The 8 Best FL Studio FREE Plugins (2022)
“What are the best FL Studio free plugins in 2022?”
In 2022, FL Studio remains one of the most popular DAW’s among both beginner and advanced music producers. Known for it’s pattern-based interface, FL Studio is powerful, beautifully designed and highly intuitive.
Plus, FL Studio comes packaged with countless VST plugins, from virtual synths such as Sytrus, to several versatile effect plugins such as Parametric EQ 2, Fruity Delay and many, many more. The “All Plugin” edition of FL Studio comes bundled with 33 VST instruments and over 60 effect plugins!
But what are the best FL Studio free plugins that are NOT included within FL Studio?
Free VST plugins for FL Studio
If you’re looking for free VST plugins for FL Studio, there are literally hundreds of plugins out there that work perfectly with this incredible DAW, you just need to know where to look.
From perfectly realistic guitars, subtractive synthesizers to spacey reverb plugins, there are plenty of free VST plugins to choose from.
With that in mind, we’ve compiled this list of the best FL Studio FREE plugins that will take your music production to the next level.
A quick note on DAW exclusivity:
It’s important to note these plugins aren’t ONLY designed for FL Studio, and should work on most other DAW’s.
However, as FL Studio users, we’ve tried and tested ALL these plugins using FL Studio 20. All the plugins listed below work flawlessly within the DAW’s interface, and are therefore fantastic choices for FL studio users looking to enhance their plugin collection.
Click here to check out our list of the 100 Best FREE VST Plugins of All Time.
1. Ample Guitar M Lite II
Ample Guitar M Lite II is a free FL Studio plugin designed by Ample Guitars that, after trying it out, will have you wondering:
“Why on earth is this plugin free?”
This insanely powerful VST plugin is the dark horse of the plugin world. It has every feature you’d ever need to make beautiful guitar melodies and realistic chord sequences.
The sound quality is absolutely stunning, and the plugin immediately gives a rich, warm tone full of detail and clarity. There is a noticeable amount of variation and expression in each note played, and these sonic “imperfections” (and I mean that in a good way!) create an effortless playing experience.
The plugin engine is also PACKED with additional features, such as capo logic, doubling (separate samples for L and R), legato, slide, string tuner, and more.
For anyone looking for a highly realistic acoustic guitar VST plugin, this product should be at the top of your list.
Click here to download. Available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
2. Vital
Without a doubt, Vital from Matt Tytel is one of the best FREE plugins ever released.
Vital is a visual synthesizer jam-packed with incredibly powerful features and controls. This unique creative tool features various animated controls, filter responses, waveforms, smooth LFOs, oscilloscopes, spectrograms and more.
Plus, we’ve tested this plugin extensively in FL Studio and it works perfectly within FL Studio’s workflow.
Vital allows you to create wavetables entirely from scratch using an intuitive built-in wavetable editor. You can even generate wavetables from text! To put it simply, this level of on-board creative freedom means that Vital can synthesize almost any sound imaginable. In our opinion, Vital is actually better than most of the popular, paid plugins out there in 2022!
Regardless of the genre you produce, you should definitely add Vital to your plugin arsenal. Given the amount of features and the gorgeous sound quality, Vital is easily one of the best free FL Studio VST plugins in 2022.
Click here to download. Available for both Windows / Mac and 64-bit only.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
3. Pendulate
Another example of a highly underrated synth plugin is Pendulate from Eventide Audio. This plugin is refreshingly unique and is capable of creating some really interesting, electronic sounds.
The interface features a double pendulum oscillator, with controls for adding instabilities, detuning, overtones and sub bass. It also features a unique wavefolder section for editing the tone and harmonics of the sound, as well as a ton of options in the lower section for adding modulation, ADSR, and other useful parameters.
Pendulate stands alone in the world of free plugins due to it’s somewhat unpredictable and chaotic design. If you’re a fan of VST synth sound design, it’s easy to get lost in the seemingly endless modulation options. Plus, this thing can create almost any sound, from searing leads to growling, dirty basslines.
I’d definitely recommend this synth to electronic producers looking for grittier, more intense sounds to add to their tracks.
Click here to download. Available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
4. Kontakt Start
Native Instruments are without the doubt the most renowned, acclaimed audio technology company in 2022. Their eclectic, innovative range of virtual instruments, effects and sounds have shaped the way many producers think about music creation.
Their range of Kontakt plugins are particularly popular, featuring a huge collection of VST software designed for virtually any music genre.
We’ve been fans of Kontakt plugins for years, and their VST instruments/effects (and even their hardware) have provided the digital foundation to our music production process.
In early 2019, they released Kontakt Start, which includes a huge FREE collection of synthesizers, instruments, plugin effects and almost 1,500 loops and samples. Standout plugins for us are the TRK-01 bass synthesizer, and their analog synthesizer: VINTAGE.
If you’re looking for free plugins for FL Studio, Kontakt Start is an absolute no brainer.
Click here to download. Available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
5. Tritik Krush
Krush by Tritik is a powerful, easy-to-use bitcrusher plugin that allows you to instantly add life and character to your sounds by modulating drive, crush and other parameters.
With its bit-crushing and downsampling algorithms, Krush combines the crispy taste of the digital realm with the warmth of its drive stage and analog-modeled resonant filters.
The plugin has a clean and intuitive interface that gives a lot of control over its 4 modulation waveforms. It offers 3 main distortion parameters (clipper, bitcrusher and a downsampler), paired with a resonant multi-mode filter (high-pass and low-pass modes), dry/wet signal level controls and a very useful, intuitive modulation section. Using the modulation section, any of Krush’s bitcrushing parameters can be modulated using a selection of 4 different waveforms (sine wave, triangle, square, and noise).
Given the level of creative control, this free effect plugin is an absolute no-brainer for any producer out there.
Overall, Krush is definitely one of the best free VST plugins for FL Studio for all your bit-crushing needs.
Click here to download. Available for both Windows / Mac and 64-bit only.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
6. Dexed
The next FL Studio free plugin on the list is the criminally underrated synthesizer: Dexed.
Dexed is a highly versatile, multi-platform / multi-format virtual synth plugin that is closely modelled on the iconic Yamaha DX7.
This free plugin offers a staggering 144 fully automatable parameters, including seemingly endless modulation options, filter controls and everything in between.
I’d say a major downside of this plugin is the layout. The Dexed interface is far from beginner-friendly. It’s various sliders, knobs and parameter all appear on one large panel, with little on-board visualisation, which can make Dexed appear overwhelming (and often confusing). However, if you’re up for a challenge, this free plugin is capable of some truly extraordinary sounds.
If you don’t fancy creating sounds from scratch, it can also load any of the classic presets from Yamaha’s hardware synthesizers like the DX7 or the TX81Z, which can then be warped and manipulated to your hearts content.
Click here to download. Available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
7. u-he Tyrell N6
u-he Tyrell N6 is a virtual, analog-modelled subtractive synthesizer brimming with vintage character.
This compact, innovative synth is capable of producing a massive range of sounds, including dirty, retro synth leads, funky basslines and smooth, hypnotic string ensembles.
Tyrell N6 is somewhat of a hidden gem in the VST plugin world. The plugin engine features 2 oscillators, noise, a ring modulator and 2 LFOs with 8 waveforms.
It also features an audio source mixer with authentic overdrive and filter feedback. Plus, for producers looking for quick, creative inspiration, Tyrell N6 also comes with 580 fully customizable presets (with many more available online).
One minor drawback is this plugin can sometimes get a little CPU-expensive, so I wouldn’t recommend multiple loading within FL Studio. Despite this, it’s still a top contender for one of the best FL Studio free plugins out there in 2022.
Click here to download. Available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
8. Piano One
If you’re looking to expand your VST plugin arsenal, you’ll probably want at least one free piano VST plugin.
Sound Magic’s Piano One is modelled on the stunning Yamaha C7 Concert Grand, a true workhorse in the professional piano world. This plugin is sampled directly from the piano, creating a true, rich sound at every velocity.
This FL Studio free plugin features an incredible selection of reverb parameters, harmonics, tone, perspective, damping controls and more, giving way to a huge amount of creative possibilities.
This free VST plugin version of the full product is missing a few features of the paid version, such as mechanical noises and multi microphone perspective support, but these aren’t huge downsides.
This is without a doubt the best free piano VST plugin out there, and it works perfectly within FL Studio.
Click here to download. Available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
Honourable Mention 1: Versilian Studios Chamber Orchestra 2 Community Edition
VSCO 2 Community Edition is an open-source, open-ended plugin designed for young composers, hobbyist sample library developers, and students around the world to create gorgeous orchestral sounds for free.
This beautifully designed plugin gives you crazy possibility to create, explore and experiment with the real, authentic sounds of real musicians.
The most impressive part of this plugin is the pristine quality of the sampled sounds. VSCO 2 makes it very easy to build lush, organic-sounding orchestral arrangements, all the within the FL Studio interface.
The download comes with 3,152 samples / 3.2 GB of content, making it one of the largest free VST plugins you’ll find.
Click here for more info / or to download this free plugin.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
Honorable Mention 2: VK-1 Viking Synthesizer
Last but not least, we had to mention the alluring Viking Synthesizer.
VK-1’s Viking Synthesizer is a slick, clean plugin capable of creating incredible sounds for almost any genre.
VK-1 Viking Synthesizer is an authentic emulation of a classic monophonic analog synthesizer. It has three continuously variable wave oscillators, two ladder filters with a Dual Lowpass or Highpass/Lowpass configuration, a multi-wave LFO, and two modulation busses.
This FL Studio free plugin uses state of the art DSP technology to accurately reproduce the sound of the hardware.
VK-1 comes with 228 presets to play around with that will instantly spark your creativity.
Click here for more info / or to download this free plugin.
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Features
The 8 Best FL Studio FREE Plugins (2022): Similar Articles
8 Best Free VST Instrument Plugins
How to make a beat in FL Studio | Step by Step Guide (2022)
