Cubase is made by Steinberg, the company that invented VST, so the format it wants is VST3. It does not load Audio Units at all, and VST2 is on its way out. Here is what installs where, and why a plugin you just bought is not showing up.
Paths shown are macOS unless noted; Windows paths are called out where they differ. The VST2 notes apply to Cubase 14 and 15.
VST3, yes. AU, no. Cubase loads VST3 plugins on both macOS and Windows, and it can still load older VST2 plugins with a setting turned on. It does not load Audio Units, and there is no setting that changes that.
The reason is simple. VST is Steinberg's own format, and Cubase is Steinberg's own program, so VST is what it speaks. Audio Units is Apple's format, used by Logic, GarageBand and Final Cut. A plugin sold only as an AU cannot be used in Cubase, even on a Mac. If a developer ships a VST3 as well, and most do, you already have what you need.
There is no AU in Cubase. An AU (a .component file) will never
appear, on Mac or Windows. And VST2 is being phased out. Cubase 14 and 15 turn
VST2 plugins off by default, and Steinberg has said the format will be removed entirely in a
future version. The safe format for Cubase, today and going forward, is VST3.
VST3 has a fixed folder that every VST3 plugin must use, so Cubase always knows where to look
and you do not have to point it anywhere. An installer normally drops the file in the right place
for you. If you are copying a .vst3 by hand, these are the folders.
| Platform | File | Folder Cubase reads |
|---|---|---|
| macOS (all users) | .vst3 |
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 |
| macOS (just you) | .vst3 |
~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 |
| Windows | .vst3 |
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 |
On a Mac, Cubase reads both the top-level /Library folder and the one inside your
home folder at ~/Library. The home-folder one is hidden by default; in Finder press
Shift+Cmd+G and paste the path to see it. The system-wide folder needs an admin password to
install into; the home-folder one does not.
VST2 has no single fixed folder the way VST3 does, which is part of why Steinberg is retiring
it. On a Mac the usual spots are /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST or the same path under
~/Library. On Windows there is no standard location at all; you tell Cubase where
to look by adding the folder yourself in the VST Plug-in Manager. Wherever possible, install the
VST3 instead and skip all of this.
Cubase scans plugins when it starts and checks each one with a built-in validator called the Plug-in Sentinel. Anything that fails is set aside on a Blocklist rather than listed. When a plugin is missing, work through these in order.
Cubase scans for plugins at launch. Installing one while Cubase is running does nothing until you fully quit and relaunch. This alone fixes most cases.
Look for the .vst3 file. If all you were given is a .component, that
is an Audio Unit, and no amount of rescanning will make it appear in Cubase. You need the VST3
build of that plugin.
Go to Studio > VST Plug-in Manager and open the Blocklist. If your plugin is there, it failed validation on scan. Select it and click Reactivate. Once it passes, it drops off the Blocklist and appears in the plugin menus. A plugin lands here most often because it is the wrong architecture or was only part installed.
In the VST Plug-in Manager, open the settings (the gear icon) and choose Rescan All. VST3 is found automatically. For a VST2 in a custom folder, click the + to add that folder to the plugin path first, then rescan.
VST2 plugins are turned off by default in these versions. You can switch them back on in the VST Plug-in Manager. One catch on a Mac: you cannot enable VST2 at all in the native Apple Silicon build. You would have to start Cubase in Rosetta, and the cleaner fix is to install the VST3 version of the plugin instead.
On Apple Silicon, an Intel-only plugin may not load into the native build. Select the plugin in Finder and press Cmd+I; under General it should read Universal or Apple Silicon. And since macOS Catalina, an unsigned or unnotarized plugin can be blocked by Gatekeeper before Cubase ever sees it. Anything from a real developer will be signed and notarized and will install with no warning.
A VST3 instrument goes on an instrument track. Use Project > Add Track > Instrument, or open the VST Instruments rack, and pick it from the list. Plugins are grouped by manufacturer, not by product name, which trips people up: you bought a plugin called Halo and you are scrolling for H, but it is filed under the company that made it.
A VST3 effect goes in an insert slot instead. Open the MixConsole or the track inspector, click an empty insert on the channel, and choose the plugin. Because Cubase is a full DAW with buses and sends, one instance of an effect on a group channel can treat everything feeding it, which is the clean way to run a single reverb or spatial effect across a whole arrangement.
Cubase ships with a deep set of its own instruments and effects, so before buying anything most people need one or two specific things it does not have rather than a whole bundle. The gap that comes up most is a fast way to get a finished, in-key musical part down, a chord bed, a bass, a lo-fi loop, without building it note by note.
The Collection is ARGISH, SILT and REHEAT together, with three separate licence keys so you can run them on more than one machine. Every instrument ships as a VST3 on Windows and as AU, VST3, AAX and standalone on macOS, all signed and notarized, so the VST3 loads straight into Cubase with none of the trouble on this page.
Hear one free in your browser first, no install and no account. If the Collection is more than you need, each instrument is also sold on its own.
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