VitalFree version
by Vital Audio
A wavetable synthesizer with a free basic tier (paid tiers add more content). Good for soft pads, plucks and bass that you then age with the effects above.
For producers
Lofi Plugins
The tools that shape the lofi sound – tape, vinyl, crunch, space and sidechain – sorted by job, with a free option in every category.
Your signal chain – jump to a step
Instruments
Soft pads and warm leads to write over.
Tape & vinyl character
Wobble, hiss, saturation and a softened top end – the sound most people mean when they say “lofi”.
RC-20 Retro ColorPaid
by XLN Audio
A multi-effect for instant age: noise, wobble and flutter, saturation, degrading and bitcrushing, reverb and volume drops in one window. Works on single keys as well as whole loops.
CHOW Tape ModelFree
by Chowdhury DSP
An open-source model of analog reel-to-reel tape with saturation, wow and flutter. A free way to glue drums and keys together.
SketchCassette IIPaid
by Aberrant DSP
Cassette emulation with saturation, noise and pitch wobble – for the warped, worn-tape feel on chords and melodies.
Super VHSPaid
by BABY Audio
A lofi multi-effect built from simple one-knob effects inspired by VHS-era sound. Quick to dial in when you want colour without menu diving.
Crunch & bitcrushing
Reduced bit depth and sample rate give drums the grit of old samplers.
KrushFree
by Tritik
A free bitcrusher with downsampling, drive and a filter. Use it subtly on a drum bus or hard on a single percussion layer.
Chorus, width & space
Gentle movement and depth keep sparse lofi arrangements from sounding flat.
Chorus: copies drift in time
Reverb: one hit, a decaying tail
TAL-Chorus-LXFree
by TAL Software
A free emulation of the chorus from the Roland Juno-60. Classic width for electric pianos and pads.
Valhalla SupermassiveFree
by Valhalla DSP
Free reverbs and delays that range from short rooms to huge washed-out tails – useful for ambient lofi and transitions.
Making room: sidechain & ducking
Kick and bass, snare and chords, vocal and pads – sidechain ducking lets one sound make space for another. Volume ducking turns the whole track down on every hit (the pump); spectral ducking turns down only the frequencies that collide. Read more in our sidechain guide for lofi house.
Our plugin
Easy Sidechain
€39 · 7-day free trial
Spectral sidechain ducking: your kick hits and the bass makes room, but only in the frequencies the kick needs. The rest of the bass keeps its body – no pumping, no hole in the low end.
- Compares both signals in 40 frequency bands and lowers your track only where the trigger sits on top of it
- LEARN suggests a starting point: gentle, medium or strong
- DELTA lets you hear only what is being removed
- 20 factory presets for kick and bass, 808s, vocals and pads
- Windows and macOS · VST3 and Audio Unit · one licence for three computers
Kickstart 2Paid
by Cableguys & Nicky Romero
Classic volume ducking without sidechain routing, triggered by audio or MIDI. The right tool when you want the audible house pump.
TrackSpacerPaid
by Wavesfactory
Automatically carves frequencies out of one track to open space for another, following the sidechain signal.
SpectraDuckPaid
by HoRNet
A spectral sidechain ducker that turns down only the frequency regions where the trigger is strong.
Mastering check
Soft music does not need to be loud. Measure before you push.
Youlean Loudness Meter 2Free version
by Youlean
Measures loudness in LUFS and true peak – the numbers streaming platforms use. The free version covers the essentials.
Our rule of thumb
from the label
Spotify and YouTube turn loud tracks down to about −14 LUFS by default. Aim for roughly −14 to −11 LUFS integrated, keep the true peak at −1 dBTP or lower, and compare against a reference at matched loudness – a lofi master pushed much louder just loses its softness.
We picked widely used tools and are not paid for any mention. Easy Sidechain is our own plugin. Prices, formats and system requirements change – check the developer’s page before you buy.