Complete List of Saturation Plugins: Everything You Need To Bring Analog Warmth To Your Music (125+ Unique Saturation VSTs!)

Last Updated on June 17, 2025 by IDS Team

As a follow up to our list of mastering plugins last month, we’ve now developed a complete list of saturation plugins. This is the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the lesser known developers who put a lot of love and care into their products. There are some repeated products from the previous list here, but only because they are really good and fall into the category of both mastering and saturation.

Either way, we’ve aimed to present as diverse a range of plugins as possible, and introduce you to new developers and ways of working that you weren’t aware of. Read on to find out more, and if there are any that you think are worthy of including on this list, be sure to let us know in the comments!

General Saturation Plugins

Saturate from Newfangled Audio

Saturate is a creative plugin from newfangled Audio that invites you to ‘clip without clipping’. It contains everything you need to add depth, imperfection, and character to your mix. It’s spectral clipper contains a hard limiter and overdrive, as well as containing a shape control that allows you to control the smoothness of your clipping. It has options for flattening the dynamic range or adding overdrive, underscored by smart processing that preserves the idiosyncrasies to your original recording.. 49 USD, requires OS 10.9 and up, or Windows 10 and up, 64 bit only. Comes in AAX, AU, VST, and VST3 formats.

Kalifornia Dyanmic Alkane

Alkane is another plugin that’s dedicated to preserving your original sound while using saturation to enhance, not overtake, the character of the initial recording. It’s billed as a ‘quad circuit harmonics processor’ and provides ‘transient safe saturation’. It contains a spectrogram visualiser as well as a detailed EQ to give you further control over the placement of harmonic. This features low cut, low mid, high mid, and high cut knobs, plus controls for Q factor on it’s sleek and easy to user interface. Containing tape, tube, transformer, and synth circuit models, it is available as rent to own or 249 USD for the full payment. It works with AAX, AU, VST3, and all major DAWs.

Spicerack from Process Audio

Simply put, Spicerack is billed as a ‘creative distortion’ plugin from Process Audio, but it’s main focus is on adding warmth and extra dynamic range. This plugin prevents level jumps with it’s unique auto gain feature, and has a streamlined UI that offers you 5 distortoin algorithms, a linear EQ, gate control, and over 100 professional presets. One convenient feature is control remote which allow you to manage all isntances of your use of the plugin across a mix, from one single interface. With algorithms spanning drive, tube, lo-fi, fuzz, and amp settings, it has AAX, AU, and VST capabilities, is available for Windows and Mac, 8.1 and 10.13 and higher, and costs 75 GBP/100 USD.

Softube Saturation Knob

This is a product from Softube that is designed to bring you sound in a way that is more authentic to the way audio engineers worked with analog sound. This, and many other Softube models, are designed to preserve transients which can frequently get lost in the saturation process. This makes it a very subtle and intuitive way to use saturation. Furthermore, it’s simple interface makes it quick and easy to apply to any track.

Tesla SE – Variety of Sound

The Tesla SE is transformer, as opposed to tube or valve saturation, thus it has slight subtle differences in the tone. It’s a signal enhancer, so it is very, very subtle, and should be used in tandem with other effects to fully influence a track. Billed as an ‘analog style signal enhancer’, it has air, dim, and out knobs as well as one drive knob, and that’s it. It’s very simple and subtle yet true to life in terms of its emulation and on top of this, it’s free. Available for Windows 64 bit only in VST format.

Soundtoys Radiator

Radiator is a plugin that mimcs pre amp circuits, making it a bit of a rarity amongst saturation plugins. Nevertheless, it shows that adding the depth and color from a classic pre amp can improve tone just as much as a dedicated saturator. From this belief, Radiator takes pre-amp basics and repackages them as a dedicated saturator VST, showing the diverse range of places saturation can come from. It contains bass and treble dials plus a ‘heat’ monitor, offers a classic and versatile sound that harks back to vintage gear. Costs 99 USD and requires MacOS10.9 and later or Windows 10 and later. Comes in VST2, VST3, AU, AAX Native and AudioSuite formats.

PSP Vintage Warmer 2 from PSP Audio

PSP Vintage Warmer is a basic no frills vintage saturator from PSP audio that does just what it says on the tin and does it well. This saturator offers PPU and overload metering in order to better help you adjust the amounts of saturation on a track without overdoing it, perfect for the ‘less is more’ maxim. It doesn’t have the full range of additional features some saturator plugin have but it’s a stunning digital emulation of analog saturation wit the control of digital meeting the warmth of analog. Requires Windows 7 and up or MacOS 10.14 and up, Comes in AU, VST, VST3, and AAX formats.

Arturia Tape J 37

The Tape-37 from Arturia captures the sound of a real life tape – the Studer J37 tape machine. This is a scientifically designed tape recorder emulator and tube saturator with rich warmth, described by Arturia as ‘themionic warmth’. The plugin itself is very true to the original tape machine and contains color, speed, and transport features, as well as advanced controls such as instability, noise, and a delay loop feature. Lastly, the drive knob allows you to control the grit and aggression of your sound. Requires Windows 10 and up or OS 11 and up. Tape J 37 costs 99 USD and VST, AU, NKS, and AAX formats.

Tape Saturation

UAD Studer A800

This is a faithful emulation of a legendary tape machine that has accompanied many artists on epic recording journeys. This plugin doesn’t necessarily go for hard distortion or fancy effects, it’s simply bringing you a digital version of what you would get from analog tape machines in the studio. It excels at adding musicality to lacklustre digital tracks. It contains two EQs, a high frequency driver, noise feature, and smart user interface that mimics the look of the original machine. Requires MacOS 10.15 and up. Costs 349 USD,

Voxengo Varisaturator

Varisaturator is a feature packed saturator plugin from Voxengo which offers two kinds of saturation – analog modelled tube saturation and digital waveshaping saturation. It also contains differentiated audio mix saturation and audio track saturation. It’s billed as ideal at all stages of the mixing process, from use on individual tracks to bringing life and color to the mix as a whole. Windows 7 or MacOS 1-.12 or later,. Free download. Comes as AU, VST, VST3, and AAX.

Reels from AudioThing

Reels is billed as an ‘analog tape plugin’ with a built in echo section and tape stop and tape start effects. This plugin goes beyond the simple warmth and imperfections that come with tape and is designed to simulate the wider experience of using tape. It provides a lot of detail regards this and offers features like dials for flutter, harshness, crosstalk, and drops, as well as hiss, motor, and an option for soft clip. It’s minimalist and easy to navigate user interface rounds it off as one of the most comprehensive tape simulators out there. Requires Windows 7 and higher or MacOS 10.9 and higher. Comes in AU, VST2, VST3, and CLAP formats. Costs 59 EUR or 67.25 USD.

T-Racks Tape Machine Collection

The Tape Machine Collection from T-Racks consists of four tape machine emulations which allow you not only the ability to get the subtle imperfections and warmth of tape, but also bring the character and differences of individual tape machines to your track. These include the Ampex 440B which dates from the ‘60s, giving you a truly vintage sound; the Studer A80 MkII, a staple of the ‘70s and ‘80s; the Revox PR99 MkII, which brings the sounds desired by audiophiles of the 80s, and the MCI JH24, an ‘80s staple that is versatile and applicable to a range of goals for your mix – all in faithfully emulated forms that capture the sound and character of the original. Requires MacOS 10.15 and newer or Windows 10 (64 bit) and newer . Comes in VST3, AU, and AAX formats.

UAD AMpex ATR-02

The ATR-102 from Universal Audio is a mastering tape record, faithful to the original model created by Ampex corporation and even carrying full authentication from them. As a two track tape recorder, it’s not as big or flashy as some other plugins but it carries a truly diverse array of features allowing you to control repro, sync, and input paths, tape saturation, and to monitor and maintain desired gain staging. It also allow you to select tape types for more detail on how to change and influence your sound at the subtle level. Costs 349 USD and requires MacOS 10.15 and up or Windows 10 and up, 64 bit.

Mixed/Variety Saturation FX

Scheps Omni Channel 2

Omni channel 2 is a channel strip plugin with a nice range of saturation features. Saturation is concentrated in the pre amp section of the channel amp with settings such as ‘heavy’ and ‘crush’ to control your tone or go as distorted as you like. Meanwhile it also differentiates between even and odd harmonics to mimic actual analog tape. It costs 39.99 USD and requires Windows 10 64 bit or MacOS 12 and up. AU, VST, and AAX Compatibility.

NLS Non-Linear Summer

NLS Non Linear Summer brings you the sound of three vintage consoles, and whilst not billed specifically as a saturator it contains many of the same influences, adding analog warmth to tracks without losing their original character. Whilst it is a multi effects plugin it’s saturation section includes everything from overdrive distortion, to classic saturation from a pre-amp, a psychoacoustic exciter, and even resaturation, a feature not many other plugins have. Supported formats include VST2 VST3, AU, and AAX, and it requires Windows 10 64 bit and up, plus MacOS 64 bit 12 and up.33 GBP or 45 USD.

Kramer Master Tape

The Kramer Master Tape is for all those who would love to own a classic ¼” tape recorder (but can’!) It’s a faithful emulation of the sound of these tapes, made in association with Eddie Kramer (of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix recording fame), and containing VU metering, playback level and record level, wow and flutter, lowpass, delay, and feedback, it brings vintage sounds to digital in one small package. Speed, bias and flux features give you further control over your sound.  It sits at 149 USD and is supported by all major DAWs in AU, VST, and AAX formats. Windows 10 64 bit and up plus MacOS 12 and up.

SA2RATE 2 from Looptrotter

SA2RATE 2  from Looptrotter is a saturator that focusses on low end harmonics to prevent muddiness. It intgrates a solid state saturation circuit designed by Looptrotter with a dual channel saturator and contains options for dry/wet parallel processing, a process switch, two inputs with dry knobs, and THD (total harmonic distortion) controls. SA2RATE 2 requires MacOS 12 and up or windows 10 (64 bit) and up. It’s available in AAS DSP and Native, AU, Audiosuite, VST2 and VST3 formats. This plugin costs 125 USD

The Oven – Maor Appelbaum

As it’s name might suggest, this plugin is all about bringing heat to your sound. If things feel lifeless and flat, it allow you to use four dials, temperature, cook, sizzle, and flow. It’s relatively unique in that it’s mastering specific, which is perfect if character has got lost during the mastering process. Lastly, it centres around a main ‘burner’ section, with mid, low, and high options. The Oven requires Windows 10 and up or MacOS 12 and up. It’s available in AAX Native and AudioSuite, AU, VST2 and VST3 formats and costs 175 USD in total

Bx_refinement – Brainworx

Not a saturator per say but can enhance tracks similarly and great to use in tandem with one. Refinement from Brainworx also has a dedication saturation section built in, although it’s main purpose is to remove harshness via an easy to use damping knob. It’s analog saturation adds color and life back after you’ve used it for damping and smoothing. Refinement costs 100 USD overall and is available for MacOS 12 and up, Windows 10 (64 bit) and up, and comes in AAX DSP, AU, Native and AudioSuite, VST2 and VST3 formats

Silver Bullet mkII – Louder than Liftoff

Silver Bullet is built around 3 MOJO amps and 5 color effects, designed to replace the analog saturation you would get from a console. It’s applicable across every stage of the process of creating a mix, whether at the stereo mixdown stage or on individual tracks. The ‘color’ feature is also modular, consisting of swappable blocks to give you more variety of tone and saturation combinations than otherwise in a simple emulation. Silver Bullet costs 175 USD and comes in AAX Native and AudioSuite formats, AU, VST2, and VST3. Requires Windows 8 and up or MacOS 10.11 and up, Intel or Silicon.

Tape Face – Kiive Audio

Tape Face emulates a classic German tape machine and contains VU metering, saturation and bias dials and a ‘low boost’ feature, and stereo width and noise dials. It focusses on the low mids, making it ideal for drums and bass according to the manufacturers, and it offers options for everything from LoFi sounds to silky smooth tapes to classic analog warmth. Tape Face requires MacOS 10.7 and up, Windows 7 and up, 64 bit only. Comes in VST3, AU, and AAX formats.

HG-2 Black Box Analog Design

HG-2 is built around 2 dials for it’s pentode and triode tube options. It contains separate controls for saturation, and saturation frequency, monitoring , air, bypass, and an alt tube switch. The plugin uses tube and transformer emulations and an added density control can make things bigger without affecting the output gain. The HG-2 is available for 125 USD and supports AAX DSP, Native, AU, VST2 and VST3 formats. Requires Windows 10 and up or MacOS 12 and up, 64 bit only for both.

Big Al Neold

Big Al is a saturator designed to give your tracks massive warmth. It is based around two filters integrated into the pre amp, high and low, with separate dials; plus, a separate drive dial, monitoring, and mix slider. This is a tube saturator built off vintage components used in the radio era, Big Al is an emulation of a one off hardware model from Neold that showcases their love of vintage gear. Big Al is supported by AAX Native, AU, AAX audiosuite, VST2, and VST3 formats. It costs 125 USD and requires Windows 10 and up or MacOS 12 and up, 64 bit, intel or silicon.

Bx_enhancer from Brainworx

Enhancer contains a high quality saturator incorporated into a mixing and mastering tool designed to do just that and enhance your tracks. As well as a ‘sculpt’ section and a compressor, it has a diverse ‘color’ section that contains bass, mid, high, and excite dials, as well as a high pass and low pass filter. Enhancer is supported by AAX native, AAX AudioSuite, Au, VST2, and VST3 formats, and requires OS 12 and up intel or silicon and windows 10 and up (64 bit only).

WARBLE from NEOLD

WARBLE is designed to emulate the fluidity of old fashioned tape machines and thus comes with boatloads of saturation and comes with features that specifically emulate the imperfections of tape, such as wow, flutter, age, and dirt parameters. Otherwise it also has all the controls of a classic tape machine including fast and slow buttons, plus a high cut and low cut filter section aside from this. WARBLE costs 125 USD and supported by VST2, VST3, AAX Native, and AU formats. Requires OS 12 and up or Windows 10 and  up, 64 bit only.

Specific Cassette Tape Saturation Plugins and Emulations

Taupe Studio – Acustica

Tape studio is a vintage and analog tape emulation plugin that brings plenty of color and life to your tracks. It contains a simple yet comprehensive interface with a convenient analyser that shows you how the effects you’ve added impact across the frequency spectrum. Aside from this, features like drive, and wow and flutter, give you all of the complexity of analog tape, on your DAW. Additional input trim, amount, and pan help you influence your sound more precisely. Available in VST, VST3, and AU formats for Windows and Mac, available for 216 USD/189 EUR.

Fuse Audio Labs – Flywheel

Flywheel is a tape emulation plugin that gives you plenty of flexibility with a driven, saturated analog tape sound though separate knobs for record gain and playback gain. On top of this, switches for crosstalk and hiss bring the imperfections and irregularities of analog tape machines. Lastly, speed variance and an HF EQ help round your sound off. Requires Windows 7 or newer, MacOS 10.7 or newer, and comes in VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX formats. Flywheel costs 59 USD.

Aberrant DSP – Sketch Cassette 2

Sketch Cassette 2 has been frequently recommended as one of the best tape emulation plugins. Aberrant DSP has supplied it with wow, flutter, hiss, saturation, depth, and intensity features to leave no stone unturned in your search for analog sizzle and character. Billed as a cassette inspired degradation plugin, FM mode allows you to modulate flutter rate with the wow control, just one of many little details that make this a broad spanning analog treasure trove. Available for 37.91 USD for Windows 7 and MacOS 10.10/Yosemite or later, 64 bit only. Available in AU, VST3, and AAX formats.

Tone Empire – Reelight

With speed, bias, comp (technically not classic compression but a compression-like feature) crosstalk, and oversampling, plus a variety of presets, this plugin is nowhere near short of features to take the concept of basic tape emulation into a wider world of sonic warmth. It also contains high pass and low pass filters as well as the choice of 6 different tape machine emulations, modelled on brands like Studer, Ampex, and Revox, to serve as the basis for your sound. Reelight Pro is available for 108.44 USD and works with Windows 10 or MacOS 10.1 or later, VST3, AAX, or AU formats, and a 64 bit host.

23 DSP – 23Tape Saturation Plugin

“£Tape is designed to provide everything from soft sat to aggressive distortion and does this with some creative controls not often found on other plugins. These include tape material and speed, plus hiss,, and crinkle, as well as specific controls for azimuth, head bump, and rolloff, taking it into less travelled territory. This makes it great for Lo-Fi tracks and general vintage imperfection, this is a plugin focussed on the rough-around-the-edges side of sound. 23Tape is available for Windows and MacOS in VSt3 and AU formats and is FREE to download.

WavesFactory Cassette

Cassette by WavesFactpry is a cassette tape emulation that contains a variety of unique and creative controls such as erasures, spread, stability, static, dynamic, and artefacts. Otherwise it has a straightforward GUI with two VU meters, pro, home, and micro buttons, but what really makes it stand out is that it’s modular and therefore you can pick and choose between different parts of the processing sequence. Avaiable for 70 USD or 52 GBP. Requires iOS 10.9 or higher, Windows 8 or higher, 64 bit host.

Arturia Tape Mello Fi Saturation Plugin

Arturia Tape Mello Fi applies gentle warmth and saturation from it’s pre-amp section, and lets you ad vintage sounds with it’s tape section. Flutters, distortion, soft sat, and wow are all here, with specific dials for wow, flutter, wear, and mechanics. Alternatively, you can dial it up for a hotter and more aggressive sound. Further down the signal chain, it has a small and intuitive filter section. Requires OS 10 or Windows 10 and higher, 64 bit. Comes in VST, NKS, AAX, and AU formats. Costs 79 GBP or 107.15

Tapewave from Wave Alchemy

TapeWave is a plugin that provides a broad range of different sounds and tones at the start of the signal chain to kick things off, and then lets you modify them further down. It’s creative and less common choices include studio, dirty, dark, old, home, and lofi styles. After this, you can control wow, flutter, age, drive, and even drift on the second half of it’s simple and streamlined GUI. You can also control the rate and it has a built in level meter. Tapewave costs 44 GBP or 59.68 USD. Comes in VST3, AU, and AAX formats, MacOS and Windows.

Ampex ATR 102 Saturation Plugin

This is a faithful emulation of an actual tape machine, right down to having ‘record’ and ‘reprduce’ knobs on it’s GUI. It’s designed to bring in saturation, warmth, and harmonics, but this plugin is based on a classic machine used to master many famous recordings so it will do much more than that. The developers advertise it will bring your tracks the analog glue many producers seek, therefore these aren’t just ways to saturate a single track, it will have an effect on your entire mix. Requires MacOS 10.5 and up, Windows 10 and up (64 bit), and comes in VST 3, AU, and AAX formats. Price is 66.45 USD.

IK Multimedia Tape Machine 8

Anoher part of the Ik multimedia T-Racks series but also available as a single plugin, this has similar features but differs as it’s a model of the famous Studer A80. The developers emphasise it’s use for adding analog glue to your mix and like the rest of the series it contains four tape formulations as well as details to preserve the imperfections of analog tape and bring plenty of lush saturation, warmth, and imperfections to your tracks. Costs 135.62 USD, requiring OS 10.15 and up, Windows 10 64 bit and up, and comes in AU, VST2, VST3, and AAX formats.

IK Multimedia Tape Machine 24

This plugin from IK Multimedia contains 4 different tape formulations, but it also allows you to modify and manipulate the signal chain to subtle alter your sound. It’s part of a series of tape emulations from IK Multimedia, specifically the T-Racks tape machine series. It stands out with ‘true stereo’ modelling, bringing in the slight imperfections between left and right that make analog recordings sound organic. 135.62 USD, AU, VST2, VST3, and AAX formats. Requires OS 10.15 and up,  or Windows 10 (64 bit) and up.

UVI Tape Suite

UVI Tape suite is billed as the ‘definitive analog tape suit’, in reality, it is not just one VST but four plugins rolled into one, so there is plenty here. These include flanger, color, delay, and chorus, but these are hugely different from the same named FX you might put on your guitar, as they are tape FX> Though they each have features like a compander and drive knobs, however you use them they will also bring soft analog warmth or gritty imperfections to saturate your tracks. Requires MacOS 10.14 and up, Windows 10 and up (64 bit), and comes in AU, AAX, VST, and VST3 formats. Costs 99 EUR or 113.12 GBP.

Tape by Softube

Tape by Softube is not to be confused with ‘Dirty Tape’ by the same company. Instead, it has a more mellow and classic tape sound, allowing you to choose between three modes and otherwise having basic controls such as tape speed, a THD/level switch for monitoring, and an amount knob which forms part of the ‘color’ section along with the ‘type’ features. That’s it. It’s much less intense than dirty tape, but more appropriate for a more classic no-frills sound. Requires Ventura 13 and up or Windows 10 and up, and comes in AU, VST, VST3, and AAX formats. Total price is 99 USD.

Distinct! By Kiive Audio

Distinct is a distortion unit from Kiive audio that is capable of everything from gentle analog warmth to full on gritty and aggressive distortion. Distinct! Is based on the Overstayer modular channel and is inspired by it’s saturation. It contains a digital soft clipper as well as distinct controls for even and odd harmonics. Contains HF and LF knobs for the high and low end as well as a separate high pass filter and saturation knob. Supported by MacOS 10.7 and up, Windows 7 and up, 64 bit only. Comes in VST, AU, and AAX formats. Distinct! Costs 27 USD.

Tubetizer by Kiive Audio

Tubetizer is a saturator that focusses specifically on tube saturation. This involves three unique circuits you can toggle between as well as tone, type, and mode controls, as well as a separate distortion knob. Modes include both triode and pentode emulations as well as a separate filter dial Requires macOS 10.7 and up, Windows 7 and up, 64 bit only. Comes in VST, AU, and AAX formats. Tbetizer costs 77.11 USD from PluginBoutique.

Golden 58 by Kiive Audio

Golden 58 is a tube pre amp to add lush golden analog sound to your tracks. Built around a gain dial it emulates the sounds of the 1950s through classic analog technology modelling. Golden 58 allows you to control polarity and voice and mimics a two channel pre amp with the same parameters for both channels. Supported by VST3, AU, and AAX formats, requires Windows 7 or macOS 10.7 and up. 76 GBP/103 USD.

SPL Machinehead

Unlike many of the plugins on this list which focus on analog, this is an emulation of a digital tape saturator that nevertheless is packed full of character. The original SPL Heritage Machien Head was a favourite amongst producers and this emulation is legitimately backed by them along with SoundArt to bring the studio hardware sound to your desk. Contains input gain, drive level, four presets, low frequency adjustment, and high tape speed option. Costs 125 USD and supported by AAX Native and AudioSuite, AU, VST3 formats, Windows 10 or OS 12 and up, 64 bit only.

Bx_Saturator by Brainworx

Saturator by Brainworx is exactly what it says on the tin. For those who like precision, it is conveniently divided up into sections for the mid lows, mid highs, side high, and side low parts of the frequency spectrum. Saturator contains fain and drive options for each of these as well as crossover sliders so you can blend to your heart’s content. Needs OS 12 or Windows10 and up, comes in AAX, AU, and VST3 formats. Saturator costs 12.18 USD.

Elysia Karacter

Karacter from Elysia is a software emulation of one of their boutique pieces of hardware. It’s a collaboration between them and Brainworx and contains two separate sections for mixing and mastering Karacter mix and Karacter master). Two different modes, FET shred, and saturation mode, mimic even and odd harmonics respectively, it also has a ‘turbo boost’ mode for hard clipping. Available for 75 USD and supported by AAX DSP, Native, and AudioSuiteAU, VST2 and VST3 formts. Requires OS 12 or Windows 10 plus, 64 bit only

Elysia Phil’s Cascade

Phil’s Cascade is another hardware emulation from Elysia, however, this time it doesn’t emulate a specific bit of mainstream kit but brings together a selection of vintage hardware components to provide a toolbox of sound for a variety of producer needs. To make this, Elysia brought together the hardware of choice in a one-off circuit that was never intended as a piece of studio hardware but is perfect as a plugin, giving them more scope as to what they could include. Contains boost, bias, grid, resonance, and peak controls, using unusual audio tubes and a tube based power transformer for a colorful vintage sound. Costs 125 USD, supported by AAX Native and AudioSuite, AU, VST3 and VST2 formts. Needs Windows 10 and up or OS 12 and up.

SPL TwinTube

SPL TwinTube is a tube processor that’s heavy on the saturation. It’s saturation and harmonics section contains the ability to adjust harmonic frequency and crank up the saturation dial too. It’s a model of SPL’s analog tube effect processor and lets you choose between both tape and tube saturation. Requires OS 12 and up, Windows 10 and up, and supported formats include AAX DSP, Native, and AudioSuite, AU, VST2, and VST3. TwinTube costs 100 USD.

Noveltech Character

Character from Noveltech is another saturation-adjacent plugin that adjusts the tone and dynamics of your track. It’s ideal for use similarly to a saturator or alongside to get warm and bright tone hat avoids the lifelessness associated with digital. It’s got a highly simple and intuitive GUI with mode, input, target, and output knobs. Noveltech Character costs 50 USD and supports AAX DSP Native, and AudioSuite, plus VST2, VST3, and AU. It’s uitable for OS 12 and up, and Windows 10 and up, 64 bit only.

LO-FI-AF Unfiltered Audio

LO-FI-AF is exactly what it’s name suggests. This plugin brings you the sound of cassette vinyl, and CDs, right up to mimicking the imperfections associated with analog radio. This isn’t just saturation, it allow you to control and create with the imperfections associated with these formats such as degradation and bitcrushing in addition to more basic tape saturation. LO-FI-AF costs 75 USD and supports AAX Native, AU, VST2, VST3, and requires OS 12 or Windows 10 and up, 64 bit or Intel/Silicon.  

Vertigo VSM-3

This is a tone and color box, saturator, and distortion plugin that contains a THD mixer, 3^rd harmonic Zener blender, 2^nd harmonic FET crusher, and two circuits depending on what kind of analog sound you desire. It allows you to work specifically on separate frequencies and even has a shape knob for high order harmonics. VSM 3 costs 75 USD  and needs OS 12 and up Intel/Silicon, Windows 10 64 bit, and supports AAX DSP, Native, and AudioSuite, Au, VST2, and VST3.

Plamen from United Plugins

This is a hybrid EQ and distortion and saturation plugin from Soundevice Digital as part of United Plugins. For greater creative control, it contains a tape wow effect as well as parallel processing. It’s main core focusses around 5 algorithms with 3 classic pre amps (British, American, and German), plus clipping and magnetic features. The plugin spans an easy to use 5 band EQ that give you greater control of where the harmonics actually go. Plamen is 75 GBP or 100 USD and available for VST, VST3, AAX, Windows and Mac.

Kush Blyss

This is billed by the company as a mastering compressor, nevertheless, it’s packed with innovative saturation technology too. The House of Kush is self declared ‘old school’, so this is a subtle processor that also comes with a mastering EQ and mastering compressor as well as the saturation algorithms. We covered it on our mastering plugins directory but are including it here again. It’s a unique plugin that encourages you to build your sound subtly and in layers, meaning it’s perfect if you want to play around with the subtleties of saturation and it’s influence on warmth and feeling. Blyss costs 99 USD, requires Windows 8 or OS 10.13 and up, and comes in VST3, AU, and AAX formats.

Klanghelm SDRR

The SDRR from Klanghelm sits as a sort of intermediary between soft saturation and grittier plugins with more edge to them. It has 4 modes, tube, digi, fuzz, and desk, which span a broad spectrum of saturation although doesn’t range too heavily into the hard distortion end of the spectrum. It’s still capable of plenty of characterful sounds and allows you more control over the character of your sound with knobs such as harmonic balance, harmonic count, and frequency control.  Requires OS 10.9 or higher, Windows 8 or higher, and comes in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats. Costs 26.29 USD.

RC 20 Retro Color from XLN Audio

This is an exciting saturation plugin with a lot more than just plain old tape saturation plugin. It mimics modulation, tape wobble, and more to bring you the sound of vintage tapes, vinyl records, and other analog gear that is dripping with warmth and sonic character. It also has a really clean, fun, and easily navigable interface that allows you to explore combinations of the different tonal characters and boost the feeling of a huge number of genres. The main dials are ‘noise, wobble, distort, digital, space, and magnetic, each bringing a different effect. Requires Windows 7 and up, OS 10.3 and up, and comes in VST2, Au, and AAX formats. Retro Color costs 109.39 USD.

SSL Native X Saturator

The SSL Native X-Saturator is designed to bring you an all in one range of Saturation styles that doesn’t leave anything out. It’s got everything from valve saturation to transistor saturation plus a feature for parallel processing. User interface-wise, it’s relatively simple and streamlined, with a dB monitoring window and dials for mix, shape, depth, and harmonics, as well as a gain knob at the end. Specific features such as ‘snare enhancer’ help guide your use of saturation to hit the problem spots where it is needed most. Available in AU, AAX, VST2, and VST3 formats. Requires Windows 10 and up or OS 10.15 and up and costs 149.91 USD.

Reelbus from Toneboosters

Reelbus from Toneboosters really fulfils it’s spot as a mixed saturation plugin. It offers practically everything you would need to do with tape and oodles of vintage inspired sound for any track. Reelbus is all about the imperfections you get from tape and offers sliders for factors and parameters such as wear, saturation, hysteresis, asperity, and even hiss. It allows you to control his and bis level and even has a flutter feature to bring the character of analog tapes to the digital sphere. It also contains a built in EQ that can be applied on a per-effect basis, making it not just varied and rich in terms of what it offers, but also precise in its scope. Costs 33.14 USD and comes in VST, AAX, AU, and Standalone formats for MacOS and Windows.

AUX Saturation

AUX Saturation from Yuri Semenov is a simple harmonic enhancer. For a small plugin, it has a surprising range of possibilities to control. It’s easy to navigate suer interface contains sliders for both odd and even harmonics as well as knobs for high cut and low cut filters for each of these respectively. This gives you a level of in depth control over your harmonics , not just enhancing your sound but allowing you to choose it’s character. Available in VST and AU formats for Windows and MacOS as a free download.

Burier Saturation Plugin by Kit Plugins

From Kit Plugins, Burier is a free saturation plugin that combines saturation with resonant filters for a rich and realistic sound you can apply to almost any instrument. It’s user interface focusses around a ‘bury’ dial which is augmented with the low cut and hi cut dials as well as mix and output dials. Burier also has parallel processing. Based on the analog state variable filter circuit,, it’s a simple yet poweful plugin with layers of effects that offer great versatility. Comes in VST, AU, and AAX formats for Windows and MacOS as a free download.

Dirty Pumper by SNFK Music

From the developers at SNFK music, this is a saturator plugin that is designed specifically for drums, so it’s a bit grittier and stronger than soft saturators that are more generalized. It’s a really streamlined and easy to use plugin that can be applied to drums at all stages of the mix, acting as a companion throughout the ups and downs of the whole production process from single snare to total drum bus. To counter it’s intensity it allows you to control the total  positive and negative amplitudes. Otherwise it contains three knobs, dirt, drive, and lowpass. Available as a free download for Windows (64 bit) and MacOS in VST and AU formats.

Waves BB Tubes

The Waves BB Tubes is an analog saturation that is part of the magma series from Waves Audio. Standing for ‘Beautiful to Beastly’, it allows everything from subtle saturation to driving and gritty distortions. BB tubes is centred around 2 dials, beauty and beast, and also contains knobs controlling sensitivity and bass relief, plus tone knobs pre and post saturation with a high shelf EQ. As it’s name suggests, Tubes focusses on analog tube saturation, containing a transformer and soft clipping, too. It’s available for MacOS Monterey 12 and up, plus windows 10 64 bit and up, with AAX, VST3, and AU compatibility. BB Tubes costs 149 USD.

Softube Dirty Tape

Dirty Tape is a uniquely minimalist plugin from Softube that uses only two knobs to control the ful range of effects you cn get from it. It’s non linear labelling model for the ‘dirt’ knob allow you to embrace the imperfections of tape through a careful guide that shows you how to set it to get less highs, more flutter, or more drop outs – a brilliant crash course on the imperfections of tape. It contains two VU meters for input and output as well as a low cut knob, output volume knob, and decoupling switch. Dirty Tape costs 59 USD and is available for windows 10 64 bit and up as well as MacOS 13 and up, with AU, AAX, VST, and VST3 support.

Moogerfooger MF-109S

The MF-109S is based on the classic Moogerfooger. It’s a software only plugin and developed as part of a software emulation of Moogerfooger effects. Tis plugin focusses specifically on the Moogerfooger input drive stage which is responsible for the classic and iconic Moogerfooger sound and characteristic warmth. Compatible with Protools AAX, plus VST3 and AU formats across OS 11.7 and up or Windows 10 64-bit and up. 29 USD Mac/PC or 7.99 USD iOS.

BLEASS Saturator

BLEASS saturator is a high quality saturator with some unique features. One of these is the way it focuses on the imperfections that come from analog to digital conversion, a creative offering that makes it unique amongst many other saturator plugins out there. Otherwise it contains drive, waveshaper, LFO, and mix features across a navigable user interface that  contains convenient visualisations and 5 unique waveforms for the LFO. It ranges from gentle fuzz to noticeable saturation, adding character and punch to tracks. Available for 19.99 USD for Mac and Windows as well as iPhone and iPad, requiring windows 10 or later, MacOS 10.11 or later at 64 bit, and with VST3, AU, and AAX capabilities.

Analog Obsession Saturation Plugins

MythPre

Analog Obsession is  small independent plugin company who, as their name might suggest, focus on the warmth and color you get from analog. This means they have a great range of saturation and adjacent plugins such as preamp simulators. MythPre is a low end pre and deigned to fatten bass sounds and add color to them. It contains boost, mode, and output knobs to influence the tone and color of your track. Lastly it has a low pass filter and high pass filter feature as well as phase flipping and -20dB attenuation. Like all their plugins, this one is free and is compatible with Windows 10 or higher and OS 10 or higher. Available as VST, AU, and AAX.

Analog Obsession Tuba

Tuba is another great plugin from Analog Obsession which, this time, is based on on a tuba but a tube console, hence the name. This means it’s full of lush analog warmth in order to inject life and color back into your music. This is a recreation of the original hardware from a famous tube console with some special modifications from the developers and also comes as part of a bundle of plugins based on the same console, the other ones being TuPre and Kolin. Features a low frequency and high frequency dial as well as parallel processing, input and output knobs, and ‘flat’, ‘cut’, and ‘boost’ parameters for both low and high frequencies. Like all analog obsession plugins, it’s free, and it’s available for Windows 10 (64 bit) and higher or MacOS 11 and higher in VST3, AU, and AAX Native formats.

ReLife Saturation Plugin

ReLife is an intuitive plugin designed with a specific and novel use: to breath life into tired tracks. It’s focussed around a ‘life’ dial, a basic enhancer/saturator style addition to give tracks more warmth. Other dials include gain compensated input, a clickable ‘Analog Obsession’ label button that brings in oversampling, shape, a predesigned EQ, mix, which brings in parallel processing, and output. Available for Windows 10 (64 bit) and higher or MacOS 11 and higher in VST3, AU, and AAX Native formats. Like other Analog Obsession plugins, it’s free, but you can support their Patreon.

Cite High Frequency Processor

CITE is a high frequency processor, meaning it focusses specifically on coloring and retouching the top end of your tracks to make them warmer with more character. It starts with a basic gain compensated amount control and contains options to control the area of the frequency spectrum that it’s applied to, as well as a mix knob to blend the wet and dry signals. It doesn’t have oversampling, but it’s an entirely original design from Analog Obsession bringing a fresh take to the desire to add analog warmth to high frequencies, which can very often sound thin and toppy without being bright. Available for Windows 10 (64 bit) and higher or MacOS 11 and higher in VST3, AU, and AAX Native formats. Like other Analog Obsession plugins, it’s free, but you can support their Patreon.

Color Bundle Pre Amp and Distortion Saturation Plugins

Color bundle is a  dual plugin bundle containing two things: a multi mode distortion plugin that gives you a great range of distortion from subtle to crushing, and a colorful, analog inspired pre amp. Prebox is a warm pre amp with HPF, LPF, and bypass features, whilst Distox offers you a selection of 4 tube amps and 3 op amps. Available for Windows 10 (64 bit) and higher or MacOS 11 and higher in VST3, AU, and AAX Native formats. Like other Analog Obsession plugins, it’s free, but you can support their Patreon.

MoMa Saturation Plugin

Built with Ethan Weiner, who even goes into the technical details on his website, MoMa stands for Mojo Maestro and comes with glue and mojo modes, differentiating between even and odd harmonics for each. Apart from this, it’s super intuitive, with simple amount and dry/wet mix dials to complement this. Available for Windows 10 (64 bit) and higher or MacOS 11 and higher in VST3, AU, and AAX Native formats. Like other Analog Obsession plugins, it’s free, but you can support their Patreon.

Brit Pre Saturation Pre Amp Emulator

This is simply an emulation of a classic British pre amp with lowpass and highpass filters, a phase invert button, mic pre amp switch, and oversampling (by clicking the Analog Obsession button. Lastly, it contains a pre amp gain feature which can take you from subtle to gritty and aggressive. You can get it by itself or as part of the Brit Bundle which contains a compressor and channel strip. Available for Windows 10 (64 bit) and higher or MacOS 11 and higher in VST3, AU, and AAX Native formats. Like other Analog Obsession plugins, it’s free, but you can support their Patreon.

FetDrive Analog Compression and Saturation Plugin

This is a classic FET compressor which still deserves a spot on our saturation plugins list due to it’s saturation section which offers all the warmth of classic compressors with the same attention to analog detail as other AO products. The saturation feature contains drive, tone, and mix features, as well as oversampling by pressing the ‘Analog Obsession’ box and bypass by pressing the ‘plugin’ label. Available for Windows 10 (64 bit) and higher or MacOS 11 and higher in VST3, AU, and AAX Native formats. Like other Analog Obsession plugins, it’s free, but you can support their Patreon.

Further Tube, Tape, and Saturation Plugins

Ferric TDS MKII – Variety of Sound

This is a tape dynamics simulator from Variety of Sound that regularly makes ‘top saturation plugin’ lists and is a classic already for many bedroom producers. Along with a VU meter, it contains two main dials, dynamics, and saturation, as well as a recover dial and a built in limiter. The manufacturers suggest to use it after an amp sim but before other FX. Apart from that, it’s available for Windows 64 and 32 in VST format, and is free to download.

Magma Tube Channel Strip

This is a channel strip that is based on Waves true valve technology, simulating all the richness and idiosyncrasy of valves to bring you a vintage sound. It contains dynamic processing, EQ, and saturation all in one, and allows you to blend tube saturation and compression. It also contains an expander and tube compression as well as a 3 band EQ, based around the rich sounds of tubes and valves, this is a fully vintage inspired channel strip. Available for OS 12 and up, Window 10 and up, both in 64 bit. Available in AAX, AU, VST3, and VST2 formats. Costs 29 GBP/ 39 USD.

Solid State Logic

Fusion Vintage Drive

Sollid State Logic is  small company based in Oxford, England, that brings scientific precision and technical love and care to your DAW. Fusion Vintage Drive is a plugin that brings a vintage analog saturation circuit to the digital age. Contains drive, density, and mix dials as well as an ‘input trim’ feature to prevent stuff getting too intense. Additional precision comes from a saturation scale, output trim feature, and input and output monitoring. Fusion is 199 USD and available for Mac only.

32 Bus Plugin from Solid State Logic

A smart idea that solves a problem many sound designers may encounter – how to add cohesive analog sound to a bus or large number of tracks in one go? By emulating a Harrison Mix Bus 32C DAW, the 32 Bus Plugin from SSL solves this with an input that uses built in analog modelled tape saturation to create a warmer, richer sound. You can then apply this not just across an entire bus but it also applies forward to the rest of this plugin including it’s high pass and low pass filter and EQ. By prioritising saturation, this plugin is designed scientifically to give you a cohesive yet warm and resonant vintage sound – at the scale you need. Compatible with Windows and MacOS and coming with the SSL downloads manager, it costs 149 USD.

Channel Strips With Soft Sat

Lindell Audio 69

This is a faithful emulation of a Helios 69 console (not endorsed by the brand Helios themselves but faithful nonetheless.) It’s not strictly saturation but we include it here as it can bring you the same warm, analog sound through it’s compressor and EQ features, emulating the saturation and imperfections of vintage equipment such as that used on recordings by Led Zeppelin. It also contains both active and passive EQ, giving you more versatility. MacOS 12 and up plus Windows 10 and up. AU, AAX, and VST2 and 3 formats. Costs 172 USD.

iZotope Neutron 5

Neutron 5 Elements is part of the Neutron series which uses artificial intelligence to help master your music. It’s a combination of features that add warmth and character back to your mix, twinned with an intelligent assistent to prove vintage and modern can work together. These include sculptor, which carves out tone, shape, and warmth, and exciter, which offers you the choice of classic and trash modes depending on how gritty you want to go. Neutron 5 requires Windows 10 and up, and MacOS 13 and up Intel and Silicon. Comes in AU, AAX, and VST3 formats.

Uni Channel Complete Vintage Studio – United Plugins

Not a saturation plugin but one which brings you a saturated, warm, characterful, and vintage sound all in one place – meaning it can work as a substitute or adjacent plugin.  The developers take advantage of the freedom that comes with a DAW, meaning you can connect this to every channel of your mix, unlike hardware. One of the most unique features in terms of mimicking analog is VARM 2, which applies analog randomness to your sound across the whole mix, aiming to simulate the natural subtle differences and fluctuations that arise when you use analog equipment. Supports VST, VST3, AU, AAX formats and compatible with both MacOS and Windows. Costs 126 GBP or 170 USD.

Slam 2 by Beat Skillz

Slam 2 is a phattener that can get you many similar features to the warmth and character of saturation. It contains a huge number of controls under various creative names, including but not limited to: Airz (high frequency enhancement), Heat (heat saturation in two styles, and Width, which enhances mid and high frequencies. Slam 2 sits at 79 USD and requires MacOS Mojave or later, or Windows 10 or later. Slam 2 is available in VST3, AU, and AAX formats and needs a 64 bit host.

Ultra Channel by Eventide

This is a channel strip by Eventide that contains a soft saturator built in as part of it’s output. This is done by modelling an analog transformer, which offers you the choice of gritty distortion or soft saturation that adds subtle character depending on how you use this. The rest of the chnnel strip contains EQ, compression, and micro pitch shifting, which is used to add width. Ultra Channel costs 249 USD and supports all major DAWs, requiring MacOS 10 and up, or Windows 10 and up. It comes in AU, AAX, VST2 and 3 formats.  

Solid State Logic XL 9000 K Series

The XL 9000 K series is modelled after analog gear the same way manor other VSTs on this list are, but represents a later era than most – the 1990s. At this stage it became possible to make circuits capacitor free, but what about all that warmth. This plugin offers a medium between vintage and modern sound. It still contains fantastic distortion and saturation by modelling VHD  (Variable Harmonic Drive) from SSL sound which can mimic everything from tube to transistor. It costs 299 USD and requires OS 13 or Windows 10 and up, an iLok/Softube account, and it comes in AU, AAX, VST, and VST3 formats.

Weiss Gambit Series Console 1

Thus plugin comes from a specific partnership between Softube and Weiss Engineering for Console 1, and whilst it has other noteworthy features such as below threshold compression, in terms of saturation-adjacent features it focusses on a high quality drive section that offers a variety of intensities from soft to very aggressive, built into the output. Likewise it has a ‘character’ section just after this in the signal chain which allows you to select different kinds of limiter for different colors of sound. Not saturation, but this plugin can ultimately enhance your tracks similarly if it’s grit you are after. Requires Softube/iLok account, Windows 10 or iOS 11 and up; available in AU, VST, VST3 and AAX formats.

FilkChannel Kiive Audio

This is a channel strip that has a bulky and hard to miss saturator feature that takes up the centre of the UI and offers great variety for tis small plugin. It’s capable of everything from very light saturation to super gritty sounds bulking up your bass. Modelled on 1970s Danner Casette models, it contains a main saturation dial, dry/wet mix dials, presets, two types of saturation and multiple pre amp sounds to choose from, and a built in EQ. Requires Windows 7 and up or iOS 10 and up, both 64 bit only. Comes in VST3, AU, and AAX formats. Costs 99 GBP or134 USD.

Lifeline Console by Excite Audio

This is an in depth and varied channel strip plugin from Excite Audio that is specifically dedicated to analog warmth. It consists of 5 modular units that contain up to three separate knobs controlling parameters like ‘noise, artefacts, and age’ for the ‘cassette’ module. The five modules span cassette, vinyl, analog, gain, and bright. Requires MacOS 10.15 and higher, windows 7 or higher, and supports AAX, AU, VST, VST3, and standalone formats. Costs 106.87 USD

EMI TG12345 Abbey Road from Waves

This is an emulation of a mixing console that was designed specifically by EMI for Abbey Road Studios. The mixing console has now been faithfully recreated as a channel strip that contains plenty of analog warmth. Whilst it doesn’t have a specific saturator using this plugin will bring a vintage, warm, and analog sound similar to what you may achieve from a dedicated saturator on a track that doesn’t have this true to life vintage modelling. The plugin costs 149 USD and requires Windows 10 (64 bit) and up or MacOS 12 and up. It comes in VST3, AU, and AAX formats.

Excite Audio -Motion: Harmonic

Another plugin from Excite Audio, Motion: Harmonic is a mixed plugin dedicated to distortion, filtering, and bitcrushing, leading to a similar gritty sound as many saturators can achieve. This is a useful saturation-style effect that goes beyond what a conventional saturator can offer. It has sections dedicated to energizing specific influences but where it shines is in it’s ability to enhance harmonics giving you a richer and more resonant sound. Requires iOS 10.15 or higher, and Windows 7 or higher. Supports all major DAWs, 64 bit compatibility only. Comes in VST, VST3, AU, AAX, and Standalone format. Motion: Harmonic offers rent-to-own on Plugin Boutique and otherwise costs 52.76 USD

Exciter and Saturation Plugins

Sugar from Process Audio

Sugar, by process audio, is an exciting saturator and enhancer that breaks down the process of getting your desired tonal quality with easy to navigate labels such as thick, punch, shine, excite, and air. It even has a yin/yang feature. Color coded sliders and intuitive categorisation help you narrow down and fine tune the specifics of getting the perfect sound in a way that is more exact than for many other plugins. Costs 175 USD and comes in AAX, AU, and VST formats for all major DAWs. Requires Windows 8.1 or MacOS 10.13 and up.

SUMO Saturation Plugin and Fattener

This is  quirky plugin designed to ‘fatten’ your sound. SUMO is best applied to bass frequencies but it can work on any instrument, either way, it does one thing and one thing well, which is fattening any part of a track. It contains the following: fat bass, fat lead, fat snare, and fat pad. It’s design uses katakana (Japanese script adapted for western characters) so if you’re not familiar with this it may take some time to learn to navigate, but this is a creative and fun plugin that is very intuitive once you’ve got it down. Coming from developers de la mancha, it’s available for windows 32 only. 

Ozone 11 by iZotope

Ozone 11 is a mixed plugin from iZotope with a variety of capabilities including Saturation. It’s available as part of Music Production Suite, but overall it comes in three tiers, ranging from cheapest to most expensive, and is a powerful mastering plugin with inbuilt saturation features.  Plugins such as clarity, impact, stabilizer, and equaliser do things like enhance tracks and add stereo width. It is available for MacOS 12 and up, and Windows 10 and up, as AAX, AU, VST3 formats. Standard edition costs 109 USD.

Black Salt Audio Oxygen

This is an exciting plugin from Black Salt Audio that has specific features to enhance the top end of your mix. Oxygen contains a rich saturator which is in keeping with it’s focus on enlivening the top end, adding additional harmonics to it to make it warmer. Similarly  crossover filter features options for bite, presence, and air.  It costs 99 USD  as part of their ‘artist pass’ package for 99 USD  a year or 12 USD per month, our you can buy it standalone for 79 USD. Requires Mac 10.15 or Windows 10 and higher. Comes as AAX, AU, and VST3.

The Modern Exciter VST

Coming from developers Antress, Modern Exiter is what it’s name suggests. Although it doesn’t contain the range of sound enhancements and saturation that other plugins do, it works with extreme high and low frequencies, making it useful for adding a subtle touch to your music. Apart from this it has stereo levels meters, output control, and balance control. This plugin is free and is available only for Windows 32 in VST format.

Thrillseeker XTC

Thrillseeker XTC comes from Variety of Sound and is designed around the design of analog equalizers. It contains three coupled equalizers, each with a stateful saturators. Thrillseeker adds analog warmth and color to your low end as well as energy to your high end and the combination of the three allows ultimate control and new blends unique to you. Additionally it contains parallel processing and has a range of analog signal path imperfections built into it’s design for added color and tone. It is available for Windows 32 as a VST plugin and is free.

Waves Aphex Aural Exciter VST

The Vintage Aphex Aural Exciter from Waves Audio takes after a real legendary aural exciter from the 70s. It contains two VU meters, mode, meter, and input knobs, an AX mix knob, and an output knob. Meanwhile for color and texture an ‘analog’ knob allows you to control the degree of analog warmth and imperfections. The developers officially designed it in tandem with Aphex and allow you to add small amounts of distortion to creatively excite and enhance dull sounds. The Aphex Aural Exciter is 149 USD and windows 10 64 bit or OS 12 and up. It works with all major DAWs and is available in AAX, AU, and VST3 formats.

Bus Exciter 104 from Arturia

The Bus Exciter 104 from Arturia is a saturation adjacent plugin that has a special focus on brightening and enlivening drum sounds. It comes with ‘big bass’ and ‘exciter’ functions and emulates classic audio enhancer signals to add subtle color with analog warmth, imperfection, and grit. With an intuitive visualiser it shows you the % of saturation as well as containing knobs for drive and frequency to control levels of grittiness and aggression. Genre based presets streamline things for when you have a specific goal in mind, too. Requires Windows 10 and up, MacOS 11 and up, and comes in VST, AAX, VST3, AU, and Native Kontrol Standard formats. Cosst 99 Eur (113 USD)

Saturation and Compression

SGA1566 from Shattered Glass Audio

This is a faithful emulation of an analog pre amp which combines attention to detail with high quality sound. Nevertheless, the developers warm that it has quite high CPU usage. On the flipside, it offers very accurate and high quality saturation which mimics the sound of a vintage tube pre amp, and it also offers a tube overdrive feature in order to make your sound a bit grittier, as well as plenty of soft saturation. It mimics the whole circuit, which is what means it takes up more CPU, but it is nevertheless very faithful to providing high quality saturation with a vintage flair. This is a free download and is available for Windows 32 or 64 bit and Mac OSX in VST and AU formats.

WAVES Audio Abbey Rad Saturator

The Waves Abbey Road Saturator does more than what it’s name might suggest, as it contains a unique ‘compander’ effect alongside a saturator is the brainchild of the team behind this plugin at the famous studio and it means that this p0lugin also works as an exciter, which can be vital if you want to balance the muddiness that can sometimes result from saturation. Aside from this, it contains parallel processing with a mix/dry feature, pre and post gain EQs, and the option to choose between tube and solid state saturation. This plugin costs 149 USD and is available for Windows 10 64 bit and up or Mac OS 10.12 and up in VST3, AU, and AAX formats.

Valve Saturation Plugins

Audified U78 Saturator

The U78 saturator is a comprehensive saturator from Audified that is full of great presets. It’s based on german style U78 valves, faithfully emulated in digital, and contains a tone knob, high pass, and low pass filter. Mix and output knobs as well as metering help you control your track and blend this effect seamlessly with the rest of your mix. The manufacturer bills it as being able to fuse analog and digital, giving you precise control over saturation while maintaining original and classic sounds. Presets for practically every instrument help make it a great way to learn the ins and outs of saturation too. Available in VST3 and AAX plus AU for Mac. Requires OS 10 or newer or windows 7 and newer. Costs 69 USD but free trial available.

Valves from AudioThing

From the designers at AudioThing, Valves is a vintage tube emulator that saturates your sound in lush, analog tones. As its name may suggest, Valves features valve, cabinet, filter, and master sections. Although not billed as a saturator, it serves many of the same purposes and incorporating it into your signal chain can add some of the texture back to your mix that may end up lost. Valves requires Windows 7 or macOS 10.3 or higher and is available in VST, AU, and AAX formats. At 59 EUR or 67 USD, it’s also very affordable.

HoRNet Valvola from HoRNet Plugins

The Hornet Valvola takes it’s name from the Italian word for vacuum tube, and this is exactly what it emulates. Wit Italian design, it comes from HoRNet plugins who may not be as famous but are equally innovative as bigger manufacturers. The emulation faithfully mimics not just vacuum tubes but also the biasing circuits that surround them and it allow you to choose between the most common tubes used conventionally in pre-amps to subtly alter your sound. This is a free plugin that requires Windows Vista and MacOS 10.11 and later, and comes in AAX, VST2, VST3, and VST4 formats.

Tube Saturation Plugins

Tubeshifter from Frostwave Audio

This is a free plugin compatible with Windows and MacOS that is a simple emulation of tube amps. Nevertheless, it has a rich, warm, analog sound that is very faithful and realistic. Tube Shifter has an easy to use interfact with only two knobs – color and drive. The addition of a mix slider, however, for parallel processing adds another layer to your ability to sculpt sound and make tracks warmer and more resonant. Tueb Shifter is available in VST3 and AU formats.

Fuse Audiolabs VPRE-72

The VPRE-72 from Fuse Audiolabs is another tube pre amp simulator that can offer saturation to your mixes, giving tons of lush analog color. The VPRE-72 has been around since the ‘50s and features on many Beatles records plus other legendary recordings. This emulation includes the input and output transformers, pentode circuit, plus added low and high cut filters. The VPRE-72 is available for Windows 7, MacOS 10 or newer, and available as VST, VST3, Au, and AAX. This is a free plugin.

Tonelib Tube Warmth Saturation Plugin

Tube Warmth is billed as ‘gentle tube-like overdrive to revive your digital mix’. It’s less of a creative saturation plugin and more of a plugin to use to enhance the flatness that can happen with digital in comparison to analog. It also has a display to help visualise the signal. Tube Warmth contains knobs for warmth, drive, extra heat, and level. It requires Windows 11 or higher or MacOS 10 or higher, 64 bit only, and is available in both VST and standalone formats, and is a free plugin.

Voxengo Tube Amp Saturation Plugin

Not a saturator, but exactly what it sounds like, the Voxengo Tube Amp nevertheless adds saturation-like analog warmth to your tracks. It has drive, bias, and LP frequency knobs, as well as a wet/dry knob for parallel processing. Lastly, it contains left/right monitoring and a variety of presets. The Tube Amp is available as VST, VST3, and AAX and  works with both MacOS 10 or later and Windows 7 or later. This is a free plugin.

Tone Empire Goliath V2

From Tone Empire, this is designed to inject analog warmth back into your tracks with an envelope containing attack, release, ratio and thresholds knobs, as well as a 3 band EQ with corresponding knobs. It contains 4 analog processing chains, alloy, tube, tape, and vinyl, plus a FET envelope, low cut and high cut filters, and an envelope-EQ mix dial, too. The Goliath v2 is available for 79 USD as VST, AU, and AAX for Mac and Windows.

Distortion and Saturation

Soundtoys Decapitator

The Decapitator from Soundtoys is a saturation plugin which focus on more obvious, distorted saturation with its own tone and character, vs the more subtle saturation you get from other plugins. This plugin offers you different options based on the piece of analog hardware they are modelled after, but you don’t have to be an audio engineer or hugely technically skilled to use this. The full list of saturation algorithms is as follows: Ampex Analogue Tape Machine, EMI Channel, Neve Channel, Triode Setting, and Pentode Setting. Requires Windows 10 or MacOS 10.14 or later. Comes in AU, AAX Native and AudioSuite, VST2 and VST3 formats. Decapitator costs 199 USD.

Harmonics by Softube

As its name suggests, Harmonics is a plugin that focusses on adding to and preserving the subtleties of your sound. This plugin is designed to gently but effectively work with and analyse the dynamics of your track to preserve the original harmonics while gently distorting and saturating the sound to bring out its best and most colorful parts without losing any of its natural character in the process. It works with 5 analog distortion models, ranging from solid to transfer, master, tube, and modern. It also has low and high cut filters and drive and character dials. Requires Windows 7 and above or MacOS 10.15 and above. Comes in AU, AAX, and VST formats for 169.53 USD

GSat Plus from TB Pro Audio

GSat Plus is another saturator that doesn’t skimp on the additional features. It’s one of the few plugins on the market that actually has dedicated knobs for the even and odd harmonics! Furthermore, it has built in clipping to help control things, but if you needed any more precision, there’s also stage and fluctuation knobs to control the quality of the saturation itself. Lastly, it’s rounded off by oversampling and bypass, making this a pretty comprehensive and trusty little saturator that has all you will need for a great mix. Comes in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats for Windows and Mac as a free download.

AirWindows Tape from Airwindows

Airwindows Tape is a saturator plugin that is streamlined and simple yet has more than meets the eye. It has a very simple control, with only two knobs, slam, and bump, to control that quality and smoothness of the saturation. Nevertheless it is an extremely high quality emulation of analog tape saturation from a dedicated company that specialises in these kinds of effects, emulating vintage sounds like tape, vinyl crackle, and more, with the rest o their range. This is a free plugin designed for Mac and Windows 32 and 64 bit.

Mangler from Unison Audio

Mangler is not a saturator per se but is instead designed to add power to any sound. It has built in compression features, however, the subtle distortion is also adds can work the same way as saturation which is why it’s worth including. It’s great for tracks that sound lacklustre. Mangler combines analog and digital distortion and compression, meaning it’s able to balance warmth and precision. Mangler costs 67 USD and is available for Windows and MacOS in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats.

Free Saturation Plugins

Szechuan Saturator by Coda Labs

This is a saturation plugin with a built in modulator that has a vast variety of different settings. It’s heavy on character and offer everything from soft saturation to ultra distorted, dirty, and gritty effects. Intensity, mix, mod depth, and mod rate dials combine to give you lots of control over tone and it has a clear and efficient interface that is deceptively simplistic given the amount you can do with this plugin. Available as a free download for both Mac and PC in VST3 and AU formats.

FreeAmp by Klevgrand

A stripped down version, FreeAMP comes from manufacturer Klevgrand and is based off distortion and saturation algorithms from their original plugin, ReAMP. It streamlines these and combines them into one slick plugin with a super clean and easy user interface. FreeAMP contains Drive, mix, and output dials, and that’ it – nothing more, nothing less. However, it’s possible to do a lot with this powerful plugin due to it’s combination of tube and tape distortion, which also makes it very versatile and applicable to a wide variety of scenarios. Free download, requires MacOS 10.10 or later, Windows 10 64 bit or later, and comes in VST, AU, and AAX formats.

Tube Driver from Nick Crow Labs

Tube Driver is a plugi that isn’t necessarily as beginner friendly as other saturators but is a goldmine for more experienced sound designers due to it’s high level of control. It contains a detailed interface tht lets you adjust some of the most specific parameters. Tube Driver is built around the ability to manipulate the drive, volume, and bias parameters of the saturator, but it also contains a pre EQ and high pass and low pass fitlers, as well as oversampling. Bypass, mono, and phase features add to it’s specificity. Free download, it comes in VST and Au formats for MacOS X and Windows 64 bit.

CHOW Tape by Jatin Chowdhury

CHOW Tape is a tape saturator plugin that goes further, with it’s inception at Stanford University. It proved so successful that it became it’s own full fledged VST. It’s intended as a saturator, but saturation isn’t the only thing that it’s good at. Instead, it’s also great at mimicking the imperfections found on tapes such as flutter and grit. It’s a one stop shop f you want to add softer, more vintage character to your tracks, with an easy to use olugin that doesn’t break the bank. This plugin is a free download, it requires MacOS 10.12 or newer, Windows 7 or newer, and comes in VST or AU formats.

Tape Cassette 2 by Caelum Audio

Perfect for analog warmth, Tape Casette 2 is exactly what it says on the tin – it’s a perfect emulation of a lo-fi tape recorder. This plugin wasn’t originally intended as a saturator and was instead designed to add Lo-Fi features to tracks. However, it easily doubles as a saturation plugin to the extent that it practically operates as one. It’s great for adding subtle imperfections and warmth to tracks, and it’s easy to use, with an intuitive user interface. Free download, requires Windows 7 (64 bit only for AAX) or higher, or MacOS 10.11 or higher. Available in AU, VST3, and AAX formats.

XPressor from E Phonic

XPressor from e Phonic is billed as a dynamics processor, meaning that it doesn’t just have saturation as one of it’s features. Instead, it also includes oversampling , filters, and parallel processing. It’s really good if you want to see how your saturation fits into the wider overall dynamics of your mix as this can sometimes be very subtle. XPressor features three processing modes, soft clipping, hard clipping, and wavefolder. The gentle compression is great to use in tandem with the saturation to ensure the two effects blend smoothly. A free download, X-Pressor is available in VST3 format for Windows and MacOS.

Satin – Tape Simulator Saturation Plugin by U-He

Satin is a ‘tape simulator’ plugin from U-He that invites users to ‘construct your perfect tape machine’. It certainly goes into detail on all the features of tape, and contains controls over features like asperity, hiss, and flutter. Satin doesn’t just include the good parts of tape like analog warmth, it also makes these imperfections available to users to feature creatively or artistically in their tracks. A ‘compander’ features makes tracks stand out more, and although this tape simulator is heavy on features its user interface is true to a real tape machine and easy to navigate for anyone familiar. Available in VST2, VST3, and Au formats for Windows 7 or MacOS 10.10 or later.

Tube Saturator Vintage by Wave Arts

Tube Saturator Vintage is exactly what it says on the tin – it’s an emulation of a triode preamp, and it also comes with a three band EQ to ensure that saturation and other dynamic processes blend fully into your overall mix. It’s not so much a soft saturator, although it can be sued for this, instead, it has tons of gritty character and is great for any instruments that need to perk up. Additionally, the ‘fat’ knob adds lush thickness to your sound, if you still think things are lacking. This is a free plugin and is available in AU, AAX, VST2, and VST3 forms. It requires Windows 7 (64 bit) and up, or OS 10.7 and up.

High Level Professional Saturation Plugins

FabFilter Saturn 2

FabFilter Saturn 2 is one of the most diverse and dynamic pro grade saturation plugins on the market. It’s main draw is the fact it allows you to work with multiple wavebands independently and set crossover points for them. It also has a variety of available textures of saturation. This means it has everything from soft saturation to gritty distortion, all in the same plugin. It’s flexible and convenient, and the sound is slick, accurate, and professional, adding plenty of extra character to your track at either the mixing or mastering stage. Saturn 2 costs 179 USD and requires Windows 7 (64 bit/32 bit) and up, or MacOS 10.8 or higher 64 bit only. Comes in AU, AAX Native and AudioSuite, and VST2 or VST3 formats.

iZotope Trash 2 from iZotope

The Trash 2 from iZotope is a full range saturation plugin that has everything from soft saturation to total distortion. It could easily have fit under the mixed saturation plugins section, but it’s pro sound means we’ve listed it here. It contains an envelope, LFO, and much more, treats four wavebands separately for ultimate precision, and even contains a waveshaper algorithm to enhance your saturation with more creativity. Requires Windows 7 or later 32/64 bit, MacOS 10.10 or later 32/64 bit, and comes in AAX, AU, VST, and VST3 formats. Available for 99 USD.

BPB Saturator from Bedroom Producers Blog

BPB Saturator is developed by Bedroom producers blog, a really great resource dedicated to deep diving into everything you need for low cost bedroom production and introducing you to the processes behind getting a great mix. They do a lot for beginner producers, but we’ve included this one in the Pro Sound category because of how easily usable it is for those srating out and how trustworthy and complete it is with a high pass and low pass filter system as well on top of lush analog-style saturation cleverly imitated through waveshaping, capable of both soft and aggressive saturation. This plugin is freeware and is available for MacOS and Windows in VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX formats. It is both 32 bit and 64 bit compatible.

T-Saturator from Techivation.

Don’t underestimate this little plugin from Techivation! T-Saturator has a deceptively simple user interface with a huge draw for many sound designers in the fact that it allow you to control different kinds of saturation precisely. For example, it’s easily navigable interface allows you to toggle between tube, tape, clip, and fold options. It also has input and output monitoring and focusses on three other main dials: saturation, smash, and crunch. It’s great for both soft and subtle saturation, and for grittier and dirtier distortion and packs a surprisingly large amount of features and possibilities into a small and simple interface. This is a free plugin that is compatible with MacOS and Windows and comes in AU, VST, and AAX formats.

Smart Saturation Plugins

Baby Audio TAIP

TAIP from Baby Audio is an AI powered saturation plugin. Now, that may sound like an oxymoron, given the contrast between AI and the vintage, analog association with tape saturation. However, TAIP doesn’t compromise these qualities, it just enhances them. TAIP understands fully the qualities that make tape saturation popular and has dedicated sliders for qualities such as noise, wear, and glue, meaning it’s perfect for making your mix more organic and cohesive. Additionally, it’s simple yet effective interface offers single and dual model options, the ability to monitor drive and mix, as well as other sliders for presence, high shape, and low shape. This is all about rounding out your track – intelligently. TAIP costs 99 USD and comes in AAX, AU, VST, and VST3 formats. It requires MacOS 10.11 or Windows 10 (64 bit) and up.

Plasma from iZotope

Plasma is another smart saturation plugin that goes by the method of analysing sound and then applying saturation to your mix. It isn’t entirely automatic though – the interface comes with an EQ curve, attack, and release knobs to allow you to make the final tweaks to your sound. It also has an overdrive slider and a flux saturator knob which allows you to choose how much of the smart Flux Saturation technology you apply to your track. This analyse and apply model is common in the world of AI saturation plugins, but from iZotope, you can be assured this is smooth, easily and broadly applicable, and is a great entry point on the learning curve to saturation. Comes in AAX, AU, and VST formats Requires Windows 10 or MacOS Ventura and up. Plasma costs 56.17 GBP.

Final Thoughts

As this list shows, saturation can have many more versatile and creative uses than just making your tracks sound better. Using these plugins will help you get deeper into the audio recording process that the signal chain emulated on your DAW is actually mimicking. This will sow you the differences present with the golden age of analog studio recording and how they affect and influence sound.

Either way, there is something here for everyone, from indie-inspired cassette emulators to technically detailed pre-amps and everything in between.

If you’re looking for more comprehensive outlines of plugins, check out our other directory of mastering plugins. And if you love analog, check out our articles here, and here.