Best Free Pitch Shifter VST Plugins

18 Best Free Pitch Shifter VST Plugins 2024

Last Updated on January 1, 2024

From making a voice sound higher or lower to changing its “gender,” pitch shifters are all the rage nowadays, especially in pop music.

Chances are your DAW has a stock, built-in pitch shifter already. Of course, it’s probably a little limited in its functionality. If you’re going to be pitch shifting anyway, you’re probably going to enjoy additional functionality.

Well, you’re in luck, because in this guide we cover the best free pitch shifter VST plugins.

Graillon 2 Live Voice Changer by Auburn Sound

Graillon 2 Live Voice Changer by Auburn Sounds

Auburn Sounds always creates exceptional VST products, and Graillon 2 Live Voice Changer is no exception.

This should be considered more of a “freemium” option than an outright free VST plugin, but you do get access to pitch shifting and pitch correction even if you don’t upgrade to the paid version. What you don’t get is the pitch-tracking modulation and bitcrushing sections (these can only be accessed by upgrading).

So, besides being a pitch shifter, Graillon is an auto-tune. That certainly extends its usefulness! The idea here is obviously to offer an all-in-one vocal processing tool. And while it can’t compete with premium options that come with EQ, compression, de-esser, etc., it certainly deserves points for offering up added flexibility.

In addition to voices, Graillon can be applied to instruments, beats, and synths. It just depends on what you’re trying to do. But as with most plugins in the category, it does work best on individual instruments as opposed to full mixes.

Either way, Graillon will let you do crazy things to your voice. A T Pain style auto-tune effect is also possible. Hear it in action in the video below.

Download: Auburn Sounds

MIDI Choir by MV’s Plugins

MIDI Choir by MV’s Plugins

MIDI Choir can take single-pitched audio and transpose it in real time. All you need to do is supply the MIDI notes. This plugin was originally developed for live harmony use (low latency) but it’s fully equipped to handle studio work also.

MIDI Choir comes with an ASDF pitch tracker (with voiced / unvoiced recognition), pitch tracking indicator, separate processing of voiced (re-pitched based on keys used) and unvoiced input, octave, semitone, and fine-tuning controls, noise gate, soft knee limiter, stereo reverb (with room size, damping, stereo width, dry / wet mix), and master volume.

As you’ll see in the video below, you can achieve some strange and wonderful sounds using MIDI Choir.

MIDI Choir is available as a VST and an executable.

Download: MV’s Plugins

Spectral Lemuring by Fugue State Audio

Spectral Lemuring by Fugue State Audio

Spectral Lemuring is a lo-fi pitch shifter. It can process high-magnitude and low-magnitude parts of the FFT signal separately. It can also freeze the signal – some users thought this was the coolest aspect of this VST3.

As you can see, there are controls for input, output, high, low, resynthesis, and global, giving you plenty of parameters for customization.

Your inclination, of course, will be to test out this effect on vocal tracks. But if you scan the video demos and reviews, you will find plenty of people applying Spectral Lemuring to instruments also. As the video below demonstrates, some producers even view Spectral Lemuring as a psytrance tool.

Spectral Lemuring is available as a 64-bit Windows VST plugin only.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

Pitchproof by Aegean Music

Pitchproof by Aegean Music

Aegean Music’s Pitchproof is a pitch shifter / harmonizer that takes advantage of old processing models while delivering modern results.

Taking after guitar harmonizer style pedals, Pitchproof has been designed to retain the quality of the signal.

Take advantage of the Blend control to mix the dry / wet signals. You can go fully wet; you can go somewhere in between. It’s all up to you!

Use the Pitch menu to choose your pitches (+7 or -7) or harmonies (intelligent pitch shift effects). The harmonizer tracks with major or minor scales.

There’s also a Detune control to make the effect sound more natural. The developer suggests subtle usage is enough to get quality results.

Aegean Music also threw a guitar tuner in for added usefulness!

While Pitchproof may have been designed with guitar in mind, you can use it on your voice too. It gives you a funky, robotic effect that could be great for electronic projects.

Pitchproof is available for Windows and Mac.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

Stolon by novaflash

Stolon by novaflash

Stolon is a three-module parallel pitch shifter that can be used as an effect (on voice or instruments) or as a polyphonic instrument using a MIDI keyboard. It can offer both harmony and choir style effects.

Patches include Robotizer, Vocodizer, Chorus, Vibrato, Harmonizer, and Pitch-Shifter.

Each module comes with independent controls for shifter, modulator, and output. There are also global controls for glide and shift, envelope, and main output.

The demo video isn’t very helpful – it mostly sounds like a whole bunch of noise. It gives you a bit of an idea of what Stolon can do (unfortunately, that is the case with multiple demos), but that’s it. It’s worth downloading and trying out yourself if you’re curious.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

sideslip by Tweakbench

sideslip by Tweakbench

This granular pitch shifter effect comes with an internal variable length step sequencer. With sideslip, you can modify pitch and grain size for each step. It has start, end, and sequencer modes, as well as a granular envelope.

sideslip can be used for everything from subtle pitch correction all the way over to granular deconstruction. The patch randomizer is a fun, experimental addition that might offer some inspiration.

As you might expect, sideslip is weird. You can check the video below if you don’t believe me. But I could certainly see it coming in handy for robotic style sound effects and glitchy electronic music.

sideslip is a Windows only VST plugin.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

Erzatz by novaflash

Erzatz by novaflash

Another entry via developer novaflash, Erzatz is a vocoder / pitch shifter hybrid VST. A simple effect, Erzatz will split the audio signal in up to 32 band and recreate it as a sinus stack.

The basic interface features controls for morph, band slice, regenerator, and output sections.

Erzatz is a Windows only VST.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

HarmonicBoost by ChromaDSP

HarmonicBoost by ChromaDSP

This polyphonic pitch shifter offers polyphonic pitch tracking, real-time synthesis of octave and interval shifts, left and right channel interval controls, smoothing control, tracking latency controls, and boost visualization.

HarmonicBoost is overall a very simple plugin for pitch shifting.

You can get HarmonicBoost for Windows and Mac.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

Vocal Pitch Shifter by Stone Voices

Vocal Pitch Shifter by Stone Voices

As the name would suggest, Stone Voices’ Vocal Pitch Shifter is a tool that’s been designed to change the pitch of vocal tracks. It has a range of one octave, or 12 semitones.

With a low latency design, the developer says it’s well suited to live applications (that will certainly be a bonus to some). So, try it out at your next gig if you have the opportunity!

There are only three parameters – coarse, fine, and mix – making this a very straightforward plugin to operate.

As the video below shows, in addition to a chorus style doubling effect, Vocal Pitch Shifter is also a very competent formant shifting plugin. Who knew? This thing is surprisingly good.

Vocal Pitch Shifter is Windows and Mac compatible.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

dSHIFT by whiteLABEL

dSHIFT by whiteLABEL

dSHIFT is kind of unique in that it’s a feedback pitch shifter, and feedback pitch shifters are known for their distinctive, dark sound.

dSHIFT’s interface is simple – there are knobs for delay time, feedback, pitch shift, and high shelf. There are also range, mode, and I/O controls.

While the video below does show dSHIFT in action, the effect is not meant to be used on full mixes. Fortunately, the demo does give you a bit of an idea how the plugin sounds.

dSHIFT is a Windows only plugin.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

Son of a pitch by Saltline

Son of a pitch by Saltline

Saltline’s Son of a pitch is an audio pitch bend effect. For a legacy plugin, it has a surprisingly nice interface!

Control the incoming signal with the pitch knob or sync it to host LFO. You’ve got a range of +3 and -3 octaves of the original pitch.

The LFO controlled filter section features three filters (two SV filters and one Butterworth filter). You can bypass this section if you want – simply send the dry signal to the pitch bender.

Son of a pitch is compatible with Windows machines.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

FreSh by Max Project

FreSh by Max Project

Max Project’s FreSh falls under the “something a little different” category. This is a frequency shifter plugin (with LFO) that allows you to transpose the frequency while modulating the pitch, at the same time.

As you’ll be able to see from the graphical user interface, there are dedicated sections for frequency shift, pitch, delay, and chorus. The built-in effects are kind of a nice touch.

While the video below doesn’t feature the best demos in the world, it does give you a bit of an idea of what FreSh can do to different sound material.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

SYKK by Shuttleplug

SYKK by Shuttleplug

Shuttleplug’s SYKK is a pitch modulator that puts chorus and flutter effects right at your fingertips. Extreme settings are also possible, though, so if you want to create gruesome pitch throbs, you can do that too.

SYKK is simply set up with speed, depth, range, mix, and S&H / Sine (choose between sample & hold or a sine waveform for the LFO) controls.

Again, we can’t really tell how the effect sounds or what it’s capable of from the video (we imagine it works best on a single instrument, not a beat or a full mix). But it gives you some idea, however small.

SYKK is for Windows only.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

unstable by de la Mancha

unstable by de la Mancha

de la Mancha’s unstable is a pitch modulator with three pitch modulation modes. This, just as its name would suggest, it offers a bit of the beloved unstableness of tape machines or analog synthesizers. Of course, you aren’t required to use it subtly, as it has a built-in “insane” mode for extreme settings.

The three modes of pitch modulation include buzz, wobble, and drift. unstable also comes with adjustable frequency and level for each modulation mode, master level mode, and wet / dry mix control.

For many producers, unstable is an old favorite. Whether it still holds up today is for you to decide, but it’s worth a look at least.

unstable is a Windows only VST plugin.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

Discord3 by Audio Damage

Discord3 by Audio Damage

Audio Damage’s Discord3 was modelled after the first mass-produced pitch shifter you can find in studios across the world. This effect will deliver everything from subtle doubling to extreme stereo effects.

With a familiar workflow, Discord3 should be well under your control in no time at all. Well… assuming you have experience with said pitch shifter.

What we can tell from the user interface is that Discord3 has three modes – vintage, clean, and granular. It has shift left / right, LFO left / right, delay left / right, and LFO left / right controls. There are also global input, mix, and output sliders. Tweaking these parameters will obviously give you different pitch shifting results.

The video below is largely unhelpful in demonstrating what Discord3 can ultimately do, but at least you get to see some of the presets in action.

Discord3 is available for Windows and Mac.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

MAutoPitch by MeldaProduction

MAutoPitch by MeldaProduction

MeldaProduction’s MAutoPitch might be more of an auto-tune plugin than a pitch shifting effect. That said, it includes formant shift capabilities, so depending on what you need, it might just be the perfect solution. Plus, it’s free, so it can’t hurt to try!

MAutoPitch comes with the Automatic Tuning section, with controls for depth, speed, detune, and base. This is an “automatic” tuning and pitch correction plugin, though, so these parameters are mostly used for fine tuning.

Most of the action happens in the Scale section, where you can choose from chromatic, major, minor, and pentatonic scales / key signatures, in any key.

Then, on the right side there’s an Effects section with dry / wet mix, width, keep formants, and formant shift. Yes, as you may have gathered from the “width” dial, stereo expansion is built in! That makes this a great vocal processor.

MAutoPitch is free with the entire MFreeFXBundle, with 37 effects ranging from saturation and distortion to mixing and mastering. This is basically a freemium bundle, though, and upgrading will unlock additional features.

Download: MeldaProduction

GSnap by GVST

GSnap by GVST

GVST’s GSnap is more of a pitch correction / auto-tune plugin than a pitch shifter, but you can do some odd things with it, so it’s worth bringing up here. From subtle correction to robotic effects, you can squeeze a lot out of a relatively simple VST plugin.

GSnap has parameters (12 total) for the detection, correction, and MIDI sections. The “piano” switches on the left-hand side of the interface are relatively self-explanatory. You can turn these on or off depending on the notes in the key or scale. If there are certain notes you don’t want the audio material to hit, you would simply turn it off.

There are fixed and MIDI modes too, though, so you can also select a key signature and let GSnap do most of the heavy lifting. Robotic wobble is also possible.

Having used this plugin myself I can say that it works quite well and isn’t too hard to use.

GSnap is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Download: PLUGINS 4 FREE

Valhalla Freq Echo by Valhalla DSP

Valhalla Freq Echo by Valhalla DSP

Valhalla DSP is well-known for their superb free and premium VST creations. When it comes to reverb and delay, they really know what they’re doing!

Now, Valhalla Freq Echo is obviously not a pitch shifting plugin specifically. But as you can probably tell from the inclusion of the term “Freq,” it can do some funky things to your echoed material.

This is a Bode-style hybrid frequency shifter and analog echo emulation that allows for a wide range of fun effects – chorusing, double tracking, and even “barber pole” phasing and flanging. And that isn’t just hype! This thing is versatile.

The UI is quite simple, as is the case with Valhalla DSP VSTs. You’ve got controls for mix, delay, shift, feedback, low cut, high cut, delay sync, and output mode.

Valhalla Freq Echo is great for adding some rhythmic flavor to your instruments, pitch shifting your tracks (try doubling the same track while pitch shifting just one of them, as seen in the video below – it adds some cool harmonic overtones), and more.

Valhalla Freq Echo is awesome for guitars and synths, but you might want to try it on other tracks as well. This VST plugin should probably be downloaded and installed immediately.

Download: Valhalla DSP

Can I Use My DAW’s Built-In Pitch Shifter?

Of course, you can! If your DAW has built-in pitch shifting technology, you might be able to save on a bit of CPU footprint by bypassing the VST route.

You may want to check whether your DAW also has time-stretching (manual or automatic) built into it though, because otherwise your audio material may slow down or speed up, depending on the pitch shifting you’ve applied. That’s fine if you don’t care, but otherwise you need time-stretching.

Generally, the plugins above can do more than stock plugins. Valhalla Freq Echo lets you add echo effects to your tracks while pitch shifting them. Graillon and GSnap can be used for pitch correction and pitch shifting. MAutoPitch can handle formant shifting while auto tuning your vocal tracks.

Even the most basic pitch shifting VST plugins are bound to offer more flexibility than your DAW’s stock toolset. We assume that’s why you’re here!

When Would I Use A Pitch Shifter? Creative Uses Explained

We assume you came here knowing what pitch shifters are, so we’re not about to offer any lengthy explanations on what pitch shifters do or how they can make your vocals sound like the booming voice of god or the most obnoxious chipmunk. Gender and formant shifting is a well-known byproduct of pitch shifting.

But what else can you do with pitch shifters? There are several creative ways of using them that, unless you have extensive experience, may not have thought of. Consider the following:

  • Add high-end and body to your vocal tracks. This is generally something you would do with a lead vocal, but you can certainly try it on backing vocals as well. Duplicate your lead vocal track twice. Pitch shift one of the new vocal tracks up an octave, and the other down an octave. Send the new tracks through the same effects chain. Gradually bring up the new tracks in the mix. You should notice how they add both high-end and body to the vocal track. Don’t overdo it though – you don’t want the pitch-shifted tracks to be audible.
  • Create a chorusing effect with micro pitch shifting. You wouldn’t even need to use a pitch shifting plugin for this trick (assuming your DAW has built-in pitch shifting capabilities). All you need to do is duplicate your vocal track twice and pan one hard left and the other hard right. Pitch one up by 10 cents and the other down by 10 cents. Add a 10ms delay to each track as well. This will create a nice, wide chorus effect for your vocal track. Again, subtly is key, so keep the duplicate tracks low in the mix.
  • Beef up individual tracks with micro pitch shifting. You can use the same micro pitch shifting technique just described on guitars, synths, and more.
  • Add some weight to the snare. Same concept as above. Duplicate the snare track and create a pitched-down double. Experiment with a third, fifth, or an octave – whatever works best in the mix.

Are you excited about the possibilities now? I know I am. See if you can come up with some of your own creative ideas with pitch shifters and test them out.

Where Should I Put Pitch Shifting In The Effects Chain?

Most of the time, pitch shifters would appear first in the signal chain. It makes sense – you want the pitch shifted signal to be processed through your other effects.

This isn’t a hard and fast rule, though, so you can always experiment yourself to see what works best.

Top Free Pitch Shifter VST Plugins, Final Thoughts

Pitch shifting is basically a utility effect. There are many creative ways to use it, but at the end of the day, it’s very simple. Most VST plugins will do a very competent job. If you’re looking for more, we’ve looked at several solutions here that also come with additional effects, or even work as auto-tune or vocal processing plugins.

Premium pitch shifters can obviously do more. Take Devious Machines’ Pitch Monster, as an example. Pitch Monster has a six-octave range, lets you harmonize up to eight-voice polyphony, offers granular, formant-shifting, and vocoder engines, comes with effects, high and low pass filters, and more.

But most, if not all producers have cut their teeth on free VSTs, and many still incorporate free plugins into their workflow today. So, there’s no shame in starting from scratch. You can do amazing things, even with free effects, if you dedicate time to learning the craft.