A VST plugin is a piece of software that adds an instrument or an effect to your DAW. VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology, a plugin format created by Steinberg. A plugin is either an instrument, which makes sound from MIDI, or an effect, which processes sound, and it loads inside a DAW that supports the format. VST is the cross platform standard, but it is not the only format, and this guide walks through what that means in practice.
Plain definitions, no jargon for its own sake. Where a claim is version specific or platform specific, it is called out, because the format you need depends on the software you run.
A VST plugin is a piece of software that adds an instrument or an effect to your DAW. VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology, a plugin format created by Steinberg and first released in 1996. The format is a shared standard, so a plugin built to it can load inside any DAW that supports VST, and you get sounds or processing that were not built into the DAW itself.
A VST plugin is not a program you open on its own. It loads inside a host, almost always a DAW, and the host feeds it notes or audio and plays back what comes out. That is the whole idea. The DAW gives you the studio, and VST plugins give you more instruments and effects to fill it, from other makers as well as the ones your DAW ships with.
A VST plugin is an add on for your DAW. It is either an instrument, which makes sound, or an effect, which changes sound, and it only runs inside a host that supports the VST format.
A VST instrument makes sound from MIDI, while a VST effect processes sound that is already there. Every VST is one or the other, and the format is the same either way. What differs is the job it does.
A VST instrument, sometimes written VSTi, takes MIDI, the note and timing data from a keyboard or your piano roll, and turns it into audio. Synths, samplers and virtual pianos are all VST instruments. You play or program notes, and the instrument produces the sound.
A VST effect takes audio that already exists, from a recording or from an instrument, and changes it. Reverb, EQ, compression and delay are all VST effects. An effect does not make sound on its own. It shapes the sound you feed into it, so it sits after the source in the signal chain.
If it needs notes to do anything, it is an instrument. If it needs an incoming sound to work on, it is an effect. Some plugins bundle both ideas, but that split is the one to keep in mind.
VST3 is the current version of the format, and VST2 is the older one. Steinberg stopped issuing new VST2 developer licenses in 2018, so new plugins are now made as VST3. Existing VST2 plugins still load in hosts that allow them, but new ones are being built as VST3.
For most people the practical answer is short. If you are installing a plugin today, you want the VST3. Almost every current DAW takes VST3, and it is the version developers ship. VST3, introduced in 2008, also brought some under the hood improvements over VST2, but the reason to reach for it now is simply that it is the supported, current format.
You may still run into VST2 plugins, especially older or free ones, and many hosts will still load them. That is fine. Just know that VST2 is the legacy version, and if a download offers you both, the VST3 is the one to keep.
No. VST is one of several plugin formats, and which one you need depends on your host and your computer. VST3 is the cross platform standard on Windows and macOS, but it is not the only option, and this is the part people miss most often.
On a Mac there is also Audio Units, or AU, Apple's own format, and it is what Logic Pro, GarageBand and Final Cut Pro load. Pro Tools uses its own format, AAX, on both Mac and Windows. On Windows there is no AU at all, so a music plugin there is a VST3, with AAX only if you are in Pro Tools. Here is the short version.
| Format | Where it runs |
|---|---|
| VST3 | Windows and macOS, taken by almost every DAW |
| AU (Audio Units) | macOS only, used by Logic, GarageBand and Final Cut |
| AAX | macOS and Windows, used by Pro Tools only |
So on Windows, a plugin is a VST3. On a Mac you often have a choice of AU or VST3 in the same download, and either one works. For the full picture of which format each host loads, see our guide to audio plugin formats.
Each format installs into one standard folder that your host scans at launch, and an installer usually puts the file there for you. If you ever need to place one by hand, we have step by step guides for installing plugins on Mac and installing plugins on Windows.
Our instruments ship in the formats every DAW needs, so once you understand what a plugin is you can drop one straight into your setup. The Collection is our three instruments together, ARGISH, SILT and REHEAT, with three separate licence keys. Every one of them ships as AU, VST3, AAX and a standalone app on macOS, signed and notarized, and a VST3 on Windows, so whatever host you run, from Logic to Pro Tools to a VST3 DAW on Windows, the right format is already in the box.
You do not have to install anything to hear them first. Each one runs free in your browser, with no account, so you can try before you decide.
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