9 Best Free Vocal VST Plugins of 2019

9 Best Free Vocal VST Plugins of 2024

Hey guys, what’s going on? Today I want to give you my top 10 favorite VST plugins for vocals.

Keep in mind that these are my favorite plugins that I’ve used over the years, and I fund them one of the best to enhance vocal performance. That’s the goal after all, am I right?

Important note here. There are many plugins that can enhance your vocal performance like compressors, reverbs, delays, etc. In this article, we’ll try to cover only the best free plugins for your vocals and will skip the premium ones.

Another point – you have to realize that plugins are just tools. If you don’t know how to mix properly, there is no magic tool to save you (not even the one for $400+).

However, you have to realize that a power tool in your garage will do the job 10 times faster than a manual one. That’s the primary reasons why we use VST plugins for vocals.

Alright, let’s get to our list now.

Best Free Vocal VST Plugins

It’s well-known that dynamic sounds are much harder to mix – and the vocals are super dynamic. Luckily, there is no need to stress out every time you get to the mixer and start working on getting the “perfect vocals.” All you need to do is to know which free vocal mastering VST plugins to use.

Here are 9 VST plugins that will help you get the most out of your vocal performance.

Melda MAutoPitch Auto-Tune

Melda MAutoPitch Auto-Tune review

Check out MAutoPitch Review.

Auto-tune has taken over the music industry in a span of a decade. The craziest part is that almost no recording session is taken without using it.

Auto-tune is every vocal mixer’s must-have. But which Auto-tune VST plugin should you go for? The obvious answer is the Antares Autotune. While it’s the best vocal VST plugin out there, not everyone can spend $400+ on just 1 tool.

That’s why I present you MAutoPitch, one of the best Auto-tune alternatives around. It lets you correct sour notes, fix pitch, and even add the iconic T-Pain effect (just max the tuning and the speed).

The best part about MAutoPitch Auto-tune alternative plugin is that it’s completely free for everyone to use. If you are on a budget, I will pick it over Antares Auto-tune any day – there is just no reason to spend this much money until you have a decent cash flow.

Vladg and Tokyo Dawn Proximity

Vladg and Tokyo Dawn Proximity review

There are tons of accidental mistakes a producer can make. Just imagine – you’ve done your best vocal take just to find out that you were too far or too close to the mic. Well, the track is ruined now, right? Wrong!

With Proximity vocal VST plugin, you can change the mic placement after you’ve done recording everything.

While it’s not as good as actually placing the microphone in the correct spot, you’ll definitely find the Proximity plugin for vocals incredibly useful, especially if you are short on time.

Besides tweaking the proximity, you can also adjust the true gain and delay, stereo width, and even air absorption and reflections. Pretty neat free vocal mastering VST plugins, and for a price of $0!

Acon Digital Multiply Chorus

Acon Digital Multiply Chorus review

Sometimes you’ll notice how after the recording the sound comes out thin and dull. Luckily, you can add some color to your vocal and thicken them up a little with Multiply Chorus.

If you are wondering why it’s called that, it’s because the vocal VST plugin creates a ton of mini delays, a few milliseconds each.

How do these add color to the track and bring the vocals to live? Easy – the delays fill out tiny spots within your vocals and make them sound a lot brighter.

With Multiply Chorus, you can adjust the voice count, stereo spread, and rate and depth of the sound. It also comes with a built-in equalizer that you can use to cut and boost frequencies when needed. Overall, it’s a pretty powerful tool to warm up your vocals and reach the balance.

Voxengo OldSkoolVerb

Voxengo OldSkoolVerb review

Alright, I know what you are thinking – the previous 3 plugins looked a lot more impressive than this bad boy. I agree – the design isn’t quite up to our time. But hey, maybe that’s why it’s called OldSkoolVerb to begin with?

Reverb for vocals is a must. With it, you can add more a much better feel of “space” to the track. Instead of having your vocals sound like they’ve been recorded in a tiny home recording studio, you can tweak them to sound the way you want.

Cave full of sharp edges? Done. Flawless chappel with a lot of echo and delay? Easy.

OldSkoolVerb gets you covered no matter what your needs really are. From massive halls to tiny closets, you have all the options to create any sonic space imaginable.

The free VST vocal effects plugin gives you the ability to control reverb parameters (pre-delay, space, time, and width), damping (low and high), EQ (lows, mids, and highs), and output gain (both reverb and dry).

Even though I am not a big fan of the “old-school” design of the VST plugin for vocals, I sure love how flexible and feature-rich it is.

Klanghelm DC1A

Klanghelm DC1A review

Klanghelm has made a good name in the world of plugins for music production – they are known for their quality and reliability. If you are looking for a good addition to your VST effects for vocals, DC1A will be a great addition to the bundle.

DC1A is a little compressor with nice vintage design and a simple and intuitive interface. Nothing complex here – all you have is 2 knobs and 4 buttons. This may seem too simplistic, but this setup will cover everything from smooth leveling to heavy pumping.

The two knobs control the input and output gain. The 4 buttons (deep, relaxed, dual mono, and negative) control the settings of the compressor.

You can apply the compressor either while recording or after you’ve finished. I suggest applying a small amount of compression before recording the vocals and then compressing the final take as necessary to get it all warm and crispy.

Overall, a sweet compressor plugin for vocals and a must-have for your VST bundle.

Alex Hilton Al Trigger Gate

Alex Hilton A1 Trigger Gate review

Want to monitor how your free VST vocal effects affect the track? Al Trigger Gate is coming for the rescue! This plugin is a gem if you know how to use it properly.

While it doesn’t look like the most straightforward VST for vocals out there, you don’t really need to know every single setting. I mean – if you want to spend hours and hours to master it, then go ahead.

However, that’s by no means necessary if you are just using it as a part of your plugin bundle.

You’ll see the snippet of your soundwave (you can choose how long the pattern is) and will be able to change the swing, makeup, time, and short / long step settings, control the low and hi passes, modify the velocity curve, and tweak the echo and delay settings.

It may be overwhelming as an all-in-one solution, but the free vocal plugin comes with many presets that’ll make your job a lot easier. You can use Al Trigger Gate for all sorts of stuff, so go ahead and start experimenting already!

Glitch Machines Hysteresis

Glitch Machines Hysteresis review

There is no way this list could exist without any delay plugins on it. While not always necessary, delays are fun to experiment with and who knows – maybe you’ll stumble upon a unique sound that you’ll love.

Hysteresis is a powerhouse when it comes to experimentation. With the ability to control the stutter, filter, mod FX, and delay settings, the sky’s the limit for your imagination.

If you are a fan of futuristic and robotic music “malfunctions,” Hysteresis is definitely for you!

Almost forgot – a ton of presets that come with this free VST plugin to enhance vocals will turn a boring knob-tweaking experience into a more dynamic and fun time in the studio.

Acustica Ochre EQ

Acustica Ochre EQ review

Did you know that the fundamentals of mixing aren’t reverb, delay, and auto-tune? They are EQ and compression. If the two are way off, no plugin will save you from messing up the track. That’s why it’s crucial to find the right plugin to equalize the sounds and make them sound their best.

Clearly, the same applies to vocals. And Ochre EQ does an excellent job here.

I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite EQ plugin for beginners because it lacks visuals, but it will be a great addition to your plugin bundle just fine if you know your way around frequency ranges and have the visual in your head.

Ochre EQ does offer you a lot of flexibility in terms of ability to modify gain, frequency, and Q settings.

It even offers the preset for vocals that gives you a good boost in the middle and a cut in the lower end of the range. I’d say it’s a really nice plugin to sculpt out the best vocals you can (if you know what you are doing).

Fine Cut Bodies La Petite Excite

Fine Cut Bodies La Petite Excite review

It’s nice to add some warmth and a notch of sonic-excitement in the high end of the frequency range. Who doesn’t like extra harmonics on their vocal track, am I right?

That’s when La Petite Excite comes into play. With only a handful of knobs, even the person looking at the vocal plugin for the first time will quickly find his or her way around.

The plugin simply adds some subtle harmonic distortion and all of a sudden your voice get warmer and brighter – a must-have even if you’ve never used one before.

With only 5 knobs controlling the input / output gain, low / high-pass, and CV gate, you have to try hard to get lost. Don’t forget to turn the “Noise Floor” switch on!

To sum up, La Petite Excite is a must for every producer. It doesn’t even have to be used with vocals – you can add it to your piano or violin to “add a little” juice if needed!

Conclusion

Vocals may be tricky to mix. Thanks to these free plugins for vocals, you’ll have a much easier time dealing with them. Now go ahead and hit the studio – they won’t download themselves!