The 15 Best Drum VST Plugins in 2025 (Paid)

From drum synthesis to drum samplers, realistic acoustic kits and everything in between, exploring the world of drum plugins is addictive but easily overwhelming.

So let’s run through the best of what’s out there today, with options in all the major types so that you can find exactly what you need for your tracks.

Drumroll…

1. D16 Group Drum Machines

Read - 15 Best Free Drum Kit VST Plugins for 2025

When it comes to emulations of Roland’s famous 606, 808, and 909 drum machines, D16’s drum machine plugins have been well-known as a go-to for many years.

Instead of using samples from the original hardware, they instead virtually model the drum synthesis and sampling circuits they were built on.

The key advantage of this is that it doesn’t eat up as much storage space or CPU load with large multisampled libraries.

With excellent built-in sequencers and a powerful sound that’s highly faithful to the originals, this is a fantastic option for electronic music genres that make use of these iconic sounds.

2. Native Instruments Battery 4

Countless drum sampling tools have come and gone over time, but only some have truly stood the test of time. Battery has been the flagship drum sampler from Native Instruments since 2001, so you know it’s pretty likely to live up to its reputation.

It’s particularly notable for its workflow, with a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to build kits and map the virtual “pads” to MIDI notes from sequencers or controllers.

Despite the simplicity of this design, Battery is incredibly deep, offering plenty of shaping options and modulation to explore. Definitely a top contender for EDM, pop, and hip-hop.

3. Sugar Bytes DrumComputer

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Some drum plugins are sample-based while others are focused on drum synthesis. Sugar Bytes DrumComputer is a great example of a powerful tool that does both.

It’s also notable for approaching drum synthesis from unusual and inspiring angles. Instead of the usual basic oscillator-envelope paradigm of most drum synths, it gives you unique synthesis possibilities that reward exploration.

From the sound engines themselves to the sequencing tools, kit creation, randomization, and mixing, this one will appeal to those who like to stray from the beaten path with their drum sounds and take advantage of an innovative approach.

4. Wave Alchemy Drum Plugins

Wave Alchemy is one of the biggest names in the game when it comes to deep and powerful sample libraries of hardware gear.

Their Revolution instrument is famous for placing a massive sample library of carefully recorded sounds from classic hardware drum machines, while Drumvolution and Triaz both go beyond nostalgia to provide powerful and modern tools.

They have a sterling reputation and the instruments to back it up, so no matter what genre you work in, we recommend taking a look at these instruments to see if they seem right for your workflow.

5. BeatSkillz Drum Machine Bundle

BeatSkills have been putting out so many great plugins lately, and their Drum Machine bundle in particular covers a ton of ground.

The key here lies in the curation. Each drum machine in the bundle is specialized for a particular sound while being flexible enough to be crafted to your style.

With classic drum machine sounds, hip-hop style vinyl chops, Bollywood drums, and other excellent kit options on tap, this is a set of plugins you’ll reach for when you’re tired of sifting through countless samples and just want great-sounding results fast.

Drum Machine Bundle, as well as several other excellent BeatSkillz plugins, are included in LANDR Studio.

6. Rob Papen Punch 2

Once again we’re looking at a plugin that hybridizes samples and drum synthesis for maximum sound design potential.

Rob Papen’s Punch has been on the market for many years and has a reputation among experienced producers as a powerful and well-designed toolset for drum production.

For the sampling side of things, it comes with a top-quality library of drum sounds to choose from, but you can also of course load your own.

Unlike Sugar Bytes DrumComputer, Punch takes a more traditional approach to the synthesis side, so if you’re more comfortable with classic drum synth patching, this might be a more suitable option.

7. Audio Damage Axon 3

We weren’t familiar with Axon until recently, and we had a fantastic time discovering what it’s capable of.

Some drum plugins offer powerful engines while providing built-in sequencers that use more or less conventional step-style grids. Axon’s claim to fame, however, is its advanced neural network sequencer which produces rhythms that are both consistent and dynamic.

The sound engines, meanwhile, combine subtractive and FM synthesis types to give you plenty of flexibility for your drum hits. We enjoyed testing this one out and it seems like a real winner for producers of more leftfield electronic genres like IDM.

8. IK Multimedia MODO DRUM

So far we’ve covered drum synths and sample-based drum machines, but that’s not all the world of drum plugins has to offer.

If you’re looking for virtual acoustic drum kits, most of your options use multisampled libraries to emulate a session player, but MODO DRUM does things a bit differently.

Instead, it uses physical modelling to emulate the actual physical characteristics of the various parts of an acoustic drum kit. This gets you an authentic acoustic sound, but with far more flexibility than a sample-based kit.

We use this one a lot and highly recommend it for those who are working in rock-oriented genres.

9. Sonic Charge Microtonic

Read - Drum Compression: One Simple Technique for Punchier Drums

Sometimes, when you’re synthesizing electronic drums, it’s less important to reinvent the wheel than it is to just get sounds that hit beautifully without much fuss.

Microtonic is famous for its dead-simple approach and deceptively fantastic sound. Everything that comes out of this thing feels snappy, detailed, and cuts through a mix like a hot knife through butter.

On top of that, the developers and third-party modders occasionally come out with scripts and tools that expand Microtonic’s capabilities, including a massive web-based preset and rhythm generator called Patternarium.

So, if you make techno, industrial, or any other genre that uses old-school electronic drum sounds, it’s hard to go wrong with this classic.

10. Baby Audio Tekno

Like Microtonic and other options on this list, Baby Audio’s Tekno is inspired by old-school drum synthesis as found on the classic Roland boxes and other vintage gear.

However, they build on that heritage by providing drum synthesis that is deep in a modern way yet sonically reminiscent of vintage drum circuits.

On top of that, Tekno has a built-in sequencer that allows you to humanize your rhythms for more dynamic and organic results.

The combination of deep synthetic sounds with natural and nuanced rhythms can be a powerful one, so we definitely recommend giving this one a try.

11. XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2

Read - Is Compression Overrated? What Every Producer Should Know

Another entry for those seeking authentic acoustic drum kits, Addictive Drums has been consistently recommended among pop and rock producers for quite some time now.

With highly detailed and realistic samples, including a wide range of hits for realistic nuance and expression, not to mention plenty of genre-specific extensions, Addictive Drums gets you convincing results quickly and easily.

The interface is beautifully designed, everything sounds great, and the built-in processing and mixing tools significantly streamline our workflow when we don’t want to navigate through countless tracks in the DAW. It’s well-regarded for a reason!

12. Algonaut Atlas 2

Sampling, synthesizing, processing, and sequencing drum sounds is fun. Organizing drum sounds is not.

Atlas is one of the foremost tools on the market for producers who have an enormous number of drum samples stacked up in various folders on their computers yet are terrified of the idea of actually going through all of them to build usable kits.

It’s AI-driven and remarkably smart, presenting the user with an easy-to-navigate “map” of drum sounds located based on sonic similarity.

Not only is generating kits ridiculously easy, its built-in sequencer is powerful and satisfying to use in its own right. Whether you need it for kit building or as a full-blown drum machine plugin, you should definitely consider picking it up.

13. Toontrack EZdrummer 3

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EZdrummer is another example of a virtual acoustic drum kit plugin that uses detailed multisampling as its sound source. But it has a few particularly nifty tricks up its sleeve that set it apart from its competitors.

For one, in addition to a built-in grid editor and step sequencer, it allows you to apply MIDI grooves and fills from a huge library, making for natural-sounding results with authentic human feel.

On top of this, EZdrummer also features Bandmate, which is similar to the Drummer feature in Logic Pro. Its intelligent rhythm engine generates drum parts based on your instrument parts. This could be a game-changer for your workflow if it feels right for you.

14. GetGood Drums (GGD)

GetGood Drums’ libraries are known for their excellent quality and playability. Each collection is crafted by professional producers and drummers and focuses on a specific genre, from ultra-tight metal kits to massive cinematic drums.

Everything feels modern, punchy, and ready to mix, with nicely nuanced velocity layers and meticulous sampling that make for great results.

If you want acoustic realism that still hits like a professionally recorded and mixed record, GGD is one of the best options out there today. Just keep in mind that these libraries are based in Kontakt, and depending on which ones you use, they may or may not require the full version.

15. Steven Slate Drums

Read - Drum Programming: 17 Essential Electronic Drum Patterns

Steven Slate Drums has been a household name in digital drum production for over a decade, and we definitely get why.

The plugin delivers a strong set of kits that combine the realism of acoustic recordings with the punch and clarity of studio processing, and in our experience, they sit beautifully in a mix.

It’s a go-to for rock, pop, and metal producers who want polished results without needing to spend hours tweaking. The balance of flexibility, quality, and intuitive workflow design is hard to beat here, so there’s no doubt it’s a classic that still holds its own.

Happy drumming!

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Various contributors from the LANDR team of music mentors.

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The 15 Best Drum VST Plugins in 2025 (Paid)