The Best Plugins for FL Studio

Throughout history, the market for music production software has been dominated by only a few programs. Only a handful have managed to earn a place in this oligarchy.

One of the few notable cases is FL Studio, one of the best DAWs, which has grown exponentially in recent years. Both its design and ease of use make it one of the most popular music production programs among beginner artists today. However, many never exploit the wonderful functionalities this DAW offers, particularly its excellent built-in plugins, due to lack of knowledge.

We often assume that just because a plugin is native, it must be bad. While depending on our needs, we may require an external plugin, excellent results can be achieved with the plugins provided by the DAW itself.

List of the Best FL Studio Plugins We Recommend for Producing

In this article we showcase the best native effect and virtual instrument plugins you can find in FL Studio. We’ve added a personal touch by including plugins that, while not the most highlighted, are extremely useful. Let’s begin.

Flex

Flex is a comprehensive sound library included in the standard version of FL Studio. Within the library, you can choose which sounds to download, allowing you to customize it. From acoustic sounds like guitars, violins, or trumpets, to electronic sounds, all are of excellent quality.

Flex is a free virtual instrument particularly useful for genres like trap or EDM, where variety and sound quality can make a significant difference. Moreover, you can combine different sounds to create complex textures or interesting sound layers, enabling you to add a unique dimension to your productions.

Autogun

If you’re looking for electronic sounds and want something straightforward, Autogun is your best option. This plugin offers a wide array of synthesized sounds with incredible quality. The only parameters you can modify are the volume and amplitude, which can be seen as a limitation or an advantage, depending on your objective.

Fruity Eq

Without a doubt, Fruity Eq is the best native equalizer among all the DAWs I’ve used. In addition to guaranteeing clean sound, it’s a highly versatile and user-friendly plugin. The reality is that many complicate their lives searching for the best paid equalizer or among the free plugins available online, when they already have an excellent option right in front of them.

Additionally, this equalizer allows for precision. Its linear phase mode enables quick modifications, ensuring a sound with minimal distortion.

Fruity Peak Controller

Although not widely known, Fruity Peak Controller is an excellent plugin for creating sidechain-type automations. To simplify, this term refers to automating two instruments so that when one plays, the other lowers its volume. It can be programmed using MIDI parameters. A clear example would be a house bassline that decreases in volume when the kick plays and increases when it stops.

This plugin makes achieving this effect very straightforward and accessible for beginners.

Vocodex

A vocoder creates the robotic voice effect often associated with Daft Punk. FL Studio includes its own vocoder in the standard version, allowing you to create this effect with your vocals. Excellent results can be achieved with this plugin, provided you know how to use it.

You should know that you will need an additional synthesizer apart from Vocodex to create the effect. But don’t worry, because next, we introduce a native plugin that fits perfectly with it.

Slicex

Whether you’re interested in creating your own electronic sounds or searching for pre-designed sounds, Slicex is the plugin you’re looking for. It’s a 6-oscillator FM synthesizer suitable for both beginners and professional music producers.

Additionally, it offers an extensive list of presets, allowing you to spend plenty of time searching for that specific sound in your head. It also includes vocoder presets, as mentioned earlier.

You might be interested in: a list of the best hardware synthesizers for beginners.

Maximus

This is the perfect plugin for mastering your songs, whether you’re an expert or have never mastered anything before. The great thing about Maximus is that it includes all the basic functionalities needed for quality mastering in a single plugin. This way, especially if you have little experience, you’ll have greater control over what you’re doing and how it’s modifying your sound. Additionally, it offers the option to edit all the frequency bands of your song or separate them into bass, mid, and high frequencies.

This plugin isn’t just useful for mastering. It can also be applied to individual sounds. For instance, you could decide to slightly compress the low frequencies of your bass if they seem too overpowering. Don’t forget to properly monitor the work you’re doing with quality flat-response studio monitors in a well-conditioned home studio or use studio headphones if your room isn’t acoustically treated to avoid reverberation.

Conclusion on Native Plugins Included in FL Studio and Paid Alternatives

There’s a tendency to think that native plugins, simply because they are built-in, are inferior to external plugins. This notion has even created a sort of placebo effect, where we perceive an external plugin to sound better than an identical internal one.

Although it’s clear that a €100 plugin will very likely be better than a native one, these differences will be negligible for beginner and intermediate producers. That’s why I recommend starting with the plugins that FL Studio provides (or those from the production program you’re using). Only when necessary and when you truly notice a significant difference in sound, or if you need a very specific effect that isn’t available, should you consider purchasing a plugin. Invest wisely—producing at a professional level is more affordable than you might think!

You may be interested: check out our guide to the best compressor plugins.