21+ Best FREE Drum VST Plugins: [Updated 2023]

Last updated on December 31st, 2023 at 08:06 pm

Having a good drum sound in your mixes is essential, be it real drums, sampled drums or synth drums.

Not everyone has the luxury of having a drummer available to record whatever they need 24/7, so making your own drum tracks and getting them to sound good is a great way of doing things.

Luckily, there are many free drum VST plugins available that should get you sounding amazing in no time.

Here’s a table with the Free Drum VSTs that I like the best (I won’t include all of them in the table, so scroll down to see the ones I didn’t include).

1. Acoustic Drums VSTs

All of the plugins in this section will be real sampled drums, not synthetic ones or drum machines.

MT Power DrumKit 2 (Windows, Mac)

The MT Power DrumKit is a free sampler which offers high-quality samples of an acoustic, realistic drum kit.

The Samples come pre-processed which should make them sit nicely in any mix without much tweaking.

In addition to the incredible drum sounds, it also has a fully pre-programmed groove library, which makes it extremely easy to set up a quick drum track for any song.

It also comes with a mixer where you can adjust the levels of each component, plus you can control the level of compression and panning.

Make sure to check out the official website here.

If you’re thinking about getting a high-quality drum VST Library, then definitely check out my article about the Best Drum VST Plugins & Libraries (not just the free ones).

Jamstix 4 Free (Windows, Mac)

Jamstix 4 Free is basically an acoustic drum VST plugin that features samples of different styles recorded by different drummers, and you can choose who actually “plays” those samples via a drop-down menu.

Where it’s different from plugins such as EZDrummer, MT Power Drumkit 2, etc., is in the way the grooves are generated: In most drum plugins you select a groove and drag-and-drop it into the project, but with Jamstix 4 you don’t really need to do that since you can select a style and then simply use knobs to increase the number of kicks, snare hits, etc. that happen within that groove.

This means that you can start out with a really simple groove and with just a turn of a knob that groove will be completely different. This makes it ideal for beginners or for anyone who doesn’t really know how to program drums.

The free version is a tiny bit limited, but you can buy single drumkits as you go or simply buy one of the premium versions that come packed with features.

You can Download it here.

SM Drumkit by SMM (Windows, Mac)

This is one of the best free acoustic drum sample packs available. The samples are from a Vintage Ludwig drumkit which just sound fantastic.

The intention behind this was to provide a sampled collector drum kit in an easy to use format (Kontakt) as well as the open WAV samples to map in your own samplers of choice.

To use in Kontakt, however, you will need the full version since the free version of Kontakt only allows you to use it for 15 min.

This Pack adds up to 3.7GB across 3614 samples recorded in 24 bits, and each piece has up to 64 velocity layers and up to 8 round robins.

Here’s a link to the official website.

If you’re looking for a Free DAW to use these plugins with, then make sure to read this guide I wrote on the best free DAWs available today!

DrumMic’a! by Sennheiser (Windows, Mac)

This is a Free drum sample Software which loads inside of the free native Instruments Kontact Player. This one allows you to change between Sennheiser and Neumann Microphones, which will change the drum sound a bit.

This one also comes with a mixer where you can adjust the volume of each individual component of the kit and also allowing you to EQ, Compress, add reverb and delay, pan, etc.

Important Note: This VST is now a KONTAKT instrument that can be used with KONTAKT Player.

Steven Slate Drums 5.5 (Windows, Mac)

These are samples of a real acoustic drumkit by Steven Slate, and this plugin is a stripped-down version of their fully featured premium plugin sold for $149.

However, even though you don’t get the fully featured version, SSD 5.5 Free is an absurdly good-sounding plugin that any beginner should have; It comes with just one drumkit but it features three different presets, each already pre-mixed, and it allows you to control the dynamics of the drums.

Even though SSD Free is a cut down version of their premium plugin, it’s much better than most other free acoustic drum plugins out there, so definitely give it a shot!

You can download it free here.

Drums by Spitfire Audio (Windows, Mac)

Spitfire Labs has launched its Labs project a few years ago which consists of a number of free sampled instruments that sound absolutely spectacular and I’ve used many of them to produce music at home.

These samples were recorded at Spitfire HQ back in 2012 by drummer Oliver Waton and engineer Stanley Gabriel and to my ears they sound perfect for something like jazz, light rock music, RnB, etc.

I would highly recommend that you also check out all of the other instruments they have available, which range from guitars, pianos, brass instruments, synths, and more.

You can download it here.

Sean Pandy Drums (Windows, Mac)

Sean Pandy Drums is a VST/AU drum rompler plugin with Kick, Snare, 4 Toms – and a Sub Blower.

Every drum consists of 6 velocity layers and up to 10 random-robin samples, which means that you should get no machine gun effect even with fast repetitions.

This plugin sounds pretty nice to be honest, on the official website you will find two songs that have been recorded using this drum plugin and it surprised me, so make sure to check it out.

Also, it comes with a reverb, but it sounds a bit metallic, so go easy on it.

You can Download it here.

2. Free Drum Synthesizer VSTs

Drumatic 3 by e-phonic (Windows Only)

Drumatic 3 is a virtual-analogue drum synthesizer. All sounds are 100% synthetic and allow for huge flexibility and variation.

It sounds pretty good, just remember that the sounds are nowhere close to a real drum, but that’s the whole point.

Some additional features come in the form of graphical envelopes for amplitude and modulation and a simple effects section that includes distortion, a bitcrusher and a filter.

The available sounds are: Bass drum, Snare drum, Handclap, 2 Toms, Hi-hats and a Rimshot / Bell.

You can download it here.

Are you also looking for 20 of the best Free Orchestral VST plugins? As it so happens, I wrote an article about the ones I think are the best!

MiniSpillage by AudioSpillage (Mac only)

MiniSpillage is a free drum synthesizer plugin featuring high resolution 64-bit DSP processing that includes 3 exclusive drum synthesis algorithms along with distortion effects and resonant filters.

It is, essentially, a stripped-down version of the premium “DrumSpillage” plugin available on the AudioSpillage website, and even though it has been released quite a long time ago, it still remains one of the most used drum synths out there.

It’s worth noting, however, that MiniSpillage is only available for Mac computers, so if you’re a Windows user you’re going to have to look elsewhere.

Features

• HD 64-bit Digital Sound
• 3 Editable Drum Pads

You can Download it here.

Now, maybe you need some truly powerful Drum VSTs and the ones on this list won’t cut it; Here’s a post about the best Premium Drum VSTs out there.

BD-808

The BD-808 is a bass drum synthesizer based on the original TR-808 circuit that features MIDI control, as well as Tune, Fine, Accent, Level, Decay, Tone parameters.

In terms of features, that’ really about it since it’s a super simple plugin designed to be simple to use, but you can actually get some pretty decent sounds out of it that could be useful for real-life productions.

You can download it here.

BD-909

Here’s another straightforward and simple addition by Synsonic. The BD-909 is yet another bass drum based on the original circuit of the TR-909 bass drum.

It offers different soundshaping possibilities such as distortion, noise decay, tune depth and hold and pitch, and it also features MIDI control.

It also comes with a couple factory presets that serve as a good jumping-off point to then create your own sounds.

This plugin is designed to mostly do one thing and it really does it well, so absolutely give it a shot.

You can download it here.

SUB Analog Free Drums

If you’re a fan of synthetic drum sounds, then SUB might be just for you. The advantage of using synthesized sounds instead of sampled ones is that they can be tweaked in any way you want, which means that the sound possibilities far exceed that of a sampled drum.

SUB features 18 analog drum sounds that can all be tweaked using the onboard controls in a simple and straightforward way.

Sadly, there’s no sequencer included (however, here’s a list of the best Step-sequencer plugins currently available).

You can download it here.

3. Free Drum Machine VSTs

Urban Beats by Native Instruments (Windows, Mac)

If you’re familiar with KONTAKT (link to a list of a Kontakt sample library) then you might have heard about their drum machine called “Urban Beats”, which is mostly aimed at hip-hop and R&B producers, but it does still work pretty well for electronic music, house, techno, etc.

In order to get Urban Beats you’ll have to download Komplete Start, with is Native Instruments’ free software bundle that comes with a lot of additional instruments, effects, loops and samples.

Urban beats offers five instruments and a selection of drum loop production kits, consisting of drum loops, single loop tracks, and individual slices.

You can create whole new grooves or select pre-programmed ones, or by step-sequencing patterns in the Groovebox mode.

Lastly, you can control the Gain, Saturation, Reverb and Delay, and take advantage of a resonant filter as well as convolution.

Get Urban Beats here (Download Komplete Start).

Drum Pro by StudioLinked (Windows, Mac)

This is a fantastic drum machine plugin no matter how you look at it. The sounds you can get out of it are great and the ease of use is unmatched.

Drum Pro offers 20 kits sampling 9 vintage drum machines (including TR-808 and TR-909) and offers dozens of presets that can help you get started quickly.

In addition to this, expansions are also available for purchase if you want to improve the versatility of this plugin.

It features global ADSR, Reverb and Volume controls, 12 different drum pads that light up when triggered and that show how each kit is set up (kicks, snares, claps, etc.), 12 volume and pan knobs for each individual component of the drumkit.

It is ideal for R&B, Hip-hop, Trap, EDM, etc.

Features

• 20 drum kits.
• Global ADSR / reverb.
• 12 pads.
• Volume and pan for each pad.

Also, you can add some paid expansion packs if you’d like.

You can download it here.

TheDrumSource by Witech (Windows)

TheDrumSource is a sample-based drum machine with a built in browser and sequencer. It has a simple, very clean interface and very fast workflow which is ideal for beginners.

It also allows you to adjust the panning, volume, pitch and length of each drum.

As far as ease of use go, TheDrumSource can’t be beat since it’s very straightforward and easy to learn. However, it’s also not the most versatile drum machine of the bunch.

Features

• support for many sample formats.
• Sample preview.
• Separate output channels.
• Very fast sample browsing.
• Resizable GUI.

You can download it here.

DJinnDrum VST by SimpleRecorder (Windows, Mac)

This one I only found out about recently despite it being a fairly old plugin now.

DJinnDrum is an extremely simple drum sequencer that only features 10 different sounds, from Bass (essentially kick drum), Snare, Hi Hats, etc. all the way to congas and claps.

You can control the volume of each of them individually or globally and control the tuning for each of the components of the kit as well, and that’s basically it!

What I like about it is its simplicity since you only need to lay down a MIDI track and that’s it, you’re ready to go!

Lastly, there’s only 3 presets available but you can create your own and save them.

You can download it here.

I’ve also put together a list about the top Free Bass Amp VST Plugins which is definitely worth checking out!

T.REX 606 (Windows, Mac)

The T.REX 606 is a rompler of classic 606 that’s got a vintage and Modern GUI Design featuring 7 Classics Sounds and knobs for Main Volume & Simple Reverb.

It’s really straight forward to use, very simple and intuitive. The sound quality isn’t the best but you should definitely try it out since it’s free.

It works both on Windows and Mac OS.

You can download it here.

Line of Legends (Windows, Mac)

Line of Legends may look extremely simple to you, but don’t let it fool you, it’s a great plugin

It features high quality drum samples from the eponymous free sample pack released by realdrumsamples.com.

The interface is divided in 8 sections (Kick, Snare, Clap, Snap, Toms, Hi hat, Ride and Crash).

Each section uses its own individual output for an easier handling in a productive environment.

Features

• 47 high quality samples.
• 8 individual outputs.
• Punch knobs for attack sculpting.
• Release and Pan knobs

Important Note: Some people have reported that in order to get sound you might need to set up the output channels in your DAW.

You can download it here.

Dub Turbo DrumTROOP (Windows, Mac)

Ok, this has to be one of the best free drum machines available, it’s just capable of doing way too many things and it does them far too well.

DrumTROOP is a great alternative to constantly creating kits from scratch or messing around with bloated on board functions in most drum vst’s.

Features

• 20 free drum kits.
• 16-20 sounds per kit (some kits are full = 100+ samples)
• 128 triggers on every kit.
• 16 outputs.

You can download it here.

If you’re looking for a high quality guitar sound without investing in gear or even software, then make sure to check out my article about the top Free Guitar VST plugins available!

Single Cycle Vintage Drum Elements (Windows, Mac)

Vintage Drum Elements is a virtual drum machine featuring the sound of the Yamaha RX5.

The 12 pad interface is super intuitive and easy to use, making it an ideal choice both for beginners as well as experts.

The preloaded samples are of top-notch quality.

The plugin drum machine comes with 4 drum kits, 1 FX set and 4 instruments featuring;

• Yamaha RX5 Kit 1
• Yamaha RX5 Kit 2
• Synthetic Kit
• Ethnic Kit
• FX
• DX Bass
• DX Clavecin
• DX Marimba
• DX Orchestra

The plugin is available as a VST & AU instrument for Mac & PCs both in 32 bit and 64 bit.

You can download it here.

606 Koncept

606 Koncept is a plugin based on a famous analog drum machine from the eighties and each sound has been meticulously sampled and mapped according to the General MIDI convention.

Vinyl, tape, and sub sound layers can be triggered on their own to add texture and depth to your drum sequences. Each drum sound can be pitch up or down using a unique summing pitch mixer.

It also features multi-pitch sum mixers for each drum sound, Multi-LFO, Reverb, High- and Low-Pass filters, 3 voice modes: polyphonic, monophonic, and legato, as well as amplitude range controls.

You can download it here.

Learn how to Produce music

If you want to learn how to produce music at home the right way and without making too many mistakes, then I’d recommend that you read these posts;

• Online music production Courses
• Produce Music from home
• Avoid these mixing mistakes

Conclusion

If you need real drum sample sounds, then I’d recommend either the MT Power DrumKit 2 and DrumMic’a! by Sennheiser.

If you want to create some hip-hop music, then the Drum Pro by StudioLinked is a good starting point.