Free VSTs/Music Production Plugins (2025)

This comprehensive guide lists essential free plugins for music production, covering categories from synths and orchestral instruments to vocal effects and metering tools. It also includes a curated selection of paid plugins worth investing in, making it a valuable resource for both beginners and experienced producers looking to expand their toolkit.

Free Plugins

Synths

Vital

A brilliant free synth that can keep up with the likes of Serum 1. If you're just getting started with dance music or synths this will be all you need for a while.

Orchestral

BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover

A free orchestral library that has everything you need. It may need some layering and equilisation work to make it sound real, but for basic scoring or adding in the background it should be everything you need.

Spitfire LABS

Originally Spitfire LABS started off as a collection of only free plugins. It still has that original collection, but now has paid plugins and a subscription service. The app still has a "free" tickbox that will allow you to filter for only the free items. Everything you need for atmosphere, strings, and who can forget the Labs Soft Piano - still my go to even compared to many paid soft piano plugins I now own.

VSCO 2 Community Edition

Before the BBC SO was released this was the best free orchestra on the market. It is still worth adding to your repertoire, as it may excel in areas where you find BBC lacking.

Project SAM - the free orchestra

Without doubt the best sounding free orchestra there is, but it is a little harder to use than VSCO or SAM. Download this later on when you are more experienced and want to step up your sound.

Virtual playing orchestra

This one might be a bit tricky to find as there website is broken. But if you can find it somewhere, give it a go!

Orchestral Tools - Berlin Free Orchestra

A new player on the free orchestra scene, and very good quality, too.

VT-Strands

Most string libraries try to give you a huge orchestra sounds. Instead VT Strands tries to give you a more contained, intimate sound of a small amount of players.

KeepForest

Rather than just one plugin, KeepForest is a collection of free plugins with orchestra stabs, percussion etc. Great for making music for trailers or high impact orchestra pieces.

Other instruments

MG Steel String Harmonics

The biggest problem with guitar libraries, as they are so obviously not real guitars. MG Steel String Harmonics gets around this problem with extensive round robin sampling to make it seem more real than any others.

Claustrophobic Piano

You may have tried the Spitfire Labs "Soft" piano and thought it's not soft enough. If so, you have nowhere else to turn but the Claustrophobic Piano.

Other FX

Kilohearts Essentials

Every effect you can think of likely has a free kilohearts plugin in kilohearts essentials. If you're sick of stock plugins and want to try something else, start here.

iZotope Vocal Doubler

If your chorus vocals aren't hitting as hard as songs you hear on streaming services, likely they need doubling, to subtly make it sound thicker and more complete.

MeldaProduction

MeldaProductions user interfaces are not the best, but their effects are unmatched when it comes to free. Especially their autotune, you'll not find any better free autotune.

Youlean Loudness Meter

Before streaming services started auto adjusting relative loudness levels of tracks, it was important to get your LUFS to a certain level. These days it's not as important, but if you ever find yourself wanting to adjust to a certain level, use this. Some streaming services will sound better if you aim directly for their preferred loundess level, as it won't automatically turn your song down.

DearVR MICRO

Binaural panning allows you to move a sound in three dimensions (forward and back). Much better than just left and right in your DAW.

Bertom Denoiser

If you get a hold of a recording that was recorded very quietly, chances are it will have a high noise floor (read: lots of noise coming through). Bertum is the best way to clear it that will be free.

Native Instruments Guitar Rig Free

If you have a guitar but don't have any digital plugins for it, you'll want this. It may not be the best sounds out there, but in a pinch it will give you what you need.

BPB Dirty Filter

Are your sounds starting to all sound the same? Start putting it through this to bring a different analogue sound.

Samplers

Kontakt Player

You've probably already heard of Kontakt, but did you know they have a free version? It doesn't support every sample library, so make sure you know before you buy sounds whether they will work in the free player or not.

sforzando

This is not a plugin in an of itself - think of it as a free version of Kontakt. Kontakt has a free version, but only some plugins are supported on that. Whereas most plugins support sforzando directly.

Decent Sampler

Another alternative to Kontakt. You might find a sampler later on that will only run on Decent Sampler, so will be good to have this on hand.

Other notes

If you have a Mac, you can find all the default plugins usually only accessible in Logic under 'Apple Plugins'

Free tools

Stemroller

Absolutely magic piece of software that will take any track on youtube and split out vocals, piano, drums, etc. Great for making bootleg remixes or analysing how your favourite tracks get their sound.

Matchering

The only free AI based mastering tool I've been able to find. It's results are hit and miss, but might help you compare your song to how your favourite song is mastered. Insert your reference track, your track and let it master yours in the same way.

Paid plugins

Since you have finished reading up on free plugins, I thought I'd mention some of the plugins I found worth paying for. Some of these I got while free so might be worth following the creators and waiting for a good deal.

Serum 2 US$249

The best synth I've ever used, and they just launched version 2. Once you're happy with what Vital can do, and want more power, upgrade to Serum.

Nicky Romero Kickstart $16

Honestly most DAWs can do sidechaining themselves, but if you are just starting out Nicky Romero's plugin is the best way to get that sidechained done with as little effort as possible.

Valhalla shimmer US$50

Shimmers are great for synths and guitars, they work as a long tail reverb plus feeded back octave shift. They give everything and etherial feel.

The Giant AU$149

The most solid sound for a piano, great for both soft and loud contexts

Una Corda AU$219

A really unique soft piano. Honestly I use LABS soft piano more these days, but if you need something a bit more unique, and you are ready to invest try this.

Estate Grand LE ~$5 (pay what you want from $1)

I snagged this one back when it was free. Certainly the best piano you can get for a bargain price.