In this edition of bpb Freeware Studio, we will be covering the best freeware sidechain compressors in VST/AU plugin format for Windows and Mac. Most current DAWs do come with a native sidechain compressor, but just in case your DAW doesn’t have one, here’s a list of the best freeware alternatives:
- Compressive Pro by Martin Eastwood (Windows)
- Density mkII by Variety Of Sound (Windows)
- DualComp by Teragon Audio (Mac, Windows)
- FL4TT3RY 2 by platinumears (Windows)
- MCompressor by MeldaProduction (Mac, Windows)
- Molot by vladg/sound (Mac, Windows)
- ReaComp by Cockos (Windows)
- Side Chain Compressor by slim slow slider (Windows)
- Sidechain Compressor by Christian Budde (Windows)
All seven listed plugins offer similar functionality, so my suggestion is to test them all out and make sure to use the one which performs best in your setup. My favorite choice is ReaComp, closely followed by Christian Budde’s Sidechain Compressor.
Many thanks to bpb reader Jackie for suggesting Density mkII and MCompressor and psilas for suggesting Molot!
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This article is a part of the bpb Freeware Studio series. Each article in the series features a selection of the best freeware VST instruments/effects, or other audio related software in a certain category. Feel free to suggest your own favorites in the comments section below. Enjoy!
Related posts:
Where is DensitymkII?
I would also include MCompressor (from the meldaproduction freeware bundle). This is also my favourite – mostly because of the visual representation (and editable also!) of compressor curve, this is quite rarely seen. This vst also provides zero-latency processing so it can be mixed with dry signal, very handy. Im also thinking of magnus mjcompressor. Those 2 plugins doesnt have auxiliary pair of output , but still provide s-ch capability with the built-in filter.
Cheers!
hey, thanks for the great suggestions! i’ve completely forgotten about Densikty mkII, and never tried MCompressor in sidechain mode before. i’ll add both of these to the list.
MjCompressor is nice too, but i think it doesn’t really belong to a ‘best of’ list of sidechain compressors. i’ll add it to the best compressors list once i start writing it, that will be a real big one. ;]
looking forward to more tips from you, thanks once again!
Ey cool segment! I love reaComp and Density it’s a nice one for busses.
Hi,surely the new ‘MOLOT’ compressor should be up here as it now has a sidechain option.Its also one of few free plugins thats hardware modelled.
Cheers.
hi psilas, cheers for that! i forgot to update the list with Molot. will do so now.