Check out the best free drum kit VST plugins to use with your DAW. I’ve included drum kit plugins that work with Windows and Mac.
A drum kit VST plugin emulates the sound of a real drum kit. These plugins provide various drum sounds, such as kicks, snares, hi-hats, toms, cymbals, and more. You can use drum kit VST plugins in any VST-supported music program to create realistic drum sounds.
Drum kit plugins are popular because they allow you to create professional-sounding drum tracks without having to learn how to play the drums.
Best Drum Kit VST Plugins
- MT Power Drum Kit
- DPC 3
- DrumKit1
- Steven Slate Drums
- Royotoms
- Organic Calfskin Kit
- Line of Legends
- Jamstix 4
- Cymbalistic
- Monster Drums
- Cherry Snare
- Divine Kit
- Beat DRMR
- Speedrum Lite
- GB DrumBox
- DJinnDrum VST
- Drum Dream
- Drum Pro
- T-Rex 606
- Drum8
These drum kit VST plugins will give you a wide variety of drum samples. Some plugins offer virtual drum sets, offering hundreds of kicks, snares, toms, hi-hats, and cymbals. While some of the other drum kit plugins look like drum samplers, they still provide quality sounds.
The following are some of the best free drum VST plugins for musicians to use to produce high-quality drum tracks.
Upgrade your music production game with our comprehensive list of Free VST Plugins!
Instructions: Click the links below to visit each drum kit VST plugin. Look around each website for the download link or button. Do not install any suspicious software.
1. MT Power Drum Kit VST
Mt Power Drumkit is a drum sampler with high-quality drum sounds that make it stand out among free drum plugins.
The samples are easy to use and can be loaded into any drum audio sampler.
If you are looking for a free drum VST plugin with high-quality drum sounds, the MT Power Drum Kit is good. It will provide you with the drum sounds you need for your next production.
Plugin | PC / Mac / Linux
2. DPC 3
DPC 3 is a sampler that lets you play the pads by mouse and features individual reverb send.
It also has an auto-mute group and visual response to help you with the logical layout.
The layout of the plugin is logical and easy to use. It is a great sampler that will help you create the drum tracks you desire.
DPC 3 | PC
3. DrumKit1
It sounds like drumming heaven, DrumKit1 is perfect for simplicity and straightforwardness.
It is a small-sized drum VST with a big sound perfect for rock songs.
The GUI has no controls, which makes it very easy to use. It is perfect for those who just want to plug and play without having to fiddle with any settings.
Plugin | PC
4. Steven Slate Drums
Steven Slate Drums is worth checking out if you’re looking for an incredibly versatile drum kit plugin that can cover various styles. It comes with 135 snares, 112 kicks, 58 toms, 11 hi-hats, 14 crashes, six rides, four splashes, and three chinas.
Additionally, the plugin features an ultra-sleek new resizable GUI and analog processed and raw samples recorded to 2-inch tape. It will give your drum loops a professional and polished sound.
Great for sound design in FL Studio, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and more. This is one of the best drum VST plugins that are a great alternative to Addictive Drums 2 by XLN Audio and Toontrack Superior Drummer.
Plugin | PC & Mac
5. Royotoms
If you’re looking for some sampled rototom sounds, check out Royotoms. This VST plugin features eight rototoms sets with three velocity layers and two round-robin samples for each layer.
The samples are all dry, so you’ll need to add your own effects if you want them. But the raw drum sounds are top-notch and would be great for various genres.
Plugin | PC & Mac
6. Organic Calfskin Kit
This drum plugin is a comprehensive and easy-to-use solution for working with thousands of multi-velocity samples. It has seven drum kits played with varying tools for a total of 18 unique drum kits.
If you are looking for a drum plugin that captures the sound of an acoustic drum set, then the Organic Calfskin Kit is a perfect choice. It is sure to add a new dimension to your drums.
- Vintage Drum Sounds
- Bass Drum Sounds
Organic Calfskin Kit | PC & Mac OSX
7. Line of Legends
This drum kit plugin features 47 high-quality drum samples, each with eight individual outputs. This drum kit is perfect for all Hip Hop styles, from Trap to Boom Bap.
The Punch and Release knobs allow you to sculpt the perfect drum sound, while the pan knobs let you customize the drum kit to your liking. This is a must-have drum plugin for any hip-hop producer.
Line of Legends | PC / Mac / AU
8. Jamstix 4
Jamstix 4 is a drum kit VST plugin that can be used to produce quality drum tracks without the need for a drummer. With some of the best drum sounds available, it is perfect for those who want to create drum tracks for their music.
The plugin comes with a mixer that offers equalizers and compressors customized for drum processing and expansions that provide brushed kits, rod kits, electronic drum kit sounds, metal kits, and much more.
Jamstix 4 is one of the best free drum VSTs, perfect for those who want to create drum tracks for their music. It will give your music the drum tracks it needs to sound professional.
Jamstix 4 | PC & Mac
9. Cymbalistic
Cymbalistic is a drum kit VST plugin containing 68 stereo drum cymbals. It includes a hi-hat, ride cymbal, crash cymbals, Chinese cymbals, etc.
Additionally, it has four stereo outputs and an amplitude dynamic range control. It is one of the most comprehensive drum kit VST plugins available, making it ideal for drummers.
Cymbalistic | PC & Mac
10. Monster Drums
Monster Drums is a free drum rompler with various music genres ranging from Pop, Rock, Metal to Jazz. Its realistic drum sounds and easy-to-use interface are perfect for beginners and professionals.
If you are looking for a drum rompler with a wide variety of drum sounds, then Monster Drums is perfect. It will help you create the perfect drum tracks for your songs.
Great free plugin alternative to Addictive Drums 2 by XLN Audio.
Plugin | PC & Mac
11. Cherry Snare
Cherry Snare is an acoustic snare drum VST created for drummers who do not have access to one.
This drum kit plugin offers 208 high-quality snare drum samples, with five different stroke techniques and up to 3 velocity layers.
The round-robin feature is great for creating realistic drumming patterns, as it ensures that each hit sounds slightly different from the last.
This is a must-have drum kit VST for any producer or composer working in any genre.
Cherry Snare | PC & Mac
12. Divine Kit
Divine Kit is an acoustic drum kit made from samples recorded by producer John Haddad. This plugin uses multiple outputs; you may have to set up your DAW correctly to use it.
The drum samples are high quality, and the plugin is easy to use. It is sure to give your drum tracks a professional sound.
Divine Kit | PC & Mac
13. Beat DRMR
Beat DRMR is a drum kit VST plugin that provides instant access to 178 punchy drum kits for various genres.
This plugin is perfect for producers of Electro, Techno, Detroit, Minimal, Acid, and other styles that need punchy drums.
Beat DRMR comes with a library of drum kits, each with its own unique sound. You can browse the drum kits by genre or search for a specific drum kit by name.
Beat DRMR | PC & Mac
14. Speedrum Lite
Speedrum Lite is a drum kit VST plugin with an MPC-style pads layout. It has low and high pass filters, voice mode (mono or poly), and the start and end of the sample can be adjusted.
Additionally, the user interface is fully resizable. It’s a great drum kit VST plugin for those looking for something with a familiar feel.
Plugin | PC / macOS / Linux
15. GB DrumBox
This plugin contains twelve drum kits, each with eight samples. The user can adjust each channel’s volume, pan, and decay time. The filter cutoff, reverb level, attack time, and modulation are applied globally.
GB DrumBox is one of the best drum plugins for those looking for an authentic drum machine sound. It is sure to add some spice to your drum tracks.
Plugin | PC & Mac
16. DJinnDrum VST
This drum kit plugin features a dry sound that may require EQ and compression to get the most out of it. While it doesn’t have the “ride” or “crash” sound, it does have pitch control for some sounds.
This plugin is excellent for those who want more control over their drum sound and don’t mind doing a little extra work to get the most out of it.
Plugin | PC & Mac
17. Drum Dream
Drum Dream is an acoustic drum kit rompler that has four velocity layers on each instrument.
It’s a great option for those who need light drum software that doesn’t eat up their computer’s resources.
Drum Dream is an excellent option if you’re looking for an acoustic drum kit plugin that won’t bog down your computer. It will inspire creativity with its wide range of drum kit samples.
Plugin | PC
18. Drum Pro
This drum kit VST plugin features a realistic drum sound, allowing you to create your drum tracks easily.
You can choose from various drum samples, including acoustic, electronic, and hip-hop.
The plugin also comes with a drum sequencer to quickly create drum patterns.
You can also adjust the tempo and pitch of the drum samples, allowing you to create your unique drum tracks.
Drum Pro | PC & Mac
19. T-Rex 606
This drum plugin is a rompler of the Roland TR-606 drum machine, just like it sounds. The drums you’ll get out of it will be dry, and they’ll have that drum machine quality to them.
This plugin only has seven samples, but they’re all high quality. Because it’s a rompler, you can tweak the drum samples to your heart’s content and get them to sound exactly how you want.
This drum plugin also has a master volume knob and a reverb knob to add more depth to your drum tracks. This is a great drum plugin for those who want that drum machine sound.
T-Rex 606 | PC & Mac
20. Drum8
Drum8 is a sample-based drum plugin that features 40 kits for various music genres. There are 320 sounds, including kicks, snares, claps, toms, hi-hats, percussion, cymbals, fx, and more.
The plugin has a compact and easy-to-use interface with global controls, individual controls per sample, and an 8-pad configuration. This drum plugin is great for those looking for a versatile and affordable drum solution.
Plugin | PC & Mac
21. Spitfire Audio Drums
The Spitfire Audio Drum plugin is one of the most popular drum VSTs. Real drum sounds can be created using its impressive library of sounds to suit various genres.
Spitfire Audio | PC & Mac
22. SM Drums
SM Drums is a comprehensive and versatile drum sample collection. This 2.2 GB library features multi-sampled drums for a wide range of genres and styles, plus templates for FL Studio and Reaper for easy integration into your workflow.
With an easy-to-use sforzando player, you can access the samples directly from your hard drive for fast and efficient streaming.
Whether you’re looking for that perfect kick drum sound or want some inspiration for your next track, SM Drums has you covered. Free Addictive Drums alternative.
SM SoundFonts | PC & Mac
23. Audiospillage Minispillage
Minispillage Drum Synthesizer from Audiospillage is a powerful free plug-in for creating unique percussive sounds.
With its high-quality 64-bit DSP engine, it produces excellent sound quality.
- High-quality audio
- Exclusive percussion models
- ADSR envelopes
MiniSpillage | PC & Mac
24. Drumart SLD by Electronik Sound Lab
The Electronik Sound Lab Drumart SLD is perfect for those who want to create urban music. With 84 kits to choose from, you can create any sound you want.
The envelope feature allows you to control the sound of each channel, while the gain control and pan control let you fine-tune your sound. Plus, the assignable outputs make it easy to connect to other devices.
- 8 Drum Pads
- 84 Drum Kits
- Envelope Each Channel
- Gain & Pan Controls
- Assignable Outputs
Link | PC & Mac
25. DEVIL DRUMMR
Devil Drummr is a drummer VST sampler that allows you to play your own wave samples, giving you complete control over your sound.
With a basic setup including a bass drum, kick, snare drum, tom drum, hi-hat, cymbal, and clap, you can create any number of custom sounds.
- Basic drum audio sampler
- Easy to use
DEVIL DRUMMR | PC
26. Afroplugin
Whether you want to create fresh new beats for your latest track or inject some authentic African flavor into your music, Afroplugin is the perfect solution.
This powerful and easy-to-use drum kit rompler comes with 120 expertly crafted sounds, ten presets, and is available for Mac and Windows.
- 120 Sounds
- 10 Presets
Afroplugin | PC & Mac
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does a Drum VST Do?
Drum plugins usually work by simulating the sound of different types of drums, cymbals, and percussion instruments. They often include a range of presets that allow you to quickly achieve a particular sound. They also give you the flexibility to tweak the parameters until you get exactly the results you want.
Drum plugins can be used to create or change the sound of drums in a digital recording. They can add punch, warmth, and character to a drum track and can help to make it sound more realistic.
There are many different types of drum VSTs, each with its own unique features. Some of the most popular ones include Native Instruments’ Abbey Road Vintage Drummer, Steven Slate Drums 4, and XLN Audio’s Addictive Drums 2. Each of these programs has its own strengths, so it’s worth trying out a few different ones to see which one you like best.
How Do You Use a Drum Kit VST Plugin?
You can use a drum kit VST plugin in your music production software in a variety of ways.
One option is to load the plugin into your DAW and create tracks for each of the drums (kick, snare, hi-hat, etc.). You can then record yourself playing these tracks or import audio files of someone else playing them.
Another way to use a drum kit plugin is to create loops. You can load up a preset groove or loop and then play along with it, adding your own bassline, synth line, or other instruments. This can be a fun way to create simple beats and rhythms quickly and easily.
There are many different VST drum kit plugins available, so experiment and find the one that best suits your needs.
What Does VST Stand For?
VST stands for “Virtual Studio Technology”. A VST is a type of software that allows you to create and use virtual instruments, effects, and other features in your digital audio workstation. There are many different brands and types of VST plugins available, so there are unlimited possibilities for what you can do with VST plugins.
These plugins are great free alternatives to paid plugins like Toontrack Superior Drummer, Toontrack Ezdrummer, Addictive Drums by XLN Audio, and GetGood Drums.
I hope you found this list of free drum kit VST plugins helpful.
