It’s not easy to keep track of the best new plugins (trust us, we’ve tried), especially when plugin developers have dropped enough software to keep you busy for about a decade. Fret not, though; MusicTech’s reviewers have tried and tested dozens this year and, thankfully, found some absolute gems.
Whether you’re hunting for a new, inspiring tool in your arsenal or just looking to upgrade your plugin essentials, our team of producers and reviewers have some stellar options. From a lesser-known guitar library to the mastering must-have, 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.
Korg’s multi/poly native is a sound design dream
We’ve had some big software releases this year, but the multi/poly native stood out to me immediately as an instrument that has its own identity. Rather than being limited like many 1-to-1 plugin recreations of hardware synths, Korg used an interface that lets you peel through the layers of synthesis features like an onion, as you delve deeper.
In my review, I mentioned how multi/poly can “do anything from recreating classic synths to building intricate digital morphing soundscapes.” The deeper features are also immensely powerful once you get your head around them.
The balance between Korg synth design legacy and modern innovation makes this plugin a joy to use for building complex, textured sound layers, or your bread-and-butter leads and bass sounds. There’s also a hardware version, which Korg released last year…Does this mean it’s time to get another hardware synth?
— Stefan Wyeth
Wavea’s Flite is exactly what I need
Image: FliteThe sign of a good plugin isn’t how many buttons it boasts or how intricate the sound engine might be. For me, it’s simply how fast I can get from an idea in my head to testing it out, a task that I have firmly entrusted to Wavea Flite. When MusicTech published the first version of this article in June, I called Flite my favourite plugin of the year, and my continued use of it has kept it at the top spot for me in 2025.
Intuitive, accessible, warm and inviting — Flite’s UI makes it oh-so-easy to know your way around. I can rapidly drop in samples, assign a couple of effects to macros, and start jamming in Play mode. No distractions here! I love that an instrument this useful is being made by an indie developer, offering creative capabilities that easily match releases from bigger companies.
As mentioned in my review of Wavea Flite, it’s also tremendous 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.”
— Garling Wu
Audio Imperia’s Kithara is my sleeper hit of 2025
Kithara variations in Komplete 15. Image: MusicTechAt first, I didn’t give Audio Imperia’s Kithara much love. Its idiosyncratic ‘Fragments’ engine, which lets you assign different samples for the attack, sustain, and release of each sound, was cool but didn’t hold my attention long. Over time, however, I’ve found myself repeatedly coming back to this cinematic guitar library, which Native Instruments released in its Komplete package. Each time I do coe back, I discover something new.
With its excellent preset banks and deeper lever controls for granulation, distortion, voicing, and randomisation, Kithara is emblematic of why Native Instruments is still an industry leader in curating top sample instruments. Slowly but surely, it’s become my go-to resource for hybrid plucked instruments, emotive melody lines, and trippy textures.
Kithara comes as part of the Komplete 15 bundle, but you can buy it separately, too. In my review of Komplete 15, I said: At £539, Komplete Standard is a must-have for anyone looking to get serious about music production. “While the Collector’s tier feels like a luxury purchase at £1,619, if you’re looking for comprehensive insurance against any future musical need, this is it.”
— Clovis McEvoy
iZotope Ozone 12 is now the mastering plugin GOAT
Ozone 12 UI. Image: PressiZotope’s Ozone has graduated from being one among many mastering plugins to a must-have suite of powerful tools.
It’s really a bunch of high-end analysis and processing modules that you can chain together but, more than that, it has a Master Assistant view with macros (just like some hardware mastering facilities use), Stem Focus for working inside a mixed track, and the ability to “unlimit” over-compressed masters by listening to the signal.
In his review, Adam Crute said, “there’s no question that Ozone 12’s powerful processors and assistive AI technology can deliver masterful masters, whether you’re new to mastering or an experienced engineer”.
No matter if you’re performing a light polish on a track or really squeezing every last drop of gain from it, you’ll experience easy-to-use and slick controls and advanced monitoring tools that make home mastering a reality for anyone with a decent ear. The Elements version is £55, but most will prefer Standard at £209, with heavyweight users perhaps opting for the £479 Advanced bundle.
— Hollin Jones
Sonible smart:reverb 2
Main GUI. Image: Presssmart:reverb 2 came as quite a surprise earlier this year. Sonible threw the rulebook out the window and completely redesigned the space processing plugin. You use an instance on each track or group, and it automatically tweaks its settings to give you the cleanest-sounding reverb tails. The smooth workflow and improved algorithms have made this my go-to when I want transparent reverb glue on any mix.
By simplifying and refining the design and controls, Sonible has made mixing with reverb more approachable. You can get results fast, but you can also go a little deeper if you want more control.
In my review, I said: “When it comes to creating depth and adding polish and glue, smart:reverb 2 just works. The thoughtful plugin design encourages you to mix intuitively and use your ears, which can only be a positive thing.”
— Alex Holmes
10k Audio’s Gyro flips the concept of a loop
10K Audio Gyro main view. Image: PressLoops are essential in contemporary music but, when working with melodic loops, it can be difficult to prevent the tail from wagging the dog – that is, by having a locked-in groove, syncopation and harmony, a musical idea has to be modified to fit a melodic loop rather than the loop being made to fit the idea. The reason I love 10k Gyro, then, is that it provides a powerful and elegant solution to this conundrum. This isn’t some sort of clever AI stem separation; everything is generated on-the-fly in response to your key presses and controller waggles, making this a supremely performable instrument too.
By separating all the elements that comprise a loop and making each deeply editable and modifiable, Gyro makes it quick and easy to craft and perform loops that match your ideas perfectly.
I recently reviewed Gyro and concluded that: “Gyro isn’t doing anything that can’t be done by hand in a DAW. But what makes it special is how well it streamlines the process of creating musical loops, and how much real-time performance control it allows over those loops.”
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