Fancy a free soft synth, drum machine, compressor or reverb? You’re in luck! You can grab them all right now, plus a thousand other similar titles. Yes, the world of freeware has so many options that you can quickly and easily compile the main components of a virtual recording studio.
But, the fact is that there are so many freeware options to choose from, that you could spend an age filling your bandwidth and hard drives with downloads and then what have you got? Severe plugin bloat and the tyranny of choice, that’s what! Inevitably, you’ll end up spending more time choosing and auditioning than you will creating.
That’s why we're taking a look at the whole ecosphere of free music software, to save you the download time, and highlight the best free titles. However, here at MusicRadar, we’ve noticed that many of the most common recommendations have been around for years.
And this is to the detriment of many a new title as over the last couple of years, there’s been an explosion in amazing-looking, newer freeware options for all studio tasks. The point of this feature is to hone in on these more recent releases, as well as the ones you might have missed along the way.
We’re not saying that the old guard aren’t worth a download – they certainly are! But there’s a sea of new faces out there, in danger of being ignored. So, we’ll focus the freeware gems that we should all be using but might be getting lost.
The best free VST synth plugins 2023: wavetable, FM, virtual analogue and more
This feature is very much about the here and now then, plus a few releases from the last couple of years. And that not only means that many of the titles we discuss sport fantastic up-to-date designs (as good as many a paid for title in some cases) it also means their sounds will be current and they should run on modern computers; not always a given, of course, with some of the creakier, older freeware plugins.
Before we get to the excitement of our all new 2023 options, let’s get a quick overview of the freeware market this year and find out exactly why it can be such a confusing place to be, with so many options available. Then, on the flipside, how it can also be a brilliant place to be, with some amazing plugins for you to download without reaching for your bank card details. Read on to discover more…
The free plugin explosion
Welcome to the wild, unregulated west of the freeware world, where you could saddle up with an entire studio of big gun software applications, without spending a dime, or end up in the saloon, drunk on cheap whiskey and with a hard drive of unusable varmints. Let’s lose that ‘western’ thing and help you make sense of the world you’ve entered, starting with the simplest of scenarios…
Really there are two sorts of freeware options available: those titles that have been created to butter you up to pay for full-fat titles, and those that have simply been created for the love of programming and making music. Two worlds: a cynical, capitalist one only concerned with making money from your passion for music making, and another one full of joyous hippies who program for free and give you the results.
Of course, just as our politics is a little more nuanced and less extreme than it appears, so there is a massive grey area between these freeware worlds, so let’s try and break it down.
Different types of freeware
The first type of freeware is simply what you might – and we often – call ‘oldware’. Titles that have been superseded with flashier new designs or upgraded sample rates, but still serve a purpose and can be pretty decent. Advantages here are that these titles are fully-functioning applications that might have cost a fortune at one time. Disadvantages are that they may not run on newer operation systems (stand up Apple) or be dated in appearance.
Next up, we get what you might call ‘demoware’, where the applications are functioning but there will very obviously be some controls that are either missing, or greyed out. And guess what? You have to pay for a full version to get those controls back. Pros are that you can usually get decent results; cons are the crippling feeling that you are missing out on something very cool because you opted to not spend that £20 for an upgrade.
The concept of ‘magware’ is something we’re only too familiar with: our sister magazine Computer Music pretty much coined the phrase and started the revolution with giving software away with magazines. It's still going strong, and you can access a suite of over 80 free plugins by purchasing any issue of Computer Music Magazine.
One set of freeware we won’t be covering in-depth here is the concept of ‘bundleware’. This is usually a huge selection of software titles (some old, some cutdown) that tempt you into buying a piece of studio hardware – usually an audio interface or MIDI controller.
As good as these sometimes are, you’re talking about a choice that varies hugely brand by brand. It’s beyond the scope of this feature but our advice is to either compare each software title individually by reading (our!) reviews, or simply ignore the bundle altogether when making buying choices. Often you might find restrictions or too many tempters to get you to upgrade. Focus on the hardware you’re getting instead. It’s this item you were looking at in the first place, right?
Probably the newest freeware contender in town is (hmm, what to call this?) ‘temptware’. This is where you’ll get a full piece of software which is often amazing and worth up to, say, £100, but you’ll have to do something in return to get it. This might be anything as simple as buying a magazine (hands up, us) or signing up to a newsletter. More often than not it’s becoming part of the developers’ ecosphere, so with IK Multimedia, for example, you’re getting a fabulous freebie, but you’ll be downloading many others as part of their plugin ecosphere, either demos or ‘not available’ with easy options to buy them.
While it’s easy to spend and upgrade in this scenario – of course it is – you do get some very good offers, so these should be considered, especially if you have already bought into the developer’s world. Then you are simply getting another great freebie, and you haven’t wasted any extra cash or drive space.
Another relatively new option is to get a limited time ‘free deal’ on a software subscription. In case you’ve been locked away for the last few years, soft subs are the new big thing in music production land. Every company seems to be offering a $20/month sub to get every title made by them. To reel you in, they might well give you three months for free, but you will end up paying in the long run, so again, this is one we’ll avoid, although there’s a big feature on software subscriptions well overdue.
So to sum up, in this feature we’ll be covering mostly oldware, demoware and the free titles made by an entire community of lovely developers, and the best titles within each of these categories.
We’ll look at the usual ‘Best Synth’, ‘Best Drum Machine’ suspects, of course, but everything you read about over the next few pages will be either new, obscure or very much worth your time, so you can rest assured that the music you make from your downloads will standout from the masses. Get ready to download the best of 2023…
6 of the best free synths
1. Kilohearts kHs ONE
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: AU/VST | Download
You once had to pay (albeit not very much) for this subtractive, virtual analogue synth. And while it might be a typical VA – with two oscillators (plus sub) and filters, a couple of LFOs and effects, plus three envelopes – One has a lot of things going for it, including a great sound and easy interface. It’s ONE to download now.
2. Newfangled Audio Pendulate
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: AU/VST/VST3/AAX | Download
Pendulate has a chaotic oscillator ‘based on the physics of a double pendulum’. You therefore get more unusual sounds than you might be used to. While it can spin lovely leads and nicely rounded basses, Pendulate is more at home with grit, chaos, wobble and randomness.
3. Usynth Drive
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: AU2/VST/AAX | Download
This may be dedicated to specific dance genres (mostly house) and have a simple interface, but both of those might also appeal to you. Drive doesn’t mess about, it just gets right to the music with big characterful sounds and an impactful intent. It is completely free but you do have to download the Ujam app to install and use it.
4. Retornz ToneZ
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: AU/VST | Download
Like Usynth Drive, ToneZ has specific dance aspirations – this time EDM and the supersaws and plucks that go with it. Behind that bluster is a lovely-looking and decently deep four oscillator synth capable of a great deal more. There are 12 waveforms, four envelopes, two filters and even six effects, plus loads of preset packs to download.
5. Surge XT
Platforms: Mac/PC/Linux | Formats: AU/VST3/CLAP/LV2 | Download
Not entirely a new one, but it's so good, we had to give it a mention! This open source synth might look complex but it has a huge amount of power (as we show in our tutorial). It’s a subtractive hybrid synth with 700+ wavetables and 2800 patches, and runs on pretty much any platform. If you're just getting started with Surge, check out our guide on how to use this powerful free synth plugin.
6. VCV Rack 2
Platforms: Mac/PC/Linux | Formats: Standalone | Download
It’s debatable whether VCV Rack should be classed as a soft synth or a DAW in its own right. Essentially, it's a digital recreation of a fully customisable modular synth, but it can also host plugins of its own, mix and export multiple audio channels and be used to arrange entire tracks.
The downside of its DAW-like character is that it can’t be used as a plugin within any other software, although a paid-for plugin version is now available. As a self-contained synthesizer, however, there’s a lot to love about VCV Rack. It’s free and open source, and the impressive core lineup of included modules can be expanded using a community-created library of both free and paid-for plugins.
6 of the best free drum machines
1. Steven Slate SSD 5.5 Free
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/AU/AAX | Download
Steven Slate Drums is the go-to plugin for many producers after the highest quality drum sounds and kits. SSD 5.5 Free is a cut-down version, albeit with a great quality kit. We’re talking acoustic drum sounds as opposed to the many electronic offerings here, but this is as good as they get. While there’s only one kit, you also get variations and hands-on control over the sounds.
2. Spitfire Audio LABS Drums
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
We’ll have more detail on the LABS concept later – it appears in our other lists – but it’s essentially a range of sampled instruments within a high quality Spitfire interface, and all for free. Drums features a kit recorded in Spitfire’s own studio in 2012 with a range of high-quality mics, and like SSD, just one kit will cover a multitude of song choices and styles, such is its quality.
3. Sampleson Sub
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/AU | Download
Sub is a relatively simple virtual analogue drum machine that's inspired by the TR-808. The controls are somewhat limited, in many cases offering just pan and level, but also adding a few extra controls for the kick and snare, plus tuning for the toms and congas. Sonically, Sub does a worthy 808 impression, though to our ears the hats are more 606-ish.
Sub’s main draw, however, lies in the addition of sub bass controls that can be used to enhance the low end coming from the kick. This lets users create and refine the distinctive long, bassy kicks often used as basslines by hip-hop and techno producers. It’s worth a download for this alone.
4. Monser DAW Monster Drum
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU | Download
Voted as one of the best free drum applications over at KVR, Monster Drum has slipped under many a radar, but is a constantly updated drum ROMpler. It has a look and sound for just about every occasion, so is ideal for just about any music genre out there.
5. Pepto Audio DR-84
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU | Download
You get many drum apps that concentrate on real acoustic kits and many that focus on the machine-like Roland TRs. But what we like about DR-84 is that it emulates a spread of machines including Linn Drums, E-mu Drumulator, Yamaha RX11 and Simmons SDS-V. You get 14 kits in total, so a lot of varied sounds.
6. Decomposer Sitala
Platforms: Mac/PC/Linux/iOS | Formats: VST/AU/AUv3/AAX | Download
Another well-respected one. Sitala is a simple-on-the surface but surprisingly flexible drum sampler. The thinking is you already have all the samples you need (if you don't, we know where you can find them) so just load them in here, program beats (or even tunes and riffs) and there’s enough per-note editing to come up with anything, with ease. Inspirational in its simplicity.
6 of the best free software instruments
1. Sound Magic Piano One
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/AU | Download
We like Piano One for a couple of reasons. Firstly it’s an amazing recreation of the Yamaha C7, a widely used concert grand piano, with a lovely interface and lots of control over the sound. But also, we like the refreshing honesty of the developers: “Okay. We admit it. We’re giving this away in hopes of luring you in, and getting you interested in our other products”. OK, we’re sold.
2. Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
The company’s LABS could potentially feature in all of our freeware Top 6s, so we’re opting for this one from Spitfire in our instrument category. And it’s an entire orchestra for free! You get 33 instruments and 47 techniques in a reasonable 300MB download. The catch? Just fill in a survey and wait for the results. A small price to pay.
3. Sonoro Cinematic Aria Libera
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/AU | Download
Pianos and orchestras might be too traditional, so now, how about something different: a vocal instrument with an ethereal touch. Aria Libera has vocalist Emma May Price’s humming processed through modular gear and the results are outstanding; forget pianos and violins! If you want something ‘out there’, this is it.
4. Patent Sounds Scratchpad
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST | Download
If you thought Aria Libera was weird, what about this one?! Yes, it looks like a child designed it, but that fits with its lo-fi aesthetic. You get keys, pad, lead and bass instruments and the ability to add tape, rain and vinyl noise to them for a lo-fi, hip/trip-hop kinda vibe. Distortion, chorus, reverb and more take you as lo as you like.
5. Sampleson CollaB3
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/AU | Download
We haven’t come across too many good free organ instruments, but here we have an emulation created as a collaboration between four developers, hence the name, and it sounds good enough to justify all of that input. And there are plenty of extras to vary the sound, including effects, drawbars, realistic key noises and a decent bunch of presets to show it all off.
6. Full Bucket Music PECS
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX/CLAP | Download
We haven’t had many emulations yet either, so let’s finish with another newbie, this time from masters of vintage emulation, Full Bucket Audio. This is a recreation of the 1978 Poly Ensemble S String Machine and does fab strings, but has enough tweaking action to really get in and make other varied sounds.
6 of the best free mixing plugins
1. MeldaProductions MFreeFXBundle
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
Based in Prague, MeldaProductions is an audio software company that prides itself on uniqueness, often taking a different (even quirky) approach to conventional processes and effects. Whilst the majority of their products are paid for, their MFreeFXBundle is an excellent gateway into their catalogue, not to mention a superb way of bolstering your DAW’s plugin inventory without breaking the bank.
The free bundle includes some things you would expect to find in any plugin collection, such as an EQ, a compressor and filters, but it also includes things that you might expect to sit behind paywalls, such as autotuners, stereo wideners, waveshapers, and very comprehensive analysers.
2. Tokyo Dawn Records VOS SlickEQ
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
Not the only freebie available from TDR, but Slick EQ really does fulfil its brief well. You get straight to the point with three parametric-style EQ bands, four modes and even saturation on the output to give you some added warmth.
3. Sonimus SonEQ
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX/RTAS | Download
This wonderful EQ is modelled on the API 550 and the Pultec EQP, a couple of analogue modules that engineers weep over. Like SlickEQ, you get three bands of EQ, but this time that vintage warmth comes by way of the preamp.
4. Flux Bitter Sweet
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
Every good mixer needs a good transient shaper to adjust the impact of percussion and other ‘attack’-based instruments. They don’t come much simpler/effective than this freebie from Flux Audio. Simply dial Sweet to reduce the percussive transients and Bitter to increase their presence. Sweet!
5. TAL-Reverb-4
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX/CLAP | Download
Togu Audio Line are well known for their cheap and free plugins, and while this one isn’t new, it has been overhauled and now sports CLAP compatibility. And as well as providing a quality reverb sound, you can now go the other way for lo-fi results with other controls for bit-reduction and sample-rate.
6. Sixth Sample Cramit
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST3/AU/AAX | Download
Cramit replicates the OTT compression made famous by Live’s multiband compressor. You get three bands with adjustable sliders to select upwards or downwards compression and expansion. Add in seven types of distortion and you can use this as subtly or creatively as you wish.
6 of the best free vintage plugins
1. Analog Obsession FET Bundle
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST3/AU/AAX | Download
If you’ve ever fancied recording in Abbey Road (and haven’t we all?) then there are plenty of vintage emulations in freeware. For that classic 1176 compression, Analog Obsession Fetish (as part of the FET bundle) might have a simple interface but mimics the controls and sound of the original. They also do a great LA2A emulation.
2. ADHD Audio Tool Leveling Tool
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/AU | Download
LA-2A optical style compression comes by way of Analog Obsession (above) and this, ADHD Audio Tools Leveling Tool. It will tame those peaks, ADHD, say, and also specialises in great vocal compression. There’s a Sidechain control and a Drive knob adds more character.
3. Ignite Amps PTEQ-x
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST/AU | Download
The mighty Pultech EQP-1A is available from Ignite Amps as the PTEQ-x. This EQ emulation covers the 1A as well as two other Pultecs, the MQ5 and HL3C, with all three nicely ‘racked’ in the UI. Yes it’s a bit of an oldie compared to others here, but its great sound make this a future freeware classic, especially as you’re getting three in one.
4. Klanghelm MJUC Jr.
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST3/VST/AU/AAX | Download
For vintage-style Fairchild compression, you could do a lot worse than Klanghelm’s MJUC Jr. With just three main controls, it delivers gentle levelling, but also more dramatic pumping if you push it. With a big, characterful sound behind that classic interface, this really is one of the best freebie compressors out there.
5. Analog Obsession Channev
Platforms: Mac/PC | Formats: VST3/AU/AAX | Download
Analog Obsession could have cleaned up in this section. It’s no surprise they’ve produced a freeware channel strip, then, with a whole chain of vintage processing, this one in a Neve style. You get a mic pre, de-esser, amp, EQ, compressor, limiter and tape saturation.
6. Chowdhury DSP Chow Tape Model
Platforms: Mac/PC/Linux/iOS | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AUv3/LV2 | Download
And finally, if you want to commit the whole lot to reel-to-reel tape, and enjoy all the character that this vintage medium delivers, then try Chow DSP’s Chow Tape Model. It started out emulating a 1960s’ Sony TC‑260 but now takes its cues from a variety of recorders. And as with other Chow products, it works on Linux and iOS.
Making music on iOS?
Yes, you know that you can make music on your iOS device with ease, and you probably know you can pretty much do it for free. We regularly round up apps on MusicRadar, and as with freeware, it’s the usual suspects of Garageband, Arturia and Korg that steal the honours, so who are the recent stars and what are the best newer apps?
One of the most highly-rated recent releases is Studiologic’s Numa Player. Available for Mac, Windows and iOS, you get four instrument libraries focussing on everything from synths to acoustic pianos, plus effects. The app is designed to use live (as a source) or within your DAW to create tunes.
Some of our favourite effects on iOS are those from FabFilter, but Neon Silicon’s LRC7 offers at least some of their intuitive screen action for free. This EQ has very precise frequency control, a range of filter types and amazing ease of use, all for free. It’s available for macOS too.
We love Baby Audio and their Magic Switch one-knob-wonder is also making synth waves on the iOS platform, bringing as it does one of the highlight effects from Super VHS to the platform.
Finally Overdrive Synth asks what a synth sounds like through a guitar pedal. The answer, it turns out, is “bloody great” as this is one of the few maxed out 5/5 apps we’ve seen. And it’s free!
Bundles of joy
As we’ve already suggested, just blindly downloading huge numbers of freeware applications is not the best strategy when it comes to using it. That’s why we’ve put together the lists above, featuring half a dozen of the best freeware titles by category.
However, there is another way to choose. Last time we tackled freeware, we approached it from a different angle: decide what you are going to use your freeware for, and then choose your downloads accordingly. A less scatter-gun approach should give you more relevant results.
Here’s a quick recap. We’ll start with one of the most common dance genres, EDM, and what we recommend you can get for free if you are such a producer. You could start with Ableton Live 11 Lite, if you have been lucky enough to get it free with a piece of hardware, or a magazine.
Best free DAWs 2023: the best free music production software for PC and Mac
If not, Tracktion Waveform Free is a great alternative. Instrument-wise, try Dexed for some classic FM sounds, Vital Audio Vital Basic for the wavetable synth sounds popular in this genre, and Futucraft Kairatune for a great range of sounds – especially basses.
For electronica, the line-up is similar but we’d suggest adding some experimental effects like Glitchmachines Fracture and Audiomodern Filterstep alongside instruments including the aforementioned VCV Rack for some modular mayhem.
Guitarists have a wealth of options, but our bundle suggestions are the ubiquitous Apple Garageband DAW, Mercuriall Metal Area MT-A distortion pedal, Acon Digital Reverb Solo reverb, IS Shreddage 3 Stratus Free rock guitar sim and Ample Sound Ample Guitar M Lite II acoustic. That’s everything guitar!
Soundtrack creators can also tap into a wealth of free material. Get your synthetic beats with AudioSpillage MiniSpillage, synth sounds via Brain Control TuneFish4 and u-he’s Tyrell N6, not to mention a wealth of free music samples from SampleRadar.
Next up, we’re looking at live performance with a bundle of freebies to download and use live, including Akai MPC Beats Free, the Harvest Mini chord generator for live jams, Serato DJ Lite for DJing and Melda MAutoPitch for tuning your vocals.
Fancy yourself as a singer-songwriter? No cash because of that? Download iZotope Vocal Doubler, Spitfire Audio LABS Soft Piano and the Autochords generator and get writing to make some money!
iZotope Vinyl is a great freebie if you want some lo-fi hip-hop action, alongside the TX16Wx software sampler, Synsonic BD-909 & BD-808 and Shattered Glass Audio SGA1566 preamp for some added punch.
Finally for mixing and mastering, consider u-he’s Protoverb, Alex Hilton’s A1StereoControl, Klanghelm DC1A, Tokyo Dawn Records’ VladG Limiter No6, Xfer Records OTT, Youlean Loudness Meter 2 and Flux Stereo Tool v3. No cash, mastered!
Here are our 5 favourite effects in huge free plugin bundle Kilohearts Essentials
One section of the freeware scene that we didn’t mention at the top of this feature – and one that nicely follows our suggested bundles for different tasks – is the curated bundle of freebies, usually (and often incredibly) produced by a single developer. They offer these vast suites and very sweet incentives in the hope that you’ll upgrade and part with your cash, but there’s no reason why you should, especially with the wealth of titles on offer.
We’ll open with what is possibly the greatest of these, at least in terms of the sheer number of free titles, and that is MeldaProduction’s MFreeFXBundle. As we mentioned earlier, it includes plugins for analysis, saturation/distortion, dynamics, EQ, filtering, mastering, mixing, pitch editing, reverb and stereo processing – that’s pretty much everything, then!
The temptation is to upgrade the suite for extra features and resizing options, but that’s a measly £43 and not essential so this bundle of 37 plugins really is a must (not) buy. Similarly the Kiloheart Essentials bundle has some 37 free ‘snapins’ which run in the hosts Phase Plant, Multipass, or Snap Heap.
We can’t mention bundles without talking NI. Komplete Start has 2,000 sounds, and 18 instruments and effects are included. Upgrade options are there of course, but these are some of the best free instruments out there in exchange for 6GB of your hard drive.
Other major players that do big free options include IK Multimedia who have eight big titles like the excellent Syntronik 2 CS and SampleTank 4 Custom Shop.
That's about it, folks. Here we've covered enough freebies to build a full-featured and powerful software studio for absolutely no charge. If you'd like to find out more, check out our guides to the best free music software and VST plugins, best free DAWs and best free VST synth plugins.
