2026– date –

Klanghelm's IVGI suits people who want to add a little analog character to the master or instruments, for free. We rate it on three criteria against 12 saturation plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

Output's Thermal suits people who want to quickly add distortion with variation to synths and drums. We rate it on three criteria against 12 saturation plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

Softube's Saturation Knob suits people who want to try the effect of saturation for free first. We rate it on three criteria against 12 saturation plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

Klanghelm's SDRR suits people who want to try everything from tube-style to fuzz in one plug-in at a reasonable price. We rate it on three criteria against 12 saturation plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

MeldaProduction's MSaturator suits people who want to try light saturation on a bus or a whole mix, for free. We rate it on three criteria against 12 saturation plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

Soundtoys' Radiator suits people who want to quickly add warm tube distortion with few knobs. We rate it on three criteria against 12 saturation plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

FabFilter's Saturn 2 suits people who want to shape saturation in detail, such as changing the distortion by band. We rate it on three criteria against 12 saturation plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

Soundtoys' Decapitator suits people who want to quickly add the coloration of analog gear driven hard to vocals and drums. We rate it on three criteria against 12 saturation plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

Plugin Alliance's Brainworx bx_limiter True Peak suits people who want to finish safely to the standards of streaming services (such as -1 dBTP). We rate it on three criteria against 13 limiter plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.

Eventide's Elevate suits people who want to raise the volume while also tidying the attack and the cohesion of the sound. We rate it on three criteria against 13 limiter plug-ins, using official manufacturer information.