10 Best Ableton Plugins For 2024 (Free & Paid)

The Best Ableton Plugins You Need In 2023 

There are plenty of amazing VST plugins these days just waiting for you to add to your collection...

And these are the best Ableton Plugins that work for Live 11.

In this list, we've decided to add both free plugins and paid options to choose from so that you can get your hands on a few plugins as soon as possible!

With the most recent version Ableton Live 11 being the best version of the DAW yet, you'll want to add these options to complete your production versatility!

We've made sure to include a variety of our favorite instrument plugins, effects plugins, and more!

The plugins in this list are external plugins that you will need to download, and open in your DAW.

With that being said, let's jump right into the essential plugins you need!

10 essential Ableton Plugins

Just tap above and grab them! ☝️

#10. Fresh Air - Slate Digital (Free Download)

You could say that this plugin is a breath of fresh air...

Slate has put some really great design and mechanics behind this little effect. 

As the name suggests, this plugin breathes some life into whatever you slap it on.

Music production is all about bringing ideas in your head to life. 

But sometimes... you find yourself with some producer's block. 

So just throw Fresh Air onto your loops or synths! (Music production 101).

Ah yes, and perhaps the strongest aspect of Fresh Air, is its cost. It's free!

Check out Fresh Air here.

#9. Modo Bass 2 - IK Multimedia

Now here's an interesting choice.

Modo Bass 2 is bass instrument heaven. It almost sounds like the real deal.

Not only that, but the customization you have over the bass is second to none. No other bass plugin comes close to Modo Bass. 

With the resurrection of 70's and 80's sounds in modern music, having a quality bass in your productions is a must.

Kontakt 6 might be a solid choice for basses.. however, IK Multimedia has created the triumphant bass plugin here.

I can personally attest to Modo Bass, and it's earned its place as a staple instrument VST/AU.

Check out Modo Bass 2 here.

Get your own music studio booth (for under $500)

This image above (with the portable music studio) ☝️ is the BEST resource for musicians!

• This little studio booth is ideal for use in tight quarters (dorms, rooms.)
• The soundproof booth is useful for reducing echo and other background disturbances
• The end result is perfectly dry and clear vocals
• You save thousands in studio time and specific equipment

Ever since my producer bought one of these... Life became 100x better.

Just tap here to learn more - this might just be for you!

#8. RC-20 Retro Color - XLN Audio

Perhaps one of the most popular FX plugins for music production in recent years, XLN Audio's RC-20 puts its money where its mouth is.

Looking for an FX plugin that can make drums, loops, and backing vocals just sound... expensive?

This is just the plugin to have if you want that little extra sauce, or if you want to put a completely new spin on an existing sound in your project.

If you want to be able to re-create the sound of that warm and vintage recording equipment, then look no further.

So is RC-20 worth it?

There's no doubt that RC-20 is quickly becoming a shortcut to getting that "special sound".

Whenever a music producer asks me what the best saturation plugin is... RC-20 is an easy recommendation.

It's not 2005 anymore. Producers don't have time to hook up cables to vintage gear just to test out ideas in their minds. RC-20 solves this problem.

Our favorite features:

• Saturation
• Wobble & Flutter
• Degrader & Bitcrusher

Check out RC-20 here!

#7. Pro-Q 3 - Fabfilter

There's a reason why you see this bad boy every time you load up a YouTube tutorial.

It seems like every producer in the last decade owes Fabfilter a piece of their royalties with how valuable their products have been.

The real-time spectral analysis can be such a time-saver that you'll wonder how you ever used an EQ without it!

Aside from having a dynamic EQ, Pro Q 3 also functions as a multiband compressor, which lets you duck specific frequencies when they get too out of control rather than cutting them entirely.

Anything you need. High pass filters, monitoring your audio signal, cutting frequencies out of vocals...

This plugin stands tall at the end of your mix chain.

Ah yes, and speaking of vocals, check out our list of the best vocal plugins!

Oh yeah.. and did I mention that Pro-Q 3 is very user-friendly?

What more can I say... It's the GOAT of the EQ plugins. 

Check out Fabfilter Pro-Q 3 here!

#6. Stray Cats Collection - Max For Cats (Free Download)

The Stray Cats collection is underrated in every sense of the word.

You can grab yourself a free set of Ableton Live plugins that will serve you well.

In this free bundle, you'll be able to get a free instrument plugin, a midi effect plugin, and 4 free effects plugins.

Looking for some retro synth sounds? Solid modulations? Effects to help you in a pinch?

The Stray Cats collection is a solid collection of plugins to add to your Ableton.

The best part about this set of plugins is that you can download and add them right from the Ableton website. It should show up right in your Ableton live!

Grab the Stray Cats Collection here!

#5. Piano V - Arturia 

There are plenty of plugins to get a great piano sound, but truthfully none of them touch Piano V by Arturia.

The sounds of Piano V are very good, and they can substitute perfectly for the real thing in a track.

If I was forced into the box against my will, Piano V would be the best tool I could use to cope.

Piano V is packed with features... and I don't mean that lightly.

When you factor in the control you have over the piano, and the sheer number of choices for piano presets... it makes justifying the price much easier.

On top of all that, it's surprisingly light on your hard drive storage! 

Check out Piano V by Arturia here!

#4. Vinyl Guitar - Echo Sound Works 

There's a big contention online about which guitar plugin is the best.

To be completely honest with you... nothing beats a real guitar recording.

Some of the best guitar loops beat out the sound of plugins 9 out of 10 times.

However, shout out to Echo Sound Works for creating Vinyl Guitar, a poppy guitar plugin that embodies the sound of the ever-popular "internet money" guitar sound.

Vinyl Guitar gives you some nice control over the sound.

You'll be able to control the fret noise, the string buzz, the noise of the pick on the strings, and even the reverb of the guitar.

It's a really solid little free acoustic guitar plugin!

It's easy on your CPU and extremely versatile genre-wise.

Create some awesome pop tracks, trap, hip-hop, chill music, and more!

And hey! Guess what the best part it?

Vinyl Guitar is currently free! That's right you can grab this plugin at no cost right now.

Grab Vinyl Guitar for free here!

#3. Ozone 9 - iZotope

Struggling to master your music in Ableton? This might just be your savior!

We're officially dubbing Ozone 9 as the magnum opus of mastering suites.

If you want the fully complete package... this is it.

How does Ozone stack up versus a top audio engineer?

Well honestly... there is no way to overestimate the skill of mastering engineers.

But Ozone 9 puts a little bit of that magic in the hands of musicians and producers everywhere.

Not to mention... for the EQ, the viewable frequency response is second to only Pro Q 3. 

With just a few clicks, you can make your project sound more polished and professional.

Being able to see a stereo signal never was easier!

One thing I should mention though, is if your room is not acoustically treated properly... your mixing ability may be thrown off..

You might have to ask yourself Is your studio in a small room?

You might enjoy our list of the best studio monitors for small rooms guide to help with that problem!

Seasoned plugin company iZotope, has been a trailblazer in the mastering space for over a decade.

The only problem I can currently see with Ozone 9, is it can ruin your creative process.

I find myself loading up Ozone onto my master chain, and as it takes a huge amount of CPU load to keep running, it can lag your project.

Nonetheless, music producers love Ozone. After all... it is far better than any group of stock plugins.

Man... I remember Ozone 5. Guess I'm getting old.

But that just shows you the continued success and refinement of a masterpiece. 

You can get Ozone 9 by iZotope here!

#2. Analog Lab V - Arturia 

Not many plugins like Arturia's "Analog Lab" come along very often.

The sonic possibilities are endless with Analog Lab V. Its library of 2000 presets and patches covers every musical style under the sun - and a few that aren't. 

• Bass 
• Keys
• Synths
• Pads
• Pianos
• Electric Piano
• Organ
• Strings
• Brass & Wind

Personally, I think the best thing about Analog Lab is the variety of sounds you get. It makes electronic music production fun.

You could easily compare Analog Lab to the likes of Omnisphere due to its potential for having a ton of sound choices.

You can grab Analog Lab by Arturia here!

#1. Serum - Xfer Records 

Perhaps the most popular software instrument of all time, Serum is no joke.

In recent years, the serum has become the industry standard in electronic music genres such as Dubstep, Trap, Hyperpop, and more. 

I had never seen a wavetable synthesizer with a truly high-quality sound, a visual and creative workflow-oriented interface, and the ability to "go deep" when needed:

To create / import/edit/morph wavetables, and manipulate these on playback in real-time.

Serum by Xfer Records does completely this...

Trusted by some of the most talented producers on this planet, Serum will scratch your itch for sound design in your music production process.

Benefits of using Serum to make music:

• Powerful FM synthesis
• Easy learning curve
• Awesome built-in FX
• So many possibilities with wavetables
• It's like Sylenth + Massive combined
• 100,000s of presets available to download
• You can make pretty much every sound ever

• Has two oscillators

• User friendly

• Killer ping-pong delay

• Unbelievable sound quality!

If you want even more proof of how badass Serum is...

I've even seen producers use Serum on their FX chain instead of being used as an instrument.

(Yes... it can even act as a reverb plugin).

As a wise man I know named Dorian once said... "Steve Duda is a genius."

Grab Xfer Serum here!

Bonus: Free Ableton Drum Machines

If you've been looking for free drum machines with unlimited possibilities for combos, look no further than the options below. 

I've got the best ones to date!

606 Koncept - Sample Science (Free Download)

When you're making music, it's important to have as much control over your drums.

That's why we made sure to include a free drum programmer that music producers love!

The 606 Koncept drum machine features:

• The original 606 Drum Kit (606 Kick Drum)

• Vinyl, tape-hiss, and sub-sound generators

• Multi-pitch sum mixers for each drum sound

• Multi-LFO

• Room reverb

• Highpass/Lowpass filter

• Amplitude range controls

• 3 voice modes: polyphonic, monophonic, and legato

• It just sounds great!

Get 606 Koncept for free here!

Are Ableton Stock Plugins Good?

The Ableton Live stock plugins are very good.

They provide a vast array of sound design tools and make creating professional tracks efficient.

Take a good look at them before deciding whether or not you need to purchase any third-party plugins, as you'll be surprised at how good they are.

Fun fact: The Glue by Cytomic is actually built right into Ableton Live.

Check out the video above to see the top 5 stock Ableton plugins you should know more about.

You may be very surprised how powerful the stock plugins can be. Now you know all about the best Ableton plugins out there! 

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