the same genre (the manufacturers’ official features and specifications only).
Disclosure: This page takes part in affiliate programs. Free products can be obtained from the manufacturers’ official sites.
Before you use free plug-ins
- Check the supported formats: check on the official page that the formats your DAW (recording software) can load (VST3, AU, AAX and so on) are supported.
- How you get them differs by maker: some need you to register an email address or create an account.
- Differences from paid versions: for products with both a free and a paid version, the free version may have limited features.
Compressor plug-ins (3 free)
DC1A (rank C)
A free compressor you can use with just two knobs, input and output. It is based on the settings of the DC8C, and has switches for parallel compression (mixing with the original), peak / RMS switching and compressing left and right separately.
MCompressor (rank C)
A free compressor in which you can draw the compression curve (its shape) freely. It also has an upsampling (oversampling) setting.
Supercharger (rank C)
A free compressor based on a tube compressor, usable with nearly one knob. It has a Punch button (emphasizes the attack) and a Dirt button (adds distortion).
For comparisons including paid products, see compressor plug-ins compared.
Delay plug-ins (2 free)
MDelay (rank A)
A free delay with three modes: tape, modern and ping-pong. The two taps can be adjusted individually, and saturation and filters are included.
REPLIKA (rank A)
A free delay with modes such as modern (digital) and vintage digital, and a diffusion (blurring) algorithm. A resonant filter and phaser can move in time with the tempo of the song.
For comparisons including paid products, see delay plug-ins compared.
EQ plug-ins (2 free)
MEqualizer (rank B)
A free six-band EQ. Each band offers seven filter types, and tube saturation is included.
TDR Nova (rank B)
A free parallel dynamic EQ with dynamics processing in each band. It can also be used as a multiband compressor or a wideband compressor, and a spectrum analyzer is included.
For comparisons including paid products, see EQ plug-ins compared.
Guitar amp simulators (3 free)
TONEX CS (rank A)
The free version of TONEX, which plays “tone models”, AI copies of the sound of real amps and pedals. It includes 20 premium tone models, and you can download up to 20 models made by other people.
AmpliTube 5 CS (rank B)
The free version of AmpliTube, with a total of 42 models, including 10 stomps, 5 amps, 6 cabinets, 3 microphones and 6 rooms. It can be used as a standalone app or a plug-in.
Guitar Rig 7 Player (rank C)
The free version of Guitar Rig 7, with amp simulators (with cabinets), 26 kinds of effects and tools, and 60 presets.
For comparisons including paid products, see guitar amp simulators compared.
Loudness meters (2 free)
Youlean Loudness Meter (rank A)
A meter that measures how loud a song sounds (loudness) following ITU-R BS.1770. Even the free version shows loudness, true peak, loudness range, PLR and dynamic range; the PRO version adds presets for streaming services such as Spotify and YouTube, a dynamics graph and analysis by dropping a file.
MLoudnessAnalyzer (rank C)
A loudness meter that follows EBU R128 and ITU-R BS.1770-3. It shows a peak meter, momentary, short-term and integrated loudness, and loudness range.
For comparisons including paid products, see loudness meters compared.
Orchestral libraries (1 free)
BBC SO Discover (rank C)
The free version of Spitfire Audio’s orchestral library recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. You can use 34 instruments and 47 playing techniques in a light 360 MB.
For comparisons including paid products, see orchestral libraries compared.
Pitch correction plug-ins (1 free)
MAutoPitch (rank C)
A free plug-in that automatically corrects singing and single-note instruments. It also includes a formant shift and a stereo widening function.
For comparisons including paid products, see pitch correction plug-ins compared.
Reverb plug-ins (1 free)
RAUM (rank B)
A free reverb with three modes: room type (GROUNDED), hall type (AIRY) and special-effect type (COSMIC). It also has a Freeze mode that holds the sound on and on, plus pre-delay and modulation sections.
For comparisons including paid products, see reverb plug-ins compared.
Saturation plug-ins (3 free)
Saturation Knob (rank C)
A free plug-in that adds distortion with one knob. You can choose from three modes with different kinds of distortion.
IVGI (rank C)
A free saturation based on the DESK mode of the SDRR. It can make anything from a faint coloring to heavy distortion, and the RESPONSE knob changes the tilt of the band that distorts.
MSaturator (rank C)
A free plug-in that applies smooth, tube-like saturation.
For comparisons including paid products, see saturation plug-ins compared.
Synths (1 free)
Vital (rank C)
A synth in which you can deform wavetables from the “spectrum” side. You can make wavetables from your own samples or from text, and the movement is easy to see on screen. Even the free version has all the synth functions, with 75 presets (Plus has 250 and Pro more than 400).
For comparisons including paid products, see synths compared.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can I make songs with only free plug-ins?
Yes. If you combine the plug-ins that come with your DAW and the free plug-ins on this page, you can do everything from recording to mixing. Free DAWs are introduced in Free DAWs you can use.
Q. What is the difference between free and paid?
It differs by product, but paid products tend to have more functions for suggesting settings automatically and for fine adjustment. In the rank and per-criterion scores on the comparison pages you can see where the differences are.
How scores and ranks are decided is summarized in How we rate specifications. For a set of free plug-ins to mix a vocal, see Free plug-ins for mixing vocals.