Top 13 Websites for Free Music Loops & Samples in 2025

You might think finding good sounds requires meticulously scouring through old records or dropping your paycheck on expensive sample packs. That’s not entirely wrong, of course — but there’s a world of free sample libraries out there too. Used in context, these free sample websites are perfect for textured soundscapes and head-bopping grooves.

• READ MORE: Best freeware for music-making: Top free apps, DAWs, plug-ins, instruments and more

A quick note before you dive in: ‘free’ isn’t one-size-fits-all. While some samples are royalty-free for commercial use, others require attribution or limit you to personal projects. Always check a sound’s usage licence before including it in a track you’re planning to release.

With that in mind, here are 15 of the best sites for bolstering your sample collection — no credit card required.

BandLab Sounds

[Editor’s note: BandLab is owned by Caldecott Music Group, which also owns MusicTech.com]

BandLab Sounds gives you a huge library of royalty-free loops and one-shots you can download and use in any DAW, and its collection includes a significant number of totally free packs.

Launched by social music-making platform BandLab, the service features over 160,000 sounds — conjured up by an array of top artists like Lex Luger, Machinedrum and Tasha Catour, record labels like Black Octopus, and even from us here at MusicTech.

Samples come as uncompressed WAVs you can audition in the browser, and then download as entire packs or individual samples. Licensing is straightforward — the samples are free for personal and commercial use as part of your music, but you can’t resell or distribute them as standalone files.

Learn more about BandLab Sounds

Pros:

• Thousands of free sounds available
• Download samples from pro artists and sound designers
• Royalty-free for personal and commercial use
• BandLab account gets you access to loads of other music-making tools

Cons:

• Sign-up required to download free sounds
• Many sounds require a paid plan

Samples From Mars

Image: Samples From Mars

Samples From Mars masterfully brings sounds from classic drum machines and synths into the software realm, running the original hardware through vintage consoles and tape machines for genuine analogue warmth. These sounds are characterful but flexible; the free 808 From Mars pack, for example, features clean, coloured, and saturated versions of each kick tone and length.

Samples From Mars goes above and beyond in the capture process. The Vinyl Drums From Mars pack includes royalty-free vinyl one-shots created by recording drums on an acoustic kit, pressing the results to vinyl, then sampling the record. How’s that for authenticity?

Venture beyond the free packs and you’ll discover swathes of obscure synths and drum machines from yesteryear, like Dr Bohm Digital Drums and OB From Mars.

Browse Samples From Mars’ free sample collection

Pros:

• One-shots and loops sampled through analogue signal chains
• Loads of vintage character and warmth
• Includes formats for EXS24, Ableton, Kontakt, as well as WAVs
• Sounds are 100% royalty-free

Cons:

• Requires email to download
• Free packs more limited than paid counterparts

Legowelt

Image: Legowelt.org

If you aren’t familiar with Legowelt, your favourite producer probably is. His career spans over twenty years, more than a handful of aliases and — fortunately for us — an extensive sample library available for free download from his website.

He’s taken the liberty of meticulously recording his collection of rare, vintage, and quirky synths and drum machines, offering hundreds of one-shot samples, pad sounds, and loops for each instrument.

If you ever wanted the sounds of a genuine Roland Juno 106 without going out and buying one, Legowelt has you covered. Other highlights include the Oberheim Matrix 1000, the original 1981 Korg Mono/Poly, and intriguing one-shots from samplers like the Amiga 1200, EMAX II, and Soundblaster.

Download Legowelt’s free sample packs

Pros:

• Free to download, no sign-up required
• Fantastic selection of oddities and rare gear
• Hundreds of royalty-free samples in each pack
• Massive range of sounds including drum hits, basses, leads, pads, arps and sequences

Cons:

• Some packs have large-ish file sizes
• Those seeking mainstream or modern sounds must look elsewhere

Goldbaby

Image: goldbaby.co.nz

With a self-proclaimed ‘passion for vintage drum machines, synthesisers, vinyl, tape, and music technology’, Goldbaby is a treasure trove of analogue-flavoured one-shots and drumkits. All sounds are recorded and processed in the studio’s hardware chain using tape, valves, modular, stompboxes — you name it.

The site has a range of eclectic freebies (most of which are drum machines) that act as a curated taster from the larger Goldbaby paid catalogue.

With previous brand partnerships including Ableton, FXpansion, iZotope, Native Instruments and PreSonus, you’re getting seriously high-quality samples for nothing here, with some even available as Maschine, Kontakt, and EXS kits.

There’s no sign-up to get the free samples from Goldbaby, although it’s always worth joining the newsletter so you know when a new sample pack has dropped.

Visit Goldbaby’s Free Stuff area

Pros:

• Real hardware character with sounds recorded through tape, valve preamps, and high-end outboard
• Ready-to-use kits and patches for popular sampler formats
• Wide variety of royalty-free drum machines and one-shots
• Free to download, no email required

Cons:

• Limited synth sounds, freebies mostly focused on drums
• Free material dwarfed by full paid-for libraries

Noiiz

Image: Noiiz.com

Another seller of polished samples and sounds is Noiiz — and with a free account, you’ll be able to download tasters from many of its commercial sample packs. With over 500 packs in total, each one containing around 10 sounds, you won’t need a calculator to work out just how many samples that is.

These loops and one-shots cover jazz, trap, d’n’b, neo-soul, and much more. And if you like what you hear, paid plans start at $7.99/month, giving access to packs from creators and artists such as Samplephonics and Machinedrum directly through the Noiiz plugin for loading sounds into your session.

Browse the Noiiz free sample packs

Pros:

• Excellent source of genre-specific sounds
• Thousands of sounds at your disposal
• Explore packs from well-known artists and creators
• Royalty-free for commercial use

Cons:

• Requires an account to download
• Each individual pack is quite small

Citizen DJ

Perhaps a surprising addition to this list is an expansive database of sounds built by the US Library of Congress. Developed by Innovator-in-Residence Brian Foo, the project — dubbed Citizen DJ — was inspired by hip-hop records such as Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy.

The database itself comprises soundtracks from movies, public service announcements, spoken word pieces, classic recordings, and heaps more from the Free Music Archive. But this is more than just a free sample collection — you can chop up sounds, sequence them, and pair them with classic drum machines right in your browser before exporting the result.

Want to stick with the DAW? You can also download individual samples or full packs, all of which are free for personal and commercial use.

Browse, play, and download sounds for free with Citizen DJ

Pros:

• Wide variety of interviews, PSAs, and music from the past 100 years
• Built-in sequencing and sampling tools
• Free for personal and commercial use with no sign-up
• Download sounds as 16-bit WAV or 192kbps MP3 to save on space

Cons:

• Producers in other genres might find the usefulness more limited
• Limited one-shots, mostly long-form content

BBC Sound Effects

Initially opened to the public in 2018, the BBC sound archive now comprises over 33,000 audio clips from the 1920s onwards. Split into categories that range from World War II to St Paul’s Cathedral, washing machines to volcanoes, there’s incredible coverage within the collection.

Some of our favourites include audio from the 1966 FA Cup Final at Wembley, the ambience of a busy street in Kathmandu, and even some bizarre sounds from inside the human body. There are an immense number of recordings of the natural world, too, thanks to the Natural History Unit’s work. You’ll also find sounds from the renowned Radiophonic Workshop.

Crucially, these samples can’t be used in commercial projects unless you buy a licence. However, the BBC Sound Effects archive is an ideal resource for honing your skills as a sound designer, building a portfolio, or for educational purposes.

Explore the BBC Sound Effects library

Pros:

• Includes practically any real-world sound effect you can think of
• Free for personal use
• Easily search the archive and mix clips straight in the browser
• Recordings date back over 100 years

Cons:

• Commercial use requires a paid licence
• Recording quality varies

NASA Audio Collection

Image: William J. Sawchuck/Getty Images

Samples From Mars is a brilliant resource for drum or synth sounds, but if you’re really looking for samples from Mars — or any other part of space, for that matter — the NASA Audio Collection is definitely your best bet.

This enormous 20 TB collection of recordings comes directly from the NASA archives, from shuttle lift-offs and mission control chatter, to astronaut interviews and telemetry sounds. There are nearly 200 recordings from the Apollo 11 mission alone, plus collections from the likes of Gemini, Voyager, and Skylab missions, to name a few.

All audio has been digitised from the original reel-to-reel tapes as 48kHz/24-bit WAV, and the files are public domain.

Browse the NASA Audio Collection at the Internet Archive

Pros:

• Fascinating collection of space-related audio
• High-quality audio digitised from original tapes
• Public domain status for many files
• No sign-up required

Cons:

• Usefulness and quality of sounds will vary wildly
• You’ll need a fair bit of hard drive space

The Sounds Resource

Video game sounds often provide a fruitful basis for unique sound design. The ever-mysterious Burial, for example, has recontextualised everything from Dark Souls to Metal Gear Solid, Fable, and Silent Hill.

Meanwhile, Street Fighter’s iconic vocal hits — “Hadouuuken”, anyone? — are hip-hop and grime staples, having featured on tracks by MF DOOM and Kanye West. And of course, Aphex Twin famously sampled Space Invaders on his track Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount.

Whether it’s the zap of a laser gun or the thud of a character’s boot on an 8-bit floor you’re after, The Sounds Resource features a phenomenal collection of video game sounds. It’s not slim pickings, either — the Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition folder alone contains over 96,000 samples.

A word of caution: as stated by The Sounds Resource, you’ll want to avoid using these sounds in a commercial setting: “These resources are all copyrighted works and as such, cannot be used in any commercial project without express written consent from their copyright holders. We do not own and cannot license any of them to you.”

Download free video game samples at The Sounds Resource

Pros:

• Massive archive of retro and modern video game sounds
• Includes music, FX, UI sounds, and vocal clips
• Easy navigation by game title or platform
• Free to use, no sign-up required

Cons:

• Ripped audio is not officially licensed for commercial use
• Finding useful sounds can take some digging

Freesound

Image: Freesound.org

For found sound, Freesound is a goldmine. It’s a collaborative database of audio samples recorded and uploaded by fellow users — and yes, it’s completely free. Just type your desired sound into the search bar and browse through thousands of clips using filters like tags, waveform previews, rating systems, and download counts. Not sure what you’re after? Hit the ‘random sample’ button for a quick hit of inspiration.

Freesound is particularly strong for Foley, soundscapes, one-shots, and other unique recordings you may not have the means to capture yourself. Not every file will be pristine — this is user-generated content after all — but there’s real creative potential here.

Just be mindful of licensing: some sounds are under Creative Commons licences that require attribution or restrict commercial use.

Explore Freesound’s community sample archive

Pros:

• Huge variety of user-generated samples
• Excellent resource for Foley, textures, and environmental sounds
• Advanced filters to narrow your search
• Entirely free to use

Cons:

• Sample quality varies significantly
• Usage rights differ per sound

Looperman

Like Freesound, Looperman is a community-driven platform packed with user-uploaded content for musicians, producers, DJs, and sound designers. You’ll find hundreds of thousands of free loops, acapellas, spoken word clips, and sound effects — all shared for others to use and remix.

Because the content is user-generated, audio quality can vary, but with a bit of digging, you’ll uncover many a hidden gem. And with straightforward search tools like category, genre, keyword, and key, Looperman is a reliable go-to when you’re looking for that special something to complete your arrangement.

Browse Looperman’s community-driven sample library

Pros:

• Massive library of loops, acapellas, and sounds
• Filter by genre, tempo, key, and more
• Active community with constant new uploads
• Free to use

Cons:

• Audio quality and usability vary
  Licensing and usage rights are set by the uploader

Free To Use Sounds

Free To Use Sounds has a heartwarming backstory. Founded by American Libby Green and German-born Marcel Gnauk, the site began after the pair met in Nice in 2015 and bonded over their love of field recording. By 2017, they were travelling the world together — recording it as they went — and have since captured audio from 26 countries, uploading high-quality sounds from each.

The site hosts an abundance of field recordings you’d struggle to find elsewhere. Looking for ‘Cambodian Women Sifting Gravel at a Construction Site’? What about ‘Fireplace Cave Hotel Cappadocia?’ It’s all there — alongside essential download ‘Kitten Purring Sleeping’.

Not every pack is free, but the selection that is still offers superb sonic texture and ambience. The free recordings are hosted for download via Bandcamp, giving you a choice of audio formats.

Browse the free collection at Free To Use Sounds

Pros:

• Unique field recordings from over 26 countries
• Download from Bandcamp in a variety of formats
• Recordings covering everything from countryside ambience to ultra-specific city sounds
• Free for personal and commercial use

Cons:

• Not all content is free
• Less suited to electronic producers needing loops or one-shots

KB6

Few archives are as comprehensive as the KB6 sample collection, comprising over 36,000 WAV files from more than 330 classic and obscure drum machines. If it ever made a kick, snare, or clap sound, chances are it’s in here.

You’ll find everything from Roland’s early rhythm boxes and Alesis HR-16s to esoteric gems like the Frickle MFB-712, Maestro Rhythm MRQ-1, and the Soviet-era Formanta Polivoks.

Truth be told, we haven’t heard of half these machines — but that’s all the more reason to give them a chance, especially if you’re looking to get away from the ubiquitous 808 or 909. Many of the samples (and the hardware they come from) are rare, hard to find, or simply no longer accessible elsewhere.

The site is a little old-school, and you’ll have to download each pack one by one unless you donate, but we reckon it’s worth the effort. And despite a few licensing-related removals, what remains is still one of the most complete free drum machine archives available online.

Browse the KB6 Sample Collection at KB6.de

Pros:

• Unmatched collection spanning 330+ drum machines
• Includes rare, vintage, and obscure hardware
• Many packs are light on filesize
• Free and no sign-up required

Cons:

• No way to preview sounds before you download
• Downloading all kits at once requires a donation

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