Best Free Distortion VST Plugins

Distortion

Free Clip 2

by Venn Audio

Best Overall · ★★★★★ 4.

Distortion

KClip Zero

by Kazrog

Best for Mastering · ★★★★★ 4.

Distortion

Clipper

by Kilohearts

Best for Drums · ★★★★★ 4.

Distortion

PeakEater

by Vladyslav Voinov

Best Open-Source · ★★★★★ 4.

Distortion

RazorClip

by Analog Obsession

Best Analog Character · ★★★★★ 4.

Distortion

Initial Clipper 2

by Initial Audio

Best Metering · ★★★★☆ 4.

Distortion

GClip

by GVST

Best CPU-Light · ★★★★☆ 4.

Distortion

KLYP

by Voidstar Audio

★★★★☆ 4.

Distortion

Shatter Clip

by Golden DSP

★★★★☆ 4.

Distortion

Crispy Clip Light

by Yum Audio

★★★★☆ 4.

Distortion

Mesa Lite

by Venomode

★★★★☆ 4.

Distortion

KNOCK Clipper

by Knock Audio

★★★★☆ 4.

Distortion

SnapClip

by NovoNotes

★★★★☆ 4.

Distortion

Goodhertz LA-210

LA-210 by Goodhertz is a free saturation and dynamics plugin. It combines an opto compressor, a soft clipper, and a cassette tape model into a single interface that looks like a Southern California…

Distortion

D16 Group Frontier

Frontier by D16 Group is primarily a limiter, but it’s versatile enough to handle compression duties in plenty of situations. The interface is simple.

Distortion

Cramit

by Sixth Sample

Cramit takes the OTT concept and adds a multi-type distortion section on top. I use it a lot for making SFX sound more dramatic in my cinematic sound design workflow on Flame Sound.

Distortion

Dynastia

by Outobugi

Dynastia has a couple of features that none of the other free OTT plugins offer: per-band stereo width controls and Mid/Side processing modes. You can independently widen or narrow the low, mid, and…

Distortion

Polarity-MD

by Polarity

Polarity-MD is the most feature-packed option on this list, but it’s still in beta. Built by Berlin-based Bitwig educator Polarity, it’s an open-source 4-band multiband dynamics processor with…

Distortion

FuzzPlus 3

by Audio Damage

FuzzPlus 3 is a free distortion plugin by Audio Damage. It’s not often that the developer’s name and the plugin name coincide perfectly, but that’s the case here.

Distortion

Trash Lite

by iZotope

Trash Lite is a free distortion plugin based on iZotope’s legendary commercial plugin, Trash (€109). The freeware Trash Lite offers a simplified feature set but still provides powerful distortion…

Distortion

Krush

by Tritik

Krush is a flexible bitcrusher plugin that delivers both analog and digital distortion. It offers three simple controls to set the type of distortion – Drive, Crush, and Downsample: There is also a…

Distortion

CamelCrusher

by Camel Audio

CamelCrusher is a legendary free distortion plugin from Camel Audio. Although discontinued, the plugin is still available for download and can be used in modern DAWs.

Distortion

Temper

by Creative Intent

Temper may seem confusing at first glance. Based on a phase distortion algorithm, it can do what no other distortion plugin on this list can—much more than traditional clipping.

Distortion

Tube Saturator Vintage

by Wave Arts

Tube Saturator Vintage is an authentic digital model of a dual 12AX7 triode hardware preamp. It features a sleek GUI and robust feature set, and while it uses a lot of CPU, it is a fantastic…

Distortion

Greed Smasher

by Mercuriall

Greed Smasher is a guitar distortion plugin that sounds great on various inputs, from synths to vocals and beyond. Mercuriall plugins are known for making high-quality plugin guitar pedals, and the…

Distortion

SonEQ

SonEQ is a user-friendly freeware equalizer that merges the features of old-school EQs in one neat package. It offers low-, mid-, and high-frequency band controls and a special pre-amp section to…

Distortion

Ohmforce Frohmager

Frohmager is a low-pass resonant filter with additional features that make it a fantastic choice for sound design. Most importantly, it includes a built-in distortion effect and many modulation…

Distortion

AmpliTube 5 CS

by IK Multimedia

AmpliTube 5 CS is a free version of IK Multimedia’s comprehensive guitar sim package, AmpliTube 5. The free version on offer here includes nine stompboxes, four amps, five cabs, three mics, two rack…

Distortion

Surreal Machines Crack

Best for quick, clean drum shaping with built-in peak control. Crack is excellent if you need a lightweight transient shaper for use on multiple drum channels.