Black Friday is the shopping weekend when music-production plug-ins and gear get cheaper all at once. In 2026, Black Friday is November 27 and Cyber Monday is November 30 (calendar dates). This page keeps the same address every year and is updated in place. It records the discounts that actually appeared in 2025, checked against several sources, and I will add this year’s deals as they are announced.
Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, SoundBounty may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and discounts are as of the date they were checked and can change.
Key points
- In 2025, early sales began in late October, before Black Friday itself (November 28), and many sales ran into early December (roughly the 1st to the 9th).
- Per-brand discounts were often around 50%, while bundles such as Plugin Boutique’s own showed 90%+ off their listed value.
- Discount figures and end dates differ a little between sources. Where several sources agree, the table says “Confirmed”; where they disagree, or only one source reported it, the table says so.
- Details for 2026 are still waiting on announcements from the makers. I will add them here as soon as they are confirmed.
Current sales and free plug-ins
These are the sales we are covering right now (the list updates itself).
Main discounts seen at Black Friday 2025
The table shows the main brand discounts reported by our sources during the 2025 Black Friday period. Amounts are as shown at the time, mostly in US dollars, with some euro and yen figures, and can differ by region and store. In the last column, “Confirmed” means several sources agree, “Sources differ” means they disagree, and “For reference” means only one source reported it; the number in parentheses is how many sources agree.
| Brand / store | Discount seen | Approximate dates | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plugin Boutique (own bundles) | $29, $49 and $69 bundles; up to about 96% off their listed value | Late November to early January (the official page shows November 30; another source shows January 4) | Confirmed (3); end date differs |
| Native Instruments | Up to 50% off across the catalog; KOMPLETE 15 upgrades also 50% off | Until about December 8 (December 31 in one source) | Confirmed (3); end date differs |
| Arturia | 50% off main products (V Collection, Pigments and others) | From about November 7; ends between November 27 and December 8 depending on source | Confirmed (4); end date differs |
| iZotope | Up to about 60% off (Ozone 11 Advanced reported at 58% off) | Until about December 8 | Confirmed (3) |
| FabFilter | About 25% off | December 2 to 8 | Confirmed (3); end date differs |
| Baby Audio | TAIP at $9; Transit 2 and Smooth Operator Pro at $69 | December 7 to 9 | Confirmed (3); end date differs |
| UJAM | Virtual Pianist VOGUE at $9 and more; 90%+ on bundles reported | Until about December 7 | Confirmed (3) |
| u-he | 50% off (Diva at $89) | Until about December 3 | Confirmed (2) |
| Soundtoys | Around 60% off (up to 75% reported) | Until about December 4 | Confirmed (2); the maximum differs |
| Slate Digital | Mix Bundle One at about $50 (about 49% off); selected products 50% off | November 24 to December 1 | Confirmed (2) |
| Universal Audio (UAD) | Studio Classics Bundle 90% off; other large discounts | November to December (differs by sale) | Confirmed (2) |
| Softube | Up to 75% to 76% off; Tube-Tech CL 1B Mk II reported at about 65% off and described as a record low | November 25 to 30 (official); some into Cyber Week | End date confirmed (2); discount differs |
| KORG | Up to 50% to 55% off (M1 V2 at 55%; Wavestation and ARP Odyssey at 54%) | November 12 to 30; Cyber Week until December 7 or 8 | Confirmed (4); end date differs |
| Roland | Bundles and collections up to 60% off | Until about December 8 | Confirmed (2) |
| Steinberg | 40% to 50% off (varies by product) | December 7 to 8 | Sources differ |
| Output | 50% off everything | November 30 to December 1 (a Japanese retailer shows January 8, 2026) | Discount confirmed (3); end date differs |
| Sonnox | Mostly 74% to 76% off (82% to 89% in some sources) | Until December 1 | End date confirmed (4); discount differs |
| Solid State Logic (SSL) | Native Channel Strip 2 at $19 (87% off); Native X-Comp at about $15 | Channel Strip 2 until December 10; X-Comp until November 30 | Confirmed (2) |
| XLN Audio | 50% off everything (RC-20 Retro Color at $49) | Until December 8 | Confirmed (5) |
| UVI | 50% off the whole catalog | December 2 to 3 | Discount confirmed (3); end date differs |
| Celemony (Melodyne) | Melodyne 5 Essential about 74% off (25 euros); upgrades also discounted | December 30 to January 31 depending on source | Discount mostly consistent; end date differs |
| Sonarworks | Around 40% off (SoundID Reference, VoiceAI) | November 30 to December 7 | Close but sources differ (3) |
| Excite Audio | A Plugin Boutique-only $29 bundle at 92% off | Until January 4, 2026 | Confirmed (3) |
| Lunacy Audio | CUBE at $49 (about 68% off); a 50%-off sale on the maker’s own store | CUBE until November 23; maker’s sale November 27 to December 7 | Confirmed (2) |
| Spitfire Audio | 15% to 50% off the catalog | Until December 2 | Confirmed (2) |
| Eventide | Blackhole Reverb 82% off (about 41 euros) | Until January 5, 2026 | Confirmed (2) |
| Antares (Auto-Tune) | 50% off perpetual licenses (Auto-Tune Pro 11 at $250) | December 2 to January 4 depending on source | Discount confirmed (2); end date differs |
| Brainworx | bx_2098 EQ 92% to 93% off (about $10) | Until December 1 | Confirmed (2) |
| Plugin Alliance | Up to 93% to 98% off (200+ plug-ins) | Individual deals from December 1 to December 31 | Sources differ (2) |
| Waves | Free plug-in giveaway from November 28; up to 94% off reported; Complete Bundle at $299 (92% off); a Cyber Monday special put single plug-ins at a flat 3,300 yen at a Japanese retailer | The special ran until December 10 | Giveaway confirmed (3); others for reference |
Sources: Plugin Boutique (2025 Black Friday guide), Dubspot (2025 Black Friday deals), Music Software Deals (2025 Black Friday plug-in deals), Shimamura Music (2025 Black Friday sale notice, in Japanese), Synth Anatomy (2025 Black Friday deals list), Softube (2025 Black Friday). Checked October 21, 2026.
Every figure in the table is from 2025. There is no guarantee that the same discounts will return in 2026. When the makers announce this year’s sales, I will update this page and the individual product articles.
Highly rated products from the brands that discounted last year
We score products from official specifications only and give them a rank (S, A, B or C). The table lists the Rank S and A products from the brands in the table above that had a confirmed or reported discount last year. The discount shown is for that brand’s sale as a whole; not every product listed was necessarily included, because each sale covers different products. See how we rate for how ranks are decided.
| Brand | Highly rated products (rank) | Last year’s sale | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|
| FabFilter | Pro-C 3 (Rank S), Pro-L 2 (Rank S), Pro-Q 4 (Rank S), Pro-R 2 (Rank S), Saturn 2 (Rank S), Timeless 3 (Rank S) | About 25% off all products | Confirmed (3) |
| Soundtoys | EchoBoy (Rank S), SuperPlate (Rank A) | About 60% off the Soundtoys 5.5 bundle | Confirmed (2) |
| iZotope | Nectar 4 Advanced (Rank S), Ozone 12 Advanced (Rank S), RX 12 Advanced (Rank S), Trash (Rank S) | Up to about 60% off (Ozone 11 Advanced reported at 58% off) | Confirmed (3) |
| Native Instruments | Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro (Rank S), Instruments Massive X (Rank A), Instruments Noire (Rank A), Instruments REPLIKA (Rank A), Instruments Session Bassist – Icon Bass (Rank A), Instruments Session Bassist – Jam Bass (Rank A) | Up to 50% off across the catalog | Confirmed (3) |
| Arturia | Pigments (Rank S) | 50% off main products (Pigments at $99) | Confirmed (4) |
| u-he | Hive 2 (Rank A) | 50% off (Diva at $89) | Confirmed (2) |
| UVI | Falcon (Rank S) | 50% off the whole catalog | Confirmed (3) |
| Antares (Auto-Tune) | Harmony Engine (Rank S), AutoTune Pro 11 (Rank A), Choir (Rank A), Duo (Rank A), Vocal De-Esser (Rank A) | 50% off perpetual licenses | Confirmed (2) |
| Celemony (Melodyne) | Melodyne 5 studio (Rank S) | Essential about 74% off; upgrades also discounted | Mostly consistent (2) |
| Output | Thermal (Rank A) | 50% off everything | Confirmed (3) |
| Eventide | SP2016 Reverb (Rank S), SplitEQ (Rank A) | Blackhole 82% off (SP2016 about 79%, for reference) | Confirmed (2) / for reference |
| Sonarworks | SoundID Reference (Rank A) | Around 40% off | Close figures (3) |
| Spitfire Audio | Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra Professional (Rank A), Audio Spitfire Symphony Orchestra (Rank A) | 15% to 50% off the catalog | Confirmed (2) |
| Sonnox | Oxford SuprEsser (Rank A) | Mostly 74% to 76% off (82% to 89% in some sources) | Sources differ |
| Steinberg | SpectraLayers Pro 13 (Rank A) | 40% to 50% off (varies by product) | Sources differ |
| Waves | Harmony (Rank S), H-Delay (Rank A) | Up to 94% off reported (individual prices have one source each, as in the table above) | For reference |
If a product catches your eye, read its review first and then wait for the sale announcement. Genre-by-genre comparisons are in the tier list and the comparison pages.
Three patterns from last year
- Many sales start early. In 2025, early-access sales began in late October, so some products got cheaper well before Black Friday itself.
- Endings cluster in early December. Many sales ran past Cyber Monday (December 1) until about December 7 to 9, and a few ran into the new year, so there was not always a need to rush on the day.
- Single products around 50%, bundles higher. Buying one product was often about 50% off, while bundles showed 90%+ off. Bundle discounts are measured against a listed value, so compare using the price of the products you will actually use.
Plugin Boutique membership rewards
Plugin Boutique’s official Rewards page says members get the following:
- Virtual Cash (credit toward later purchases): 5% of your purchases comes back to you, and 7.5% for Gold members who spent $200 or more in the past 12 months.
- A free gift: the page says you can get a free plug-in with each purchase. What the gift is, and its conditions, change over time.
During Black Friday these member rewards can overlap with Plugin Boutique’s own bundles. Check the current conditions and expiry on Plugin Boutique’s official page before you buy.
Source: Plugin Boutique (Rewards). Checked October 21, 2026.
Four things to check before you buy
- The same product can differ by store. The maker’s own site and stores such as Plugin Boutique may show different discounts and end dates. Check the store page before you pay.
- New purchase or upgrade? If you already own a related product, an upgrade price may apply. The conditions are on each maker’s page.
- Which currency? The currency you view changes how the same price looks. Our buying guide covers overseas stores.
- Does it fit your setup? Check the supported OS and formats (VST3, AU, AAX) and the license method (such as iLok) first. See plug-in formats compared and what iLok is.
Frequently asked questions
When is Black Friday 2026?
November 27, 2026 (Friday). Cyber Monday is November 30 (Monday). Start and end dates differ for each maker’s sale.
Is it better to wait for Black Friday?
Last year some products were as cheap in earlier or regular sales as on Black Friday itself. Discounts change by year and by product. If you want something now, compare the current-sales list above with each maker’s announcements.
Will the discounts be the same as last year?
Not necessarily. The table is a record of 2025. I will add the 2026 details here as they are announced.
Are there free plug-ins during Black Friday?
Time-limited free plug-ins sometimes appear around this time. In 2025, Waves gave away a free plug-in starting November 28. Check our free plug-ins page and the current list above.
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