There are several free VST reverb plugins available online, and some of them are actually quite good considering the price.
I’ve been trying out a bunch of different free reverb plugins lately because I’m too cheap to buy a good paid one at the moment, so I thought I’d put together a list of some of the best free reverb plugins currently available.
Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments section if you have a favorite free reverb not listed here.
Most DAWs have a reverb plugin or two included as well, even free DAWs like Pro Tools First and Studio One Prime, so there are plenty of options for cheap bastards like myself.
Commercial reverb plugins can cost upwards of a few hundred dollars each, like Waves plugins. But there are some really good inexpensive options as well, like Valhalla plugins for $50 each.
There are several different kinds of reverb plugins, some that specialize in certain types of reverb sounds, like plate reverb, spring, room reverb, and digital reverb. Some are convolution reverbs that use impulse response files to replicate the sound of real rooms and other spaces. Most are algorithmic reverbs that use advanced algorithms to simulate different room sizes and dynamics.
Best Free VST Reverb Plugins
Reverb Solo
The free Reverb Solo plugin is a very simple plugin with a single knob to adjust the reverb size and a wet/dry slider to control the amount of reverb. The plugin is very easy to use, especially for beginners, and it sounds surprisingly good.
The Reverb Solo plugin was designed by Acon Digital exclusively for Reverb.com. It’s available for Windows and Mac in VST, AU, and AAX formats in both 32 and 64 bit.
Sanford Reverb
The Sanford Reverb plugin is one of the best free reverbs around. It has a good set of factory presets and includes more adjustable parameters than some of the other free reverb plugins. It’s also easy on CPU usage.
Sanford Reverb used to be a paid plugin for $35 but the developer has since released it as freeware. It’s available for Windows in VST format in 32 and 64 bit options. There’re also free delay and bass tightener plugins to download.
TAL-Reverb-4
TAL-Reverb-4 is the latest free reverb plugin from TAL; it has a modulated vintage reverb sound. It’s available for MAC and PC in VST, AAX, and AU formats.
Two additional free reverb and some other plugins are available from TAL as well. The TAL-Reverb-3 is a stereo plate reverb plugin and TAL-Reverb-2 is their most popular reverb plugin, still a favorite among some users.
Ambience Reverb
Ambience is an older algorithmic reverb that used to be a paid plugin but now it’s freeware. It’s a good high quality plugin that offers lots of customizable settings and a number of factory presets.
Ambience is available for Mac and PC in AU and VST formats. They offer some other free plugins to download as well, including a delay, two compressors, a intonation synth, and an EQ.
Voxengo OldSkoolVerb
Voxengo offers a number of free plugins, among them is the ever-popular OldSkoolVerb, a free algorithmic reverb plugin that’s available in AU and VST formats.
OldSkoolVerb is a “classic” stereo reverb with a wide range of adjustable settings for sounds ranging from plate reverb to room and hall reverb. According to the description, OldSkoolVerb is best suited for non-percussive and soft-attack sounds like vocals, piano, and pads.
EpicVerb
Another popular free reverb plugin is epicVerb. It’s designed to be uses with drums and vocals, among other things, to simulate small rooms and ambiance effects. It offers two different reverb modes and 6 different stereo early reflection models.
The main downside with epicVerb it that it’s only available as a plugin for 32-bit Windows systems. Note that there’s a separate file to download for the VST presets.
SIR1 Reverb
Unlike the algorithmic reverbs above, the SIR reverb plugin relies on using impulse responses to generated reverb sounds. It can load various free or commercial impulses found online.
SIR1 is a freeware plugin available in VST format for Windows. There’s a paid version that supports a number of additional features called SIR2 that works with Mac and Windows.