The Best 7 Plugin Bundles to Supercharge Your Music Production 2024

Every producer should have a sonic signature if they want to stand out from the crowd. Ask the world's foremost engineers about the 'secret sauce' in their mix, and they'll likely keep their methods pretty close to the chest.

One thing is for certain: every single one of the world's top sound engineers has access to the best possible tools for the job.

The great news is, so can you. The best plugin bundles will give you access to world-class studio gear in the palm of your hand (or rather at the click of your mouse).

If you're reading this guide, the chances are pretty good you've already mastered your chosen DAW. At this stage, you're looking to take things to the next level.

To help you achieve a professional-sounding mix or production, we've collated the very best plugin bundles on the market today. From iconic outboard emulations to advanced mixing and mastering tools, and even the best virtual instruments to expand your sonic pallet. It's time to level up!

1. iZotope: Music Production Suite Pro

This comprehensive subscription of over 30 plugins uses AI-powered processing to give you a customised starting point for every step of the mix, from assigning reverb to adding the final mastering polish. Inter-plugin communication means that this complete set of tools listen and talk to each other, detecting masking between your tracks and vocals, helping to suggest level balance settings, and even letting you mix your tracks in a visual space.

Brand new features in Ozone Pro's Master Assistant and Nectar Pro's Vocal Assistant – as well as handy tools like Tonal Balance Control and VocalSynth – make it extremely easy to implement smart and fast mix and mastering choices, as well as making this one of the best plugin bundles currently available in 2021.

Works with: Mac/PC | 32/64 bit | VST2/3, AU, AAX, DPM, RTAS

( Discount Code: Headliner readers receive 10% off at iZotopes web store when entering the code pluggedin10 )

Check out the full review of IZotope Music Production Suite Pro, here.

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2. Waves: Essentials Bundle

This package of more than 30 SoundGrid-compatible plugins makes mixing live an absolute breeze. With superb EQ, compression, reverb, limiting, level maximisation, vocal tools and more, there is a lot on offer here. And while this bundle may fall slightly short in terms of plugin variety for pro-level composers, it certainly makes up for it in affordability.

Highlights like AudioTrack, C4 Multiband Compressor, H-Delay, and the entire Renaissance range make this currently one of the best plugin bundles for mixing live sound.

Works with: Mac, PC | 64 bit | VST3, AU, AAX, Multirack, Soundgrid, StudioRack, eMotion, DiGiCo, Avid Venue

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3. Soundtoys 5 Plugin Bundle

This bundle brings together Soundtoys’ entire range of audio effects into one powerful collection. Many of the effects on offer here provide special Tweak panels which expose deeper editing features and advanced options, like a choice of saturation styles, fine control of an effect’s groove, or a selection of different delay algorithms.

Notable effects include Decapitator, Devil-Loc, EchoBoy, PrimalTap, PanMan, and FilterFreak; all contained in this incredibly user-friendly set of sonic tools designed to satisfy a range of needs.

Works with: Mac, PC | 32-64 bit | VST, AU, AAX

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4. FabFilter: Total Bundle

This bundle offers everything an engineer could possibly wish for: EQ, Compressor, Limiter, De-Esser, Gate/Expander, Multi-Band Distortion, Stereo Delay, Filter and Synthesizer plugins bring a serious amount of power to your fingertips.

Pro-MB really stands out here as a multiband compressor with a difference, designed to let users manipulate the dynamics of specific frequency ranges on the fly. The Pro-Q 3 equalizer on the other hand offers top quality linear phase operation in addition to its zero latency and unique Natural Phase modes, Mid/Side processing, variable stereo placement of EQ bands, an intelligent solo feature, optional Auto Gain and a built-in, fully customisable spectrum analyser.

Works with: Mac, PC | 64 bit | VST3, AU, AAX

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5. Native Instruments: Komplete 13 Ultimate

The Komplete 13 Ultimate bundle includes a staggering 118 instruments and effects and more than 67,000 preset sounds. All bases are covered, from synths and sampled instruments to a complete orchestral toolkit for sound designers and composers.

Features include the incredibly popular Kontakt 6 sampling engine, Massive X synth plugin, Session Guitarist, Symphony Essentials, and more than 35 expansion packs for genre-specific musical creation.

Works with: Mac, PC | 64 bit | VST3, AU, AAX, Stand-alone

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6. Plugin Alliance: Mix & Master Bundle

The PA Mix & Master Bundle is the company’s 2nd biggest subscription bundle (yet is undoubtedly the best value for money), featuring 89 plugins from the likes of Solid State Logic (SSL), Focusrite, Brainworx, Shadow Hills, Mäag, SPL, Unfiltered Audio, and many more.

The bundle includes all TMT Consoles, EQs, Dynamics, Mastering, Mix Effects, Drum Replacement & Samples, covering everything you need to professionally mix audio in the box.

Works with: Mac, PC | AAX DSP, AAX Native, AU, AAX AudioSuite, VST2, VST3

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7. UA: Analog Classics Pro Bundle

Load up your Apollo Twin with this selection of classic outboard gear emulations, including the Teletronix LA-2A Classic Leveler, the iconic 1176 Classic Limiter, and Pultec Passive EQ. In fact, three iterations of the widely-acclaimed 1176 compressor are included here, each with their own distinct sonic flavour.

Having been used on a bunch of famous records of every genre and style, these compressors and EQs are beautifully simple in their operation, and represent some of the most iconic analog signal processors in recording history.

Works With: Mac, PC | 64 bit | VST, AU, RTAS, AAX (Universal Audio hardware, such as the Apollo Twin required).

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Bonus: Oeksound - soothe2 & spiff

Although not a bundle as such, we just had to include these innovative problem solvers from Oeksound.

Do your recordings sound harsh or unbalanced? Then you have to try soothe2, the latest version of their acclaimed debut plugin, soothe.

soothe2 is a superbly clever dynamic resonance suppressor. It quickly and elegantly removes harshness, manages vocal sibilance, and clears muddiness - all without the adverse effects of remedial EQ.

Following the huge success of soothe, Oeksound went on to impress once again with the introduction of spiff (a transient control plugin capable of bringing your recording to life). In a similar way to soothe, spiff analyses the incoming signal and only applies processing to parts of the signal that contain the transient information. The result? You can bolster the dynamics of any recording without wrecking the overall tone.

For a complete video demonstration of both Oeksound plugins, check out our recent video review. When purchased together, soothe2 and spiff make a terrific plugin bundle in their own right.

Summing Up

By investing in our hand-picked choices of the best plugin bundles in the world today, you'll be well on your way to producing a mix that pops. Modern DAW bundles are truly impressive and offer superb value for money. For the best experience, you will need a computer capable of smoothly running each of the plugin bundles we're listed, please check out our full guide to the best computers for music production to discover what makes a great machine.

These days, there is also a wide range of free plugins available that produce impressive results. Learn which of the best free plugins we recommend having in your music production arsenal, here. 

In the end, there's nothing quite like having the right tools for the job. Investing in pro production tools is an investment in yourself as creative; the sky is the limit.