Permanent, limited-time, or free with strings

"Free" covers several different arrangements in the plugin world. Most are generous. Some come with conditions worth knowing before you click download.

Permanently free

These plugins are free with no time limit. Developers release them as introductions to their paid catalogue, as community projects, or just because they wanted to.

Even here, check what's involved:

• Account required? Many free downloads need a registered account or an email address.
• Installer or manager app? Some developers distribute everything, including freebies, through their own installer.
• Formats and platforms. A free plugin that doesn't run on your system is no use to you.

On VST Plugin Labs these are labelled Free · Permanent.

Free for a limited time

These are normally paid plugins given away during a promotional window. They often come with a coupon code, a newsletter sign-up, or a link that only works for a few days.

The key question is what happens after the promotion ends:

• In most cases you keep the licence you claimed. Sometimes you don't.
• Updates may or may not be included.
• The licence may be tied to the account you used to claim it.

We label these Free · Limited time and list the stated requirements on each card. When an end date has been announced, we show it.

Free with strings

A few "free" offers are really the start of a sale:

• Free trial. Fully working for a fixed period, then it stops. Useful, but not free.
• Free "lite" version. A reduced edition designed to sell the full one. Often genuinely useful by itself.
• Free with purchase. Only free if you buy something else.

We list trials and lite editions as what they are, not as freebies.

Our rule

If something is listed as free, it should be possible to get it and keep using it without paying. When conditions apply, we say so on the card, not only on the developer's site.