Guide

Free instrument plugins worth installing

You can build a full set of instruments without paying anything: a few serious synths, real pianos and strings, and a sampler for everything else. Here are the free instrument plugins I'd install first, in VST3 and AU, with the catch with each.

By Aiden Shihadeh, developer of simpleSF2 · Updated 24 October 2026

Quick answer

Plugin	What it is	Formats	Systems
Vital	Wavetable synth	VST3, AU, LV2	Windows, Mac, Linux
Surge XT	Hybrid synth	VST3, AU, CLAP, LV2	Windows, Mac, Linux
Odin 2	Analogue-style synth	VST3, AU, CLAP, LV2	Windows, Mac, Linux
TyrellN6	Analogue-style synth	VST3, AU, AAX, CLAP	Windows, Mac (Linux beta)
Dexed	FM synth (Yamaha DX7)	VST3, AU, CLAP	Windows, Mac, Linux
Splice INSTRUMENT	Pianos and textures (the old LABS)	VST3, AU, AAX	Windows, Mac
BBC SO Discover	Orchestra	VST3, AU, AAX	Windows, Mac
Decent Sampler	Sampler for free libraries	VST3, AU, AAX	Windows, Mac, Linux
simpleSF2	SoundFont player	VST3, AU, CLAP	Windows, Mac, Linux

simpleSF2 opens thousands of free SF2 and SFZ instruments in any DAW on Windows, macOS and Linux. Download free

How these were picked

Every plugin here is free to keep, not a trial or a demo that goes silent. Each has a 64-bit VST3 or AU build you can download today, so it loads in a current version of Logic, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One or REAPER. I've left out plugins that only come as VST2 or 32-bit, and anything that needs a paid sampler such as full Kontakt. Formats and systems come from each developer's own page in October 2026.

I make simpleSF2, which is on this list. Everything else is made by other developers and I've no connection to them.

Free synths

Vital

Matt Tytel's Vital is a wavetable synth in the same family as Serum. The free Basic edition is the full synth with 75 presets and 25 wavetables. The paid editions add more presets and wavetables, not features. It runs on Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+ and Ubuntu 18.04+.

Good for: modern basses, leads and pads, and sound design.
Catch: you need a free account to download it and to log in the first time it opens, and it needs a graphics card with OpenGL 3.

Get it from vital.audio.

Surge XT

Surge XT is an open-source hybrid synth kept up by the Surge Synth Team: 12 oscillator types, two filters, 16 effect slots and a huge preset library. It comes as VST3 and CLAP on all three systems, AU on Mac and LV2 on Linux. Version 1.3.4 is current.

Good for: anyone who wants one synth that can do almost anything, on any system, with no account.
Catch: the interface is dense. Start from presets rather than an empty patch.

Get it from the Surge website.

Odin 2

Odin 2 from TheWaveWarden is an open-source synth with three oscillators, two filters and a friendlier layout than Surge. It's VST3 and CLAP everywhere, AU on Mac and LV2 on Linux. The email signup on the download page is optional.

Good for: classic analogue-style sounds with a layout you can learn in an afternoon.
Catch: fewer presets than Vital or Surge XT.

Get it from TheWaveWarden.

TyrellN6

u-he's TyrellN6 is a free virtual analogue synth, built from a design by the German magazine Amazona. Its filter comes from an early version of u-he's Diva. It's VST3, CLAP and AAX on Windows, plus AU on Mac, and needs no serial number.

Good for: warm, simple analogue patches, and Pro Tools users (it has AAX).
Catch: the Linux version is a beta, supported only through u-he's forum.

Get it from u-he.

Dexed

Dexed is an open-source (GPLv3) emulation of the Yamaha DX7, the FM synth behind a lot of 1980s electric pianos, basses and bells. It loads original DX7 cartridge files, so there are thousands of free patches. Version 1.0.1 comes as VST3, AU and CLAP for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Good for: FM electric pianos, bells and basses, and anyone curious about FM.
Catch: editing FM from scratch is hard. Load cartridges first.

Get it from the Dexed website.

Free pianos and orchestra

Splice INSTRUMENT (formerly Spitfire LABS)

Spitfire's LABS was the go-to free piano and texture plugin for years. Splice INSTRUMENT is now its home: it's free to download, as VST3, AU and AAX on Windows 10+ and macOS 11+, and free users get the free LABS packs plus a Spitfire Intimate Grand Piano. Splice adds new free packs every month.

Good for: soft pianos, felt pianos and atmospheric textures.
Catch: Spitfire is retiring the old LABS plugin on 31 October 2026. Copies you've installed keep working, but they won't get updates or new packs. Some instruments in INSTRUMENT need a paid plan, and there's no Linux version.

Get it from Splice.

BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover

Spitfire's BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover is a free, roughly 240 MB cut-down version of their BBC SO library: strings, brass, woodwind and percussion in one plugin. It's VST3, AU and AAX on Windows 10/11 and macOS 11 or later.

Good for: sketching orchestral parts and film or game cues.
Catch: it has fewer articulations than the paid versions, and you install it through Spitfire's own app.

Get it from Spitfire Audio.

Free samplers: the instruments other people make

A free sampler gets you more instruments than any single plugin, because people give away libraries made for it.

Decent Sampler

Decent Sampler plays libraries in its own format. Hundreds are free, including most of the Pianobook community's pianos, guitars and odd found sounds. It's VST3 and standalone on Windows, Mac and Linux, plus AU and AAX on Mac and AAX on Windows. There's an iPad version too.

Good for: unusual, hand-sampled instruments you won't hear in every other track.
Catch: you enter an email to download it. It can't open SF2 files directly; its developer tools convert them first.

Get it from Decent Samples.

simpleSF2

simpleSF2 is my own plugin. It plays SoundFonts, the SF2 and SFZ instrument files that have been shared free online since the 1990s: General MIDI banks, pianos, drum kits, and sounds ripped from N64, SNES and PS1 games. It's a VST3 and CLAP on Windows, Mac and Linux and an AU on Mac, and it opens the whole bank as it is, with every preset in one list.

Free: one imported library per instance, with all of its presets.
£9.99 unlock: multiple libraries, a 16-channel mode for MIDI files, and built-in reverb and chorus.
Catch: no AAX, so not in Pro Tools. And the sound depends on the SoundFont: the best free SoundFonts is a good place to start.

Which free plugins work in your DAW?

Logic Pro and GarageBand: need AU. Everything on this list has an AU version. For SoundFonts, see SoundFonts in Logic Pro and GarageBand.
Ableton Live, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One, REAPER, Bitwig: VST3 works in all of them, so everything here loads.
Pro Tools: needs AAX: TyrellN6, Splice INSTRUMENT, BBC SO Discover and Decent Sampler.
Linux: Vital, Surge XT, Odin 2, Dexed, Decent Sampler and simpleSF2 have Linux builds, and TyrellN6 has a beta.
LMMS: only loads VST2 plugins, so most of this list won't load directly. See SoundFonts in LMMS.

Common questions

What is the best free instrument VST?

For a synth, Vital or Surge XT. For piano, Splice INSTRUMENT's free pianos or a Pianobook library in Decent Sampler. For orchestra, BBC SO Discover. For General MIDI and game sounds, a SoundFont player such as simpleSF2.

Are there free instrument plugins for Logic Pro?

Yes. Every plugin on this page has an Audio Unit version, which is the format Logic Pro and GarageBand load.

Is Spitfire LABS still free?

The LABS content is still free, but it now lives in Splice INSTRUMENT. Spitfire retires the old LABS plugin on 31 October 2026. After that, installed copies keep working but get no updates.

Do free plugins have catches?

Usually a small one: an account or email to download, fewer presets than the paid version, or an upgrade offer inside the plugin. None of the plugins here add noise or a time limit.