Best Filter Vst Free

Perfectly apt for trap, hip hop, EDM and trance boppers, Superwave P8 is considered one of the best synth VST plugins on the freeware market. It does help that it was remotely modelled off of the Roland JP 8000.

Low Pass Filter Plugin
Vst Noise Filter
Free Filter Plugins
Best Free Filter Vst
Best Filter Vst Free Plugin
High Pass Filter Vst

Filters have become some of the more familiar tools in the studio these days, due in large part to their ubiquitous use in dance music.

Even if you aren’t especially fond of resonant sweeps and acid basslines however, there are still many good reasons to stockpile a handful of filter plug-ins.

So in this article we’ll take a look at some of the best free filter VST and AU plugins you can use to get your feet wet.

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Introduction

About Filters

Filters are actually similar to equalizers, in that they cut or boost certain frequencies of sound. The now-familiar swooshing “wow-wow” sound heard on thousands of dance tracks is typically the result of cranking the resonance and sweeping the cutoff frequency, either by hand, via ADSR envelope control, LFOs, or automation.

There are more utilitarian applications for filters as well. Steep high-cut filters can tighten up the low-end of a mix by eliminating sub-bass frequencies that eat up headroom and cause bottom-end flab. Low-cut filters for their part can reduce harshness in the high-end.

Many producers agree that analog filters produce the warmest, most vibrant, and most satisfying sounds. But filter plug-ins have come a long way since the advent of the earliest software effects. Some of them can even replicate analog circuitry to an astoundingly accurate degree.

As you will see from these free filter plug-ins, you can get those wonderful swirling and wooshy sounds right on your computer.

Best of all, you can do so without having to cough up the cash for an expensive analog device.

Free Filter Plugins

The List

Plugin Roundup

Stillwell Audio’s Oligarc Filter is a midi-controllable plug-in emulation of the ladder filter design found in classic Moog analog synthesizers.

The same filter utilized in the company’s own Olga virtual analog synthesizer and Oligarc effects suite, the standalone Oligarc Filter has pretty much all the tonal and response qualities of vintage designs.

Like classic analog filters, the Oligarc Filter is non-linear in its response and performance, which lends a bit of desirable instability and loads of character.

And like the filter employed in the Minimoog, it gives off more than just a hint of unpredictability and danger in its sound.

In deference to those with more fragile sensibilities, the Oligarc Filter comes with a soft-clipping limiter that helps keep things from getting too out of control.

Nevertheless, this is one filter for which the word “restraint” doesn’t apply. This is apparent by its readiness to go into self-oscillation with no apparent resonance limit.

TAL’s Filter 2 is a much less rambunctious filter, although it’s perfectly capable of tiptoeing dangerously close to the edge of aural assault. It syncs quite nicely with your host DAW’s tempo, enabling you to produce rhythmic filter effects and wobbling modulations that would be right at home in your next dubstep track.

Those that have used TAL’s excellent NoiseMaker virtual analog synthesizer plug-in will recognize the wide array of filters in the Filter 2. From multiple flavors of low-pass and high-pass to band-pass and notch, they’re all here in all their 4x oversampled glory.

Like all respectable filter plug-ins, the Filter 2 can be pushed into saturation, in this case, by cranking the input control. You can also modulate the panning or volume level of an incoming signal, so this filter can do triple-duty as a tremolo or gate effects device.

Tekit Audio 8kut 2 is an eight-band frequency cutter plug-in that isn’t quite like your typical filter plug-in. Intended specifically for DJs and live performers, it probably isn’t the first plug-in that most would think of when looking for a studio mix tool. Nevertheless, its ability to cut frequencies via eight pads could make for some interesting sonic experiments.

8kut 2 provides control over the bass, mids, high mid, and treble ranges. Although it is a fairly simple plug-in, the assortment of presets that it comes with gives you a good idea of the vast range of sounds possible.

The biggest strength of 8kut 2 is its ability to cut frequency bands via the eight pads, all of which can be mapped to a MIDI controller. Even though you might prefer a more “traditional” filter plug-in for most other tasks, the 8kut 2 could be very useful as an idea generator.

Now in its second version, Brainworx’s bx_cleansweep is a duo of high and low-pass filters that are better suited to subtle tone shaping than dancefloor-friendly filter freak-outs. Designed to filter out excessive low- and high-end, it draws inspiration from the onboard filters found in classic studio mixing consoles.

You could say that the bx_cleansweep is the odd one out in this roundup, which is mainly populated by more resonant and sweep-y filter plug-ins. Nevertheless, its ability to tighten up the bottom end and eliminate top-end brittleness makes it a useful addition to any plug-in collection.

Furthermore, Brainworx’s Anti-Crush technology gives it a very musically pleasing sound that will find a welcome place in your productions.

Top Pick

For the familiar filter sweeps and resonant effects that have become indelible parts of the dance music lexicon, the Oligarc Filter is the one to beat. Thick, chunky, and satisfying, it still isn’t quite a Moog filter…but it does come close.

The TAL Filter 2 is no slouch either. With the ability to modulate the filter cutoff, the volume, and the pan, it definitely has a bit of an advantage in the rhythmic department.

As for the 8kut 2, you could very well use this as an idea generator, even if you have no plans of playing out. And if you need a quick and simple mix-assist tool that sounds great and is easy to use, you could do a lot worse than the bx_cleansweep.

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If you are a music producer or sound designer, you would have probably used some form of filtering, be it a low pass filter, band, and even a high pass filter. A filter can be used in a couple of ways, for example, you might want to use it to create a dramatic sound in your mix or for transitioning, in & out of a certain loop.

So, there are three types of filter, the first one is the Low pass filter where it removes the high frequencies, while the low frequency stays intact, the tl;dr version is that it allows the low frequency to pass.

The second one is the High pass filter, which filters away the low frequencies while leaving the high frequencies intact, the tl;dr version is that it allows the high frequency to pass.

Lastly, we have the Bandpass filter, where the very low frequency and the very high frequency are removed, keeping the moderate range band of frequencies. This can be used to smoothing the edge while also suppressing the noise at the same time.

There are other types too, e.g notch, low shelf, etc. While your favorite DAW might come bundled with a filter plugin, you might want to experiment with other types of good filter plugins where they incorporate their signature sound with a more advanced filter option.

So, if you are tired of using a stock filter plugin, and instead want to step up the game with something more sonic, and good, then check out the best of the best free and paid filter plugin in the recommendation below.

As usual, please use the table of content to navigate freely

Page Contents

Filter Effect Plugins (Paid)
Filter Effect Plugins (Free)

Filter Effect Plugins (Paid)

Starting with…

1.) WOW 2 Filter – Sugar Bytes

WOW 2 comes predefined with 21 filters that produce a stunning analog sound with huge resolution and free of any aliasing (misidentifying certain frequencies). What I love about this plugin is the way it incorporates its filtering, it works in vowel mode, which shows off a wide variety of humanoid sounds, these are an advanced option you won’t see in-stock filter plugins.

The reason why WOW filter is one of the best filter plugins out there relates to its Talkbox, where you can pick any two vowels from 9 options, the options available are [i:] as in seat, [e] as in hen, [æ] as in fat, [y] as in tu (French), [ə] as in the, [ɑ] as in father, [ɔ] as in awe, [o] as in copy, and [u] as in boot. This gives a wide variety of options to experiment with, you will love it.

Also, you have an option to play with modulation, there are four sources: an envelope follower with frequency detection, the LFO with 13 waveforms, a 16-step step sequencer and the Wobble Knob (lifted from our Cyclop synth).

My favorite section is the Wobble Generator, you can control the shape of the LFO which has over 14 different waveforms while also changing the speed, and in fact, the knob can be modulated itself (pick the LFO for a start) and this is what the wobbling control is all about: to get that knob moving.

Lastly, there is a distortion module, where you can play with tons of distortion settings, this plugin is great and there are lots of useful components you can play with.

Key Features

21 Filter Types
LFO, Env.-Follower, Step Seq. & Wobble
No Aliasing
Distortion with 3 Overdrives & 4 Digital Functions
Distortion Pre- or Post Filter Units
Envelope Follower with Frequency Detection
9 human vocal Sounds in Vowel Filter
Dynamic Oversampling across the board

System Requirements

Mac: OS X 10.9 or higher (64-bit only)
Windows: Windows 7 or higher (64-bit only)
AAX
Audio Unit (AU)
Standalone Application
VST2

2.) FilterFreak – SoundToys

The next on our list is FilterFreak by SoundToys, which produces a warm, soothing, fat and resonant tones when used for filtering. I have personally used FilterFreak in multiple projects, and one thing I love about this plugin is how you can carve an unlimited type of filter effects you want.

If you have been using one or more of SoundToys products, then you should know by now that they mostly emulate analog hardware, in the case of FilterFreak, they recreated the sound of a classic analog resonant filter. According To SoundToys:

Twist the frequency knob for smooth retro synth sweeps. Crank up the resonance to add some edge, or even push the filter into self-oscillation. And when you drive it hard, FilterFreak responds by breaking up in a gritty and pleasing way, just like hardware.

So, there are seven different analog saturation styles you can play with, from warm or pumping compression to crunchy distortion, you can perfectly go without bothering about aliasing.

On top of that, you also have an option to experiment with rhythm and groove which adds another layer of motion to your tracks automatically, if you don’t want to bother about creating rhythm from scratch, you can select from a library of pre-made rhythms, if you are like me, you would start right of the bat with a preset. To complete the vibe of the sound, you can tweak the Groove knob and add some swing or shuffle to drop it in the pocket.

There are lots more options you can play with, like modulation, analog filters, and the likes, go check it out.

Key Features:

Capture the sound of classic resonant filters, with extended control and flexibility
Funk up the guitar, fatten bass, reshape drums, sweeping synths and freak out vocals
Choose from one filter or two that can be used in series or parallel
Select highpass, lowpass, bandpass and band-reject modes with 2 to 8 poles
Add synth-like resonant sweeps or classic wah-wah tones to your tracks
Create funky auto-wah, envelope follower and sample-and-hold effects
Grunge things up with 7 different analog saturation styles
Construct intricate rhythmic filter sequences with the Rhythm Editor
Design your own LFO shapes with the Shape Editor

System Requirements

Operating systems: Mac OS X 10.8 or later; Windows 7 or later
Minimum: 44.1 kHz, Maximum: 192 kHz Sample Rates
64-bit only
AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite, VST, and Audio Units (AU)
A FREE account at ilok.com is required (a physical USB iLok is not required)
Works with Major DAWS (Including Fl Studio, I currently use it with Fl Studio 10 & 12)

3.) The Orb Filter – AudioThing

The Orb Filter by AudioThing is one of the neatest, intuitive and simple Filter plugin I have ever tried, yes, I use FilterFreak, but I’ll have to admit that this filter has been built with a clean GUI in mind, much better than FilterFreak interfaces, not saying SoundToys FilterFreak is bad, but this one is much better in terms of interface and easiness, let’s go over its features:

The Orb Filter is built to simulate the characteristic of the human voice, which means it is a formant filter where several prominent bands of frequency determine the phonetic quality of a vowel, so the Orb can transform any sound into a vowel-like formant-filtered sound. It features a set of three bandpass filters and three LFOs which give you an option to modulate the Vowel, the Emphasis/Resonance of the formants, and the Drift, which can shift up or down the frequencies of each formant. You can also create your own set of vowels by changing names and frequency for each vowel/formant, which is super awesome.

Going further, each sector of the orb represent a Vowel, which can be changed by clicking on the vowel name in each sector, for example, the image below represents the number of custom Vowels you have out of the box:

If you feel the need, you can change each vowel name and frequency for the three formants, also, each custom vowels set will be saved in a preset, this way, you can create as many as possible by saving to a new preset. The Orb is different from your normal stock plugin filters, you can experiment and create exciting drama in your music, enjoy away!

Low Pass Filter Plugin

Key Features:

Three Band Pass Filters (ZDF design)
Vowel Sets: Male, Female, Child, and Custom
3 LFOs (destinations: Vowel, Emphasis, and Drift)
Lightweight on CPU
Preset system with randomizer
Formats: VST, AU, and AAX (32/64bit)
Platforms: OSX, Windows

System Requirements:

Mac: OSX 10.6.8 or later
Win: Windows XP SP2 or later
2 GB RAM / 500 MB HD
Screen resolution: 1024×768
VST2, AU and AAX 32-bit or 64-bit host
Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz / AMD Athlon 64 or equivalent

4.) Filter Snapin – kiloHearts

One of the simplest of them all, with very few parameters. Filter Snapin is a resonant filter with 7 modes, swiftly getting rid of frequencies you don’t like or enhancing frequencies you do. And it’s doing it and doing it and doing it well.

One powerful thing about this plugin is that you can either use it as a regular VST/AU plugin, or you can use it with kiloHearts snapin hosts Multipass and Snap Heap where you can combine effects in amazing ways.

Key Features:

Cutoff Knob
7 modes of resonant filters
Gain Knob

System Requirements:

CPU: 2 GHz or faster
Memory: 1 GB or more
Operating System: Windows (7 or newer) or Mac OS X (10.7 or newer)
A VST / Audio Unit / AAX compatible DAW
Supported formats: AAX / AU / VST2 / Snapin

5.) Comb Filter Snapin – kiloHearts

Lastly, another filter plugin from kiloHearts.

The Comb Filter hollows out the sound by carving out frequencies at each multiple of the base frequency, like the teeth of a comb.

It’s also possible to process left and right differently in a way that not only gives a wide stereo effect but also collapses right back to the original signal when mixed to mono. Nifty!

Again, you can either use it as a regular VST/AU plugin, or you can use it with kiloHearts snapin hosts Multipass and Snap Heap where you can combine effects in amazing ways.

Key Features:

Cutoff Knob
7 modes of resonant filters
Gain Knob

System Requirements:

CPU: 2 GHz or faster
Memory: 1 GB or more
Operating System: Windows (7 or newer) or Mac OS X (10.7 or newer)
A VST / Audio Unit / AAX compatible DAW
Supported formats: AAX / AU / VST2 / Snapin

Filter Effect Plugins (Free)

6.) AudioModern – FilterStep

Uhm…

FilterStep is a truly modern and intuitive modern filter plugin by audiomodern, it provides a realistically and intricate rhythmic movement with the filter plugin.

It can give you incredibly complex and nuanced results based on various filter effect settings, and almost infinite possibilities for sonic exploration and movement randomization.

As if that isn’t enough for a free plugin, you can also craft compelling textures with simple and intuitive parameter controls.

Note: It requires registration, this is free, so, registering shouldn’t be an issue right 😉

Video WalkThrough

Features:

VST/VST3/AU/AAX/iOS & Standalone
Generate filter grooves in real-time
Syncs to host tempo
Wet/Dry mix control
MIDI Controllable
Infinity mode
Quick load presets
64 & 32-bit compatible
Instant/Tap bypass for live performance
Quantization settings
Motion selector
Customizable sequence range
Assign presets to quick-load section
No two patterns will ever be the same

System Requirements:

Mac OS X 10.12 or higher
Windows 7 or higher
Minimum of 50 MB free drive space

7.) SoundSpot – Fat Filter

According to SoundSpot:

Whilst hard at work in the studio, some members of the SoundSpot team discovered that when they were making their filter sweep transitions, they were forced to use heavy, full featured EQ’s & were using way more CPU power than seemed logical.

They also found that they were coming across strange crackling digital artefacts when using some plugins over certain sound sources. This was all far from ideal, so with this in mind, the SoundSpot team decided enough was enough, and set out to create a solution to fix the problem.
After coffee, brainstorming, interface design and all the all important coding, The FAT Filter was born.

Welcome, Mr. Fat Filter!

Vst Noise Filter

The FAT Filter has been developed using the SoundSpot ever-popular analog-modeled algorithm, which results in super-smooth transitions, whilst being incredibly light, and intuitive.

Don’t sweat it, you can load almost as many instances as your heart desires without hitting your CPU too hard.

System Requirements:

Mac: 10.12 – 10.14 (older OS versions may work but are not tested).
PC: Windows 32 & 64-bit, versions 7, 8 or 10.
RAM: 8 GB RAM or more is recommended. Plus at least 8 GB hard disk space for installation. (I tried it on a 4gb ram, and it was super smooth)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 X2 or newer.
Format: Any 32 or 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, or AAX (11.0.2 or higher) compatible host application should work.
Sample rates supported sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz, in both mono and stereo.

Note: Registration required. You would basically click on the free purchase and the checkout. Don’t sweat it, it is free.

Free Filter Plugins

8.) AudioThing – Filterjam

FilterJam is a free multiband resonant filter plugin by AudioThinge, that delivered a weird ringmod like filtered sounds.

The input signal is divided into 4 bands that are then summed or multiplied together according to the selected mode.

Filterjam can be very harsh or gentle, it can add brightness or depth to synth sounds, but it can also completely mangle acoustic sources, which is where the Jam is inspired, anyways, enjoy the free multiband filter plugin by AudioThing.

Video SneakPeek

Features:

Multi-Band Resonant Filter
Lightweight on CPU
Preset system with randomizer
Formats: VST, AU, and AAX (32/64-Bit)
Platforms: OSX, Windows

System Requirements:

Mac:

OSX 10.6.8 or later
Core Duo 2GHz
2 GB RAM / 500 MB HD
Screen resolution: 1024×768
VST2, AU, and AAX 32-bit or 64-bit host

Windows:

Best Free Filter Vst

Windows XP SP2 or later
Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz / AMD Athlon 64 or equivalent
2 GB RAM / 500 MB HD
Screen resolution: 1024×768
VST2 and AAX 32-bit or 64-bit host

9.) CFA Sound FilterGrizzly 2

CFA Sound FilterGrizzly 2 is a rich on character and warmth filter type of plugin, it is loaded with a tube-based filter drive unit for saturation, followed by an analog-modeled 4-pole lowpass and 2-pole highpass filter with a passive controlled feedback circuit!

Video Sneak Peek

Features

2x oversampling and anti-aliasing algorithm
A tube-based filter drive unit
Classic analog ladder filter design
4-pole lowpass and 2-pole highpass filter
A passive controlled feedback circuit
New GUI with 2 different skins
VST 2.3 (32-bit) for Windows

System Requirements:

Win32 compatible OS with SSE2-supporting CPU (or higher)

10.) StageCraft – AutoFilter

AutoFilter is a free filter plugin by StageCraft that gives you all the functionality you’d expect from a professional filter plugin. It supports the control of a filter cutoff frequency, and filter response.

Also, you can sweep the filter frequency with a range of LFOs, vary the range of the frequency sweep, duty cycle warp the LFO, and control the wet/dry mix.

While it isn’t actually an auto filter that does everything for you, you still have an option to use automation all the plugin parameters such as cutoff frequency, resonance, LFO frequency, LFO range, duty cycle warping, and wet/dry mix. This powerful feature unlocks the full potential of the plugin, allowing you to create more complex and expressive sounds than possible with manual tweaking.

Video Sneak Peek

AAX
AU
AAX
VST
Windows 7 or newer (64-bit only)
Windows 32-bit hosts are no longer supported
Mac
OS X 10.7 or newer

Download StarCraft AutoFilter Win // AutoFilter Mac