We’re halfway through 2025, but plugin developers have dropped enough software this year already to keep you busy for about a decade. MusicTech’s reviewers have been deep in the weeds to check out as many of them as possible — thankfully, we’ve found some absolute gems and have been able to separate the hype from the genuinely helpful.
Whether you’re hunting for the best VST plugins of 2025 or just looking to upgrade your go-to tools, our team of producers and reviewers have some useful opinions. From sleek EQs to leftfield synths, these are the plugins that have actually made it into our day-to-day projects — and might just earn a spot in yours too. Here are MusicTech’s favourite plugins of 2025…so far.
Wavea’s Flite is one beautiful maiden voyage
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Beautifully wrapped in a minimalist UI, Wavea’s debut Flite plugin is a colourful playground of sound design that I’ve come back to time and time again. The starting point is an expertly curated preset library, but there’s so much versatility and scope for crafting unique and experimental sounds. With four samplers, a three-oscillator synth engine and a rounded selection of built-in effects, Flite’s strength lies in how easy it is to stack, combine, and route these modules swiftly and intuitively.
Flite proves there’s still plenty of room for indie developers to knock it out of the plugin park and stand shoulder to shoulder with the giant developers.
As mentioned in my review of Wavea Flite, it’s great value for money at $99. “This endearing plugin could easily become a firm favourite in your kit,” I added. “Considering that this plugin is the maiden flight from Wavea, you might expect it to be a little rough around the edges. Instead, Flite is warm, inviting and packed full of fun.”
Waves Curves Equator is an amazing value plugin
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The plugin I’ve probably used the most this year is Waves Curves Equator. I’m still a big fan of Oeksound’s Soothe 2, but I’ve found this to be a killer alternative for quickly and easily tucking in resonant frequencies on tracks and mixes. It’s relatively light on resources and just seems to get the job done with fairly minimal tweaking. However, if you want to delve in and target certain sections of the spectrum, then you have several methods for only affecting the problem frequencies. It’s a powerful tool for beginners and pros alike that can be used alongside traditional EQ techniques to create smoother-sounding mixes. You can also pick it up on sale for the ridiculous price of $35 — bargain!
In my review of Waves Curves Equator, I noted how I can “quickly dial in improvements that benefit individual tracks, or a whole mix when used more sparingly. When it comes to very fine-tuned resonance suppression, I would probably still reach for Soothe2 as it can be more precise– as mentioned, there are better plugins for reducing mix clashes. But for general mix duties, Curves Equator is a superb choice.”
It might as well be FabFilter Pro-Q 4
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No matter what you’re doing with your DAW, the chances are that you have an EQ plugin on every channel. Even if you don’t perform surgery with the dynamic and spectral functionality with every instance of the plugin, FabFilter’s Pro-Q 4 is still an invaluable workhorse — and a gift that keeps on giving.
Simply by using the different character modes (Clean, Subtle, and Warm) with Gain-Q Interaction active, you start to get more musical results on busses or individual tracks, and improve your EQ skills while you do it. Then, when you want to go deeper, the spectral mode is perfect for taming the highs on overheads while keeping everything intact.
In my review of FabFilter Pro-Q 4, I said, “While other tools like Soothe2 and Gullfoss each apply their brand of magic to correcting unwanted resonances, Pro-Q 4 is not easily replaceable, given its versatility and depth of features. Pro-Q 4 will be loved equally by pro mixing and mastering engineers as it is by today’s generation of beat-makers and independent music producers.”
The formidable T-RackS 6 Mastering Console
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It’s not often you review a plugin that immediately becomes a cornerstone of your creative process, but IK Multimedia’s T-RackS Mastering Console is easily my most-used tool this year. It’s got a slick UI, presents for a variety of mixing styles, and high-end features for finalising and releasing music. Whether you’re actually mastering a track or just want to make sure a demo sounds as convincing as possible, the T-RackS Mastering console can add some ready-made magic to any mix.
Mastering Console pulls off what seemingly every plugin developer is trying to do right now — it takes parts of production that were mysterious and expensive, and opens them up for everyone.
Like I said in my review of IK Multimedia’s plugin bundle Total Studio 5, the tremendous power of T-RackS 6 almost makes up for the cost of the entire Total Studio bundle on its own.
Arturia Pigments 6 — maybe the only synth you’ll ever need
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I have an endless and deep fascination with sound synthesis in all its forms, and so have always been a big fan of Pigments’ semi-modular approach and hugely varied voice.
Here’s an instrument that can mimic a Minimoog, an MS-20, a Jupiter 8, and myriad other classic synths. It can be a mash-up of the best features of such classic synths, or it can be something entirely new and original. As the icing on the cake, Arturia’s sublime UI and UX design makes Pigments pretty much the best-looking plugin synth on the market, and also one of the easiest to use. What’s not to love?
I said in my Pigmnets 6 review that “it is an analogue monster, a digital dream, a sampling powerhouse, and now a physical modelling marvel.” Plus, its chameleon-like ability to be so many different types of synth means it could be the only synth you will ever need.
Output Co-Producer — an AI-powered plugin that actually promises to assist you
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Output’s Co-Producer feels like it takes the best of developments in cutting-edge tech while avoiding the rest. Working as a plug-in, it listens to your track and provides instant access to a vast and ever-expanding library of project-appropriate loops made by real humans – no AI-generated music here. Preview and drag and drop them into your DAW directly inside a project. Easy.
I haven’t reviewed Co-Producer for MusicTech yet but, having used it a lot already, it solves my problem of choice overload — who wants to navigate through thousands of loops over and over? And since all the content is royalty-free free you are completely covered. The library adds new content regularly, so you can stay inspired.
In short, using a form of AI that encourages your creativity rather than replacing it, Co-Producer shows how technology can support music-makers in a positive way.
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The post MusicTech’s favourite plugins of 2025 — so far appeared first on MusicTech.
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