The 15 Best Saturation VST Plugins in 2025

It’s also one of the biggest plugin categories, with tons of options available for adding color, character, and grit to your tracks.

So, we’ve gathered the 15 saturation plugins that we feel are most worth getting. We’ve listed mostly paid options, with the addition of a couple of free gems that, in our opinion, are no-brainers.

Let’s heat things up and dive in.

1. Soundtoys Decapitator

Decapitator is one of the most widely beloved saturation plugins of all time.

Modeled after a few different pieces of analog gear, or in some cases simply inspired by them, it offers five different modes that each provide different characteristics.

It also allows you to shape the frequency balance and tone of the output while giving you the option of automatic gain compensation.

It’s been a go-to for countless producers for a reason, and if you’re sheepish about the price, we recommend waiting for Soundtoys to put it on sale, which is not uncommon over the course of the year.

2. FabFilter Saturn

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Saturn is another legendary plugin with a famously broad palette.

Tube, tape, and guitar amp saturation models are all on tap here, and there are 28 different styles to choose from.

In true FabFilter style, you also get a fantastic interface that allows you to apply your saturation on specific frequency bands as you see fit.

Also unique is its modulation capabilities, allowing you to craft more dynamic and experimental results, rather than just applying your saturation in a fixed way. Highly recommended!

3. Ableton Roar

We know this doesn’t quite count as a plugin, since it’s provided exclusively among Ableton’s native effects in Live. But hear us out.

Once we started messing with Roar, which was among the new devices in Live 12, we realized that the impossible had happened — we stopped reaching for Decapitator and Saturn every time we wanted saturation.

From multiband saturation to gnarly feedback effects and beyond, it sounds fantastic and is capable of everything from subtle enhancement to complete signal breakdown.

If you have Live, or you’re thinking about getting it, we recommend exploring Roar at length.

4. BeatSkillz Rekraft

BeatSkills has created some of our favorite plugins, and we’ve even added several of them to LANDR Studio. Rekraft is one of them.

The beauty of this one is that it doesn’t limit itself to saturation alone. It combines saturation with other lo-fi and degradation effects in a customizable signal chain that oozes with character and versatility.

If you’re the kind of producer who wants to use saturation for texture, grit, and maximum vibe, this is certainly one to check out.

5. Softube Harmonics

Softube is famous for their emulations of analog gear, from classic vintage compressors to iconic reel-to-reel tape machines. So, of course they’d be a top provider in this category.

While several of their plugins offer saturation of some kind, Harmonics is their saturation specialist.

Its main selling point is the ability to adaptively respond to the dynamics of the incoming signal, giving you far more nuance and tonal control than you get with many other saturation tools.

We think it’s well worth a try, especially for drums and other dynamic sound sources like vocals.

6. iZotope Trash

While some saturation plugins aim for emulation of analog gear, others lean proudly into the digital domain for more range and extreme results. Trash belongs in the latter category.

It’s made up of a chain of modules that each specialize in different forms of audio mangling.

Our personal favorite of these modules is Convolve, which uses a bank of impulse responses to give your sounds the acoustic characteristics of electronic devices, spaces, and more.

If you’re keen to really explore the depths of saturation, distortion, and decimation, this is definitely one to consider.

7. MeldaProduction MSaturatorMB

Rather than sitting firmly in the analog emulation camp or the digital distortion camp, MSaturatorMB hybridizes the two for excellent results.

In addition to basic saturation and character duties, it gives you multiband functionality as well as a digital harmonic generator.

It’s versatile, it’s easy to use, and it sounds great. Hard to go wrong with this one.

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8. Eventide CrushStation

A longtime favorite among guitarists in particular, CrushStation combines saturation with a three-band EQ, compression, and noise gate.

On top of this, you get octave mixing for more dense and intense textures, something that works beautifully on guitar but can also deliver unique results on other signals like vocals and percussion.

We’re particularly fond of the “Sag” control, which emulates the sound of a dying amp by dynamically breaking up your signal. Pretty wicked.

9. Sinevibes Corrosion

Sinevibes is one of our favorite developers, having given the world a plethora of effects for Korg’s logue SDK system and some of the most interesting plugins on the market.

Their flagship distortion tool Corrosion offers a wide palette of distortion algorithms, from classic clippers and folders to curves they came up with themselves.

Its interface, as can be expected from Sinevibes, is beautifully simple and intuitive, yet its waveshaping possibilities are inspiringly varied. This saturation specialist could be your gateway drug into the Sinevibes universe.

10. D16 Group Decimort

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As the name implies, Decimort is most famous as a decimation and bit crushing plugin, which is our go-to for emulating the sounds of old school ‘90s samplers, romplers, and digital synths.

However, we feel it’s also underrated for its ability to saturate the incoming signal.

Turn up the “Preamp” control in the upper left corner and you’ll hear your audio begin to distort. If you’re like us, you might notice that this saturation sounds surprisingly good for how simple it is as a feature.

This has been something like a secret weapon for us, particularly when it comes to drums. We definitely recommend it, especially if you’re already got Decimort in your arsenal for decimation duties.

11. Voxengo Tube Amp

Tube Amp has been around for ages, and there’s a good reason it’s still in so many plugin folders today.

It’s lightweight, free, and incredibly effective at giving any sound a touch of analog life. You can dial in subtle harmonics for warmth or push it into crunchier territory if that’s your thing.

While its interface is simple and its features are minimal, it excels at doing one thing very well: delivering smooth, musical tube-style saturation without taxing your CPU.

If you want a straightforward, great-sounding drive that won’t overwhelm your mix, or your wallet, Tube Amp is a classic choice.

12. Goodhertz Tupe

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Tupe is one of the most sonically appealing saturation plugins we’ve tried, which should come as no surprise if you’re familiar with Goodhertz’s lineup.

It fuses two distinct algorithms, tube and tape, and lets you blend them to taste for incredibly rich harmonic textures. Whether you want a subtle hi-fi polish or deep, analog-style glue, Tupe adapts beautifully.

If you’re after saturation that enhances rather than overwhelms, this one is easily among the most musical options out there.

13. U-he Satin

Satin is U-he’s take on tape emulation, and as you might expect from them, it’s meticulous and deeply customizable.

It models the entire tape machine signal path, from bias to head gap, giving you a level of control that few tape plugins match. Beyond that, it doubles as a tape delay and flanger, both of which sound stellar.

Satin excels on full mixes and busses, offering warmth, glue, and cohesion while preserving clarity. It can be transparent or lushly vintage depending on how you set it. Truly excellent.

14. Baby Audio TAIP

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TAIP uses machine learning to capture the nonlinearities and subtle imperfections that make tape sound alive.

Crucially, it has a sleek interface that encourages experimentation without overcomplicating things. You can push it hard for noticeable compression and drive, or keep it gentle for subtle analog tone.

If you want something sophisticated and modern yet faithful to what makes tape sound so good, this is an essential. We love it so much that we even added it to LANDR Studio.

15. Airwindows Preamp Emulations

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Airwindows is known for its enormous library of free effects plugins, ranging from console and preamp simulations to compressors, reverbs, and more.

However, we’ve found that many producers overlook Chris Johnson’s incredible saturation and distortion plugins, which are easily among the best free options available anywhere.

Some of our personal favorites include Dirt, Edge, and Mackity, the last of which is a faithful emulation of the iconic Mackie mixer overdrive that defined countless underground records.

Together, these make up a toolkit that’s as creative as it is sonically powerful. And best of all, they’re completely free.

Enjoy!

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