Best Free Drum VSTs: The Ultimate List

Free Drum VSTs, that’s it. That’s the post.

Gear Guides

Nick Cesarz
February 21, 2025

We made sure to find, review, and rate cheaper acoustic drum sets and shell packs that

Free Drum Kits for Producers

Have everything included

If you’re looking for a complete drum kit that includes hardware and cymbals, this is the category for you. These kits come with all the essentials—bass drum, snare, toms, cymbals, stands, pedals, and sometimes even a drum throne. They are perfect for beginners or drummers who want a ready-to-play setup without purchasing additional components separately.

Are shell packs only

Shell packs include just the drums—typically a bass drum, snare drum, and toms—without cymbals, stands, or pedals. These are ideal for drummers who already own hardware and cymbals or want to customize their setup with high-quality components.

Free Drum Kits for Producers

Looking for free drum kit VSTs and samples to use in your productions? Look no further—we’ve got the ultimate list with no added filler.

Free Acoustic Drum Kit VSTs

Free Producer Drum Kit VSTs

Free Drum Machine VSTs

Sound Effect/Cinematic Drum VSTs

My favorite free drum plugins

Free Expansion Packs Available
ML Drums
ML Drums
Modular virtual drum sampler. Advanced sampling techniques. Realistic round-robin playback. HUMAN mode for natural feel. Built-in mixer with volume faders, 3-band EQ, saturation, compression, bleed control, reverb. Compatible with Windows & Mac (Standalone, VST3, AU, Mac AAX).
Pros:
  • Durable construction
  • Versatile sound range
  • User-friendly setup
  • Portable design
Cons:
  • Heavyweight and bulky
  • Limited sound versatility
  • Costly repair parts
  • Inconsistent quality control
Specifications:
  • Modular virtual drum sampler
  • Free drum kit included
  • Optional expansion packs
  • Advanced sampling techniques
  • Realistic round-robin playback
  • HUMAN mode feature
  • Volume curves from drumming
  • Built-in mixer
  • Volume faders
  • 3-band EQ
  • Pro-grade saturation
  • Compression control
  • Bleed control
  • Inbuilt reverb
  • Compatible with Windows & Mac
  • Standalone, VST3, AU, Mac AAX
Free at ml-sound-lab.com
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

ML Drums: Overview

ML Drums is the newest addition to the list. Mikko Logren, owner of ML Sound Lab, spent nearly two years perfecting this sampler, making it the most ideal free drum kit in the roundup. The aim? To create the easiest virtual drum sampler.

The stock preset sounds great right away and you can easily tweak settings in the mixer tab if you don’t like as much room sound, reverb, compression, EQ, etc.

ML Sound Lab offers both a free and paid version of the software and will be releasing additional sounds via the shop tab in the plugin. The current paid version retails around $30 USD.

ML Drums

ML Drums

Modular virtual drum sampler. Advanced sampling techniques. Realistic round-robin playback. HUMAN mode for natural feel. Built-in mixer with volume faders, 3-band EQ, saturation, compression, bleed control, reverb. Compatible with Windows & Mac (Standalone, VST3, AU, Mac AAX).

Realistic & Powerful Drum Sounds
MT Power Drum Kit
MT Power Drum Kit
5.0
Free drum sampler plugin. High-quality acoustic drum sounds. Pre-processed with compressors and EQs. Built-in compression control. Extensive Groove Library for rhythm exploration. Realistic fills and hi-hat samples. Compatible with DAWs supporting VST/AU.
Pros:
  • Free to download
  • Versatile drum sounds
  • User-friendly interface
  • Low CPU usage
Cons:
  • Limited customization options
  • Basic sound quality
  • Lack of advanced features
Specifications:
  • Free drum sampler
  • High-quality acoustic sounds
  • Pre-processed samples
  • Built-in channel compressors
  • Comprehensive Groove Library
  • Custom drum track creation
  • Realistic drum fills
  • Premium microphone recordings
  • Dynamic cymbal sounds
  • Studio drummer performances
Free at powerdrumkit.com
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

MT Power Drum Kit: Overview

One of my favorite free drum kits is MT Power DrumKit 2 from Manda Audio—easily the best free sample library you can find on the internet.

The drum kit is pre-processed, meaning they are mix-ready. You don’t need to waste time using EQ and compression to get great-sounding drums right after installation.

For electronic drum set owners, the MT Power Drumkit 2 is perfect for using samples instead of your included module’s sounds.

Included as well is are grooves, composed of thousands of different rhythms (MIDI packs) to fit any genre. The patterns sound surprisingly great, despite this library being completely free.

MT Power DrumKit 2 is available for both Mac and PC.

If you enjoy the plugin, consider donating to Manda Audio via PayPal on the website’s right sidebar.

MT Power Drum Kit

MT Power Drum Kit

Free drum sampler plugin. High-quality acoustic drum sounds. Pre-processed with compressors and EQs. Built-in compression control. Extensive Groove Library for rhythm exploration. Realistic fills and hi-hat samples. Compatible with DAWs supporting VST/AU.

Dynamic Realism Enhancer
Sean Pandy Drums
Sean Pandy Drums
VST/AU drum rompler plugin. Features Kick, Snare, 4 Toms, Sub Blower. 6 velocity layers, 10 random-robin samples per drum. Stereo and multi-channel outputs. General MIDI mapping. Dynamic sample playback based on velocity. Consistent plugin ID.
Pros:
  • High-quality sound
  • Durable construction
  • Adjustable tension
  • Versatile design
Cons:
  • Limited sound variety
  • Lack of durability
  • Heavyweight for transport
  • Higher price than competitors
Specifications:
  • VST/AU drum rompler
  • Kick, Snare, 4 Toms
  • Sub Blower included
  • 6 velocity layers
  • Up to 10 random-robin samples
  • Stereo and multi-channel
  • General MIDI mapping
  • Consistent plugin ID
  • Dynamic sample playback
  • Lower velocity softness
  • Higher velocity sharpness
Free at free.chokehold.net
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Sean Pandy Drums: Overview

Chokehold.net hosts a free drum kit called Sean Pandy Drums. The library is a VST drum rompler with a kick, snare, four toms, and a Sub Blower gives your mixes extra punch.

Each drum contains six velocity layers and up to ten round-robin samples, eliminating the possibility of drums sounding unrealistic. Sean Pandy is a metal producer that posted some drum samples online many years. According to Chokehold, the samples are completely free to use.

Frustrated with no way to use the plugins easily with Kontakt or Drumagog, they went ahead and created a free plugin utilizing the samples.

Sean Pandy Drums

Sean Pandy Drums

VST/AU drum rompler plugin. Features Kick, Snare, 4 Toms, Sub Blower. 6 velocity layers, 10 random-robin samples per drum. Stereo and multi-channel outputs. General MIDI mapping. Dynamic sample playback based on velocity. Consistent plugin ID.

top pick

Realistic & Powerful Drum Sounds
MT Power Drum Kit
MT Power Drum Kit
5.0
Free drum sampler plugin. High-quality acoustic drum sounds. Pre-processed with compressors and EQs. Built-in compression control. Extensive Groove Library for rhythm exploration. Realistic fills and hi-hat samples. Compatible with DAWs supporting VST/AU.
Pros:
  • Free to download
  • Versatile drum sounds
  • User-friendly interface
  • Low CPU usage
Cons:
  • Limited customization options
  • Basic sound quality
  • Lack of advanced features
Specifications:
  • Free drum sampler
  • High-quality acoustic sounds
  • Pre-processed samples
  • Built-in channel compressors
  • Comprehensive Groove Library
  • Custom drum track creation
  • Realistic drum fills
  • Premium microphone recordings
  • Dynamic cymbal sounds
  • Studio drummer performances
Free at powerdrumkit.com
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

5 comments

  • Sol
    2 years ago Reply

    Thanks for providing these resources! I tried going to the DrumMic’a By Sennheiser link but there’s nothing there about a drum kit. Is there a different link available?

  • Peter
    4 years ago Reply

    Thank you for this post.

  • Arthur Chernyavsky
    4 years ago Reply

    I’ve been using it for several years and it comes for KONTAKT PLAYER, not KONTAKT FULL.

  • Rick
    4 years ago Reply

    Well, Drummica sounds quite good — unfortunately it took me about three hours to install it and get it running, and even MORE unfortunately, it requires you to pay for a full version of Kontakt, otherwise it times out after 15 minutes. I REALLY wish you had mentioned that.

  • DAVID
    4 years ago Reply

    massive

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