Many musicians have a limited budget to buy new instruments or effects. Above all, many of them use their budget to buy hardware and less about software. One of the effects I personally love on hardware as well as software are beside reverb / delay/distortion but also filters. Good sounding plugins can be expensive but there are several that cost you nothing.

I consider only free filter plugins that are:

  • for PC & Mac at the same time
  • free for everyone
  • no time restriction
  • 64-bit compatible

HY-Plugins HY-Filter 3 Free

Low Pass Filter Vst

When searching for a new filter VST plugin, producers usually ask themselves the same question: “are there any free alternatives?” The answer is: yes and no. There are many free filter plugins out there, a few of which have a decent selection of additional features and are, for the most part, enough to get the job done. Rex Cut & Rez Mini (Windows, VST) is a multi-mode free filter VST plugin designed by Max Project. It combines 7 different filter types (low pass, high pass, band pass, notch, peak, 303 low pass and 303 high pass), next to cutoff, resonance and volume controls. It is “wearing” a skin insipred by vintage analogue designs.

The free version of the HY-Plugins HY-Filter 3 offers two filter modes (state-variable, reso) but without modulation or FX units.

It’s available for free for Windows & Mac (32-/64-bit VST/AU)

Available here: HY-Plugins

Ohm Force Frohmage

Frohmage is a multi-band resonant filter. It can offer some unique sounds, from slow and deep filter sweeps to the most savage tones with high resonance setting and heavy distortion.

Features

  • Highly resonant low-pass filter.
  • Cutoff frequency unit selection : Hz or musical note.
  • Up to 15 additional bands, harmonically distributed.
  • Delay on each band for unique phaser effects.
  • Distortion stage, with two routing schemes.
  • Very fine MIDI control (PRN and NPRN sent or recorded by Frohmage are 14-bit accurate).
  • Low CPU load.

Available here: Ohm Force

BPD Audio Assault FilterCrusher

High

High Pass Filter Vst

FilterCrusher is a dual tube filter effect for mixing and sound design purposes. The plugin features a pair of resonant filters and a modeled tube preamp circuit for subtle tube saturation. Additional “crush” mode boosts the input gain and results in audible tube-style distortion.

Features

  • Adjustable 12 dB high and low pass resonant filters.
  • Modeled tube circuit.
  • Subtle and “crush” modes.
  • Zero latency.
  • Optimized for low CPU usage.

Available here: FilterCrusher

Free Cutoff Filter Vst Tool

Melda Production MBandPass

MBandPass is a filter plugin containing a high-pass and low-pass filters with slopes up to 120dB/oct. Using its 2 extremely versatile modulators it becomes a powerful filter, which can follow a simple LFO, react to input levels, MIDI, input pitch and much more.

Available here: MBandPass