THE BEST Free VST Plugins of 2023 (Top 10)

In this video, I'm sharing 11 excellent free audio plugins that are great alternatives to paid plugins. These are useful for music producers and mixers who want to expand their toolkit. They are all up-to-date and work on many operating systems. Most are in both VST, VST3, AU and AAX format and all work well on PC and Mac (including apple silicon).
The links are below and in the comments section.
I just made my own plugin, check it out here: • Reviver Plugin Walkthr...
0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Synths
2:38 - Instruments
3:30 - EQ
4:44 - Compressors
6:26 - Limiters
6:52 - Reverb and Delay
8:26 - Analysers
Free reverb and delay video:
• The Best Free Plugins ...
LINKS for plugins:
Surge - surge-synthesizer.github.io/
Vital - vital.audio/
Spitfire - www.spitfireaudio.com/pages/f...
Coral EQ - bit.ly/coraleq
TDR Nova - www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-nova/
TDR Kotelnikov - www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-kotelni...
Klanghelm - klanghelm.com/contents/freewa...
Valhalla - valhalladsp.com/shop/reverb/v...
SPAN - www.voxengo.com/product/span/
YLM2 - youlean.co/youlean-loudness-m...
💻 Get My Plugin: • Reviver Plugin Walkthr...
📱 Join My Free Discord: / discord
🌍 My Website / Contact / Hire me: michaelwynneaudio.com
🎧 Become a member of this channel: / @inthemix
🎧 My Sound Banks / Preset Packs: inthemix.store
💸 Releasing a song? Save money on DistroKid if you sign up through my custom link: distrokid.com/vip/inthemix

[@inthemix]

My favourite is at 7:45 I've got some big news to share soon, for now, please enjoy this video and these plugins :) LINKS for plugins: Surge - surge-synthesizer.github.io/ Vital - vital.audio/ Spitfire - www.spitfireaudio.com/pages/free-instruments Coral EQ - bit.ly/coraleq TDR Nova - www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-nova/ TDR Kotelnikov - www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-kotelnikov/ Klanghelm - klanghelm.com/contents/freeware.html Valhalla - valhalladsp.com/shop/reverb/valhalla-supermassive/ SPAN - www.voxengo.com/product/span/ YLM2 - youlean.co/youlean-loudness-meter/

[@blueeyedcat3443]

Hi Michael, will you make a 1000k - Party for us all?

[@inthemix]

@@blueeyedcat3443 Yes, there will be something to celebrate for sure :)

[@blueeyedcat3443]

@@inthemix Cooool, let`s have a PARTYYY with you, Yeahhhh...

[@slq07]

I've tried Kotelnikov based on your previous recommendation and fell in love because It allowed me to really learn to listen for compression. Also loved your good boy interruption. Thanks for always providing great content and educational resources, have a good one!

[@inthemix]

@@slq07 So happy to hear that. I had a similar experience with Kotelnikov. It was one of the first times compression "clicked" for me

[@Nat_Blasphemous]

"I don't know why it's free" Don't remind them 🤐

[@Bestgore.0rg]

ONG 😭

[@RZAHMUSIC]

There's also paid ones they offer a bit more than the free versions but not so dealbreaking

[@a_lawrence1]

Honestly 😂

[@lionheart2663]

Yes😅

[@Otiyyy]

​@@RZAHMUSICty

[@urbashibehera2789]

I'm a free dude, I use lots of free plugins and instruments. Here are some I use regularly. 1. OTT by xfer records (A Multiband compressor) 2. Frontier by D16 group (Compressor) 3. Denoiser by Bertom (Denoiser) 4. TDR Nova (graphic Equalizer) 5. Saturation knob (Saturator) 6. Span by Voxego (Analyser) 7. Panagement by grallion (to change the mic position and sending things to the back) 8. Gtune by gvst and Mtuner by melda (Tuner) For reverb and delay I mostly use stock plugin of cakewalk

[@YipJason]

nova is actually a dynamic EQ at its core

[@Jackalos1]

A few more for those that are plug-in hungry: - EpicPLATE by Variety of Sound (Plate Reverb - but check out the other VoS offerings) - EpicVerb by Variety of Sound (another VoS reverb but discontinued - you might be able to get it elsewhere now) - Fresh Air by Slate Digital (Exciter) - ReEQ (EQ JSFX for Reaper users)

[@LaymensLament]

get cloudseed and supermassive

[@cama1112]

My dude.. I just wanted to say thank you for the quality content, every video has been useful to me in many ways!

[@Cenotaff]

I love this channel. Clear, concise info, friendly presentation, no bull-shit. The algorithm got me out of watching In the Mix vids but I'm glad to be back in.

[@imlskr]

Amazing video, amazing quick overviews of every single one of them You really taught me most of what I know on FL Studio and I’m so glad to see you’re still sharing your knowledge like that with people ❤️ Came for the plug-ins, stayed for the dog

[@hilaryocii]

Thanks for being back. We missed you

[@TrevorNet]

I appreciate the limited list. Free VSTs can get really addictive. I’ve had more than a couple crash my DAW. Sometimes less is more.

[@Tekina]

I subscribed here when you were just under 100k subs & I cant wait to see you reach 1 million. Much love from Zimbabwe.

[@djsteviebeats]

Bro your videos are SO helpful! Thank you for the important little details you never seem to forget! Straight to the point, no filler no bs!

[@Platinum_XYZ]

I really appreciate how you specified which of these required creating an account and which didn't. most youtubers skip over this part, but I've found it's very important, even what stops me and others from choosing a plugin. I'm glad to know which options don't need an account. aside from that, great plugin choices listed in this video. I like how we are shown both instruments and effects

[@cornbone]

right? some of them even require you to download a separate program just to verify the "license", or enter all your payment and address details just to download a free product. i just ignore those. its just not worth it, even for a paid product its a huge hassle. i love analog obsession because there's none of that bs, you just download the zip files and you're done. on top of that, their products are always really high quality. kilohearts also has loads of free utility and sound design plugins but if im remembering right you do have to make an account. but it's been more than worth it for me. i use their plugins constantly. they have a frequency shifter, transient shaper, limiter, resonator, distortion plugin (with multiple different settings for distortion types), and a bunch of other great stuff that i use on every project. i highly recommend both of those companies. they're like the backbone of free plugins in my opinion.

[@Platinum_XYZ]

oh yea​@@cornbone I've never understood the whole license validation for a "f r e e" download. not sure what they're validating. seemingly they just want you having their software manager so you're more likely to use the store within to buy stuff.

[@steveditore3165]

@@Platinum_XYZ My suspicion is that they're data-mining, collecting personal and contact information to sell to spammers. Darker suspicion: I have no idea how good their security is; some little shit hacker might decide yours is a good identity to steal. I have "accounts" on enough sites already. Subsequent demands to create yet another "account" are now handled with the "Cmd-W" shortcut.

[@danatello8489]

Agreed. I got an Antares plugin free with purchase of something else, but it had a whole process to get and use it: an installer, and then some other activation steps. When I saw it was beyond even just the installer, I uninstalled that & just left it alone.

[@anko_dtm]

looking at you Ilok

[@rikgreen520]

You're a genuine bloke Michael, I've followed you for a while on KZbin....but I'm only recently getting into watching your video's, as I've struggled for time, your knowledge is worth its weight in gold, I'm really enjoying watching your video's, and this upload was definitely worth it, if only to see your dog, he's a beautiful lad....please keep doing what you're doing, you go more in depth than other people on this platform, glad to see you've got so many followers, you deserve more. 👍

[@j.boogiebaby5947]

You NEVER disappoint ....you ALWAYS have VERY good info ...THANK YOU for the time and energy you put into your videos!!

[@caseyrogers935]

Never came across your channel before but this video was great! I appreciate you actually putting forward useful plugins. Video pacing was great and informative with the examples. All the best man 🤙

[@johnrun712]

Cheers, good to see you back here. A couple of goodies there I didn't know about.

[@afonsoestrabico2130]

just now saw how happier u got when your dog showed up, very cute, he is indeed a good buddy

[@ownstyle5878]

How you don’t have 1million subs yet is beyond me. Amazing video as always. Can’t wait to see what more you have in store for 2023 😁 #Letsgetinthemixto1millionsubs

[@FamilyFun3132]

Thanks for taking the time to update us on good free plugins. And cool dog, too.🙂

[@RJ_Eckie]

The value in this video is off charts 🙌🏻

[@bryanbatti8540]

I waited a 2023 version for so long, it is finally here. Thank You Mike

[@abelramirez7320]

When I see a new in the mix upload, I stop what I'm doing to watch it. Always quality content.

[@mennovanwijk2967]

Nice one, clean, straight to the point. Will have to check out that first synth, ty :)

[@TheNeatwork]

I like how fair you are in comparing Vital and Surge, despite how minor the downsides of Vital are and how much you've invested yourself in Vital in the past. Just another reason why I trust you more than anyone else in the music production space!

[@inthemix]

Thank you. I’m trying my best to be fair and honest when making videos :)

[@nj1255]

I wouldn't say that there's any downsides to Vital compared to Surge. They are different beasts with different strengths. Surge is not a wavetable specific synth so it can't do a lot of the more advanced stuff that Vital can, for example creating and editing wavetables. There's ofc a lot of things that Surge can do that Vital can't, but both are great!

[@irregardlessisntawor]

Another amazing video! I love that you edited in the part with your dog coming for a little visit - LOL moment for sure!

[@philmarsh5593]

Really good to know which require registration and which can be just grabbed, so thanks for appreciating that difference! Beautiful dog too 👍

[@Keroser1983]

Amazing list!!! I vouche for each and every one of them except Acoustica ( I dont have it ). Tokyo Dawn Labs plugins are insane, we can add their EQs to the list as well. For saturation we can also have TB Pro Audio's G Sat+. It is great. Variaty Of Sound has started to updaate their plugins so we can consider them as well.

[@Mega_Monkey]

Your So Close To 1 Million Subs! I Always Love To See Solo In Videos

[@YAWN....]

Great channel! Awesome content and well presented without the over-hyped BS. Cheers from A-Dogs

[@RalphC872_e4]

Oh wow

[@alwilliams5177]

Been using TDR and Klangheim and Span for years. Awesome vid. Looking forward to checking out more of your content.

[@simong8527]

I have and use most of them. I must be a fan 🎉 I really appreciate the stuff you recommend and your honest opinions. As far as plugins I discovered recently and I love ever since Synth1. The old plugin, looks like from 90’, very simple to use, great presets and amazing sounds, really cool vintage sounding synth I was looking for

[@KevinMerinoCreations]

Super helpful! Thank you! 👏👏👏

[@MaxmerRomansUnashamed]

INDEED, Michael@InTheMix! ;) :) Glad 2 Have U Back And Hear That Hammer Content of Urs! ;) :)

[@huntertothee]

TY FOR ALL THE QUALITY VIDEOS

[@VincentZauhar]

Thanks a lot for featuring Surge XT! 🙂

[@inthemix]

Its more that worth a mention. A fantastic piece of software and shocking that I only started using it in the past few months!

[@Nikkie_jurnigan]

@@inthemix what your dog name

[@tjzuppe]

Ah, thanks for that Nova rec! I've been looking for a new EQ to play with and still haven't ever found one I've loved. Already loving this one after one quick edit of a VO script.

[@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

I use Nova more than any other plugin. I use it as a visual analyser, to see what's going on with a track, and after plugins to see what they are actually doing. Don't forget to put the analyser on by clicking'IN'. 🙂 Often, I'll use it for that, and take it off after having a look. I also use it for the high and low pass filters when I need one, because you can see what you're doing, and where would be a good place to cut. It also is a nice transparent compressor, great for just a little bit of taming without colouring the sound. The function I use it for least, is as an equaliser! It's a great plugin, very useful!

[@tjzuppe]

@@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn I've used a few that have similar functionality but I'm just digging the way this one is put together. Or, it might just be that new toys are always more fun. Either way, this is a useful one!

[@DasosBeats]

I didn't know that youlean is for free 🤔 really nice! You showed again that you are one of the best youtubers when it comes to this type of content. Such clear and honest recommendations. Please keep on doing what you do!

[@freedommovementmusic]

Your work is our reward. Thank you so much 🙌🏽

[@projectdestinyy]

Appreciate you for your work! This video just popped up in my recommendations and now I’m your subscriber.

[@erichuang5681]

thank you for this video. A lot of what you recommended is totally up my alley!

[@beckoning-chasm]

Lots of really good information, and adorable dog too!

[@prashantmusic_og]

Bro love you and how you specified every details that’s really worth it you are the best ❤❤

[@i_am_gh0st]

Great video! Just watched it all and found it very informative. I had an idea for a future in the mix video. It would be really cool to see what PC specs and hardware are most important to someone who uses it mostly for production. I've been trying to do research from many sources and thought it would be cool to have one video explaining this concept in a more organized way!

[@anantwashere]

Thank you so much. Your videos are interesting and precise and they've added value in my personal learning. I appreciate you doing this.

[@shaylahamady]

Thank you! You're amazing!

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

Thanks for making these videos, You've helped so much

[@jpasquier]

Thanks for the tips and Demo, Tokyodawn, Nova are just great.

[@MarkusAliasCmn]

great content as always, so THANKS. and: sweet dog intermezzo there. :-)

[@infinisourced]

Fantastic! Thank you so much. These are truly quality.

[@dannydirect]

Wow thank you for all this knowledge dude!

[@Gainn]

Surge is excellent. Really impressed with how 'genuine' a lot of the presets are just from a first mess with it.

[@LeChapeauMusic]

Nice video and love your dog!!!

[@sharadshirali1546]

To the point...clear & lucid. Very useful.

[@mrojdemoivre2554]

Thanks so much Michael you've contributed a lot to my production

[@intrigun2192]

thank you for information and reviewing!)))

[@FuChungKu]

Welcome back to YT Michael. My favourite free plugins are: Vital basic by Matt Tytel, LABS by spitfire audio, Neo Piano One, Surge XT, OTT by Xfer, Kilohearts Snap Heap bundle, bx_masterdesk Classic, Valhalla Supermassive, Fresh Air (for vocals), Softube Saturation Knob, TDR Nova, Voxengo plugins, Ozone Imager and Youlean Loudness meter.

[@inthemix]

Thank you for sharing

[@FuChungKu]

@@inthemix YW. As far as free limiters go, there's a really good free one in the free Kilohearts Essentials bundle. Very simple to use and doesn't distort or damage transients, even when pushing it hard.

[@Booskop.]

This is an amazing list. Thank you very much!

[@xoxb2]

Dog! Best bit so far! I like all the TDR ones, because of the well-designed interfaces that guide you intuitively to the most important bits, and also Molot by their friend Vlad.

[@0010Kev]

Thanks for this video! I just discovered your channel with this video and will check out a couple of your recommendations. Then I will check out some of your other videos. Good job!

[@Mourninghorse]

I love the NOVA Eq used a lot here! 😎👍

[@mredidy]

I'll try them out. Thanks!

[@kynfab6719]

Thanks for sharing, Mike...🙏🏾

[@leoazeredo]

Thanks for sharing. Your doggie is cute!

[@jonnyhafer7376]

i always love a content creator who is kind to his dog and dogs

[@nmiproductions3179]

we love u sir... Always with you

[@acouragefann]

Cool to see you're using TDR - really solid pieces of software.

[@sylonen]

Thanks for the video!

[@rhythmmaster3955]

thanks for another helpful video my man

[@PocketbookProphetOfficial]

Thanks for this video man I downloaded almost all of these!

[@Auditium]

As for the limiter - D16 Frontier is my always go to. It's good looking, very easy to understand, it has classic vu meter and led metering as well, soft cliping and it's self adapting (no attack and release knobs) - at first it might look like very simplified plugin but after few minutes it's very easy to tweak to your liking and get veeeeeeeery satifying results. I end up putting it on every track's mastering stage or sometimes even mix into (as final level review for my mix buss). It needs creating d16 account, but it's multiplatform and updated regularlly. Cheers :)

[@ricsoundmusic]

Wow this is great sir I'm benefiting alot from your channel sir, watching you from Zambia

[@ElbowEddie]

Good job my man. Instant Sub here.

[@mullewap6670]

All plugins you said are very great. 👍

[@batteryincorporated]

Solid. Thanks man!

[@RomanPrais]

Fantastisches Video vielen Dank für deine Mühe

[@aaronc675]

Thanks for leaving the dog part in the video! Love that!

[@inthemix]

I debabated cutting it out but he's just too cute :)

[@mmaislife429]

Love your dog man and your content.

[@alieninsociety8856]

your channel is great. thank you so much!

[@madstrebbien]

Native Instruments Komplete Start. Alot of useful stuff there!

[@OneMinuteMeds]

Good dog! Thanks for leaving that in, Michael.

[@brianshirley1731]

Great video!

[@TheSonnylily]

Hi Thanks a bunch for your clip and explanations, you Da Man!!! Cheers!!!

[@milkyfella.beatstore]

SOLO IN DA BUILDING! 😂😂 Great video as always!

[@tonybell1597]

Very useful video thank you, lovely interruption by your assistant Engineer…. 😊

[@awardwinningcritique6895]

That special appearance of your dog made my day. Certainly miss having my dog in the studio

[@elwhagen]

Brilliant video! Thanks!

[@waedi73]

Great video ! I have to mention the German plugins Tukan, they are outstanding quality but only JSFX Reaper plugins, a must have !

[@arto8957]

Nice video, thanks

[@ulrichgamingandmusic]

I love the saturation section of Scheps Omni Channel. It just sounds sooo good. Overall a fantastic plugin, altough its not free, but i never regretted bying it. i put it on all my busses.

[@ZachSprowls]

Such a helpful video. Thank you!

[@FrancoMaldonado96]

Great video bro! Cheers ;)

[@inthemix]

Thank you. Cheers!

[@strategious]

Hey Michael, thanks for the advice on plug-ins! Could you do a video covering the complete process of processing vocals?

[@justinwilliam4644]

Your preset bass side chain in vital is awesome!! I use it all the time

[@inthemix]

Thank you. That bass growl is also one of my favourites, it’s easy to tuck it under a track or make it very obvious!

[@totallypixelated]

The Surge XT ports to VCV Rack (and Cardinal) are superb. Some of the most useful modules in there now.

[@lunyfallo9756]

This video is sooo useful !

[@joestar180]

Congratulations on 1 million 🤘 follow you since 2018 💐

[@theromanceofwax]

wicked video pal, appreciated it. Love the gorgeous dog interuption also. Did he open the door?

[@inthemix]

He can open doors using the handles but I think I didn’t latch the door properly and he just pushed it open. I think he heard me talking and wanted the attention for himself!

[@retrothepharoah]

I been doing music for 8 years now. This is my first time watching you again since 2016. bring many memories. you inspired me alot

[@retrothepharoah]

I even remember the songs you used to create with your friends

[@michaeltablet8577]

Thank you so very much!!

[@em8969]

excellent video as usual

[@TwilightStorm]

Lol! Love how your puppy just walks in.