“My design leads me to speak of forms changed into new bodies.”
Graillon 3 Free Edition by Auburn Sounds is the best free pitch shifter VST: it moves a voice 12 semitones up or down, keeps it human with formant control and adds auto-tune, on Windows, Mac and Linux. For big, clean shifts on any sound, Inner Pitch 2 Free goes two octaves each way, and for live use with almost no delay, pick PitchNasty or Stone Voices.
Every free pitch shifter list names the same plugins. What it skips is the part you actually need: which one to open for the job in front of you, and what to set it to.
So this guide does both. We re-checked all nine on their makers’ sites on October 31, 2026. Then we matched each one to a real job: vocal chops an octave up, a deep villain voice, harmonies from one take, or a sample in the wrong key. The FL Studio steps and settings come straight from Mix Elite’s videos, with screenshots.
Table of Contents
Pitch shifter, pitch correction or formant: which one do you need?

Use a pitch shifter to move a whole sound up or down. Use pitch correction (auto-tune) to snap sung notes to your song’s scale, and a formant shifter to change how big a voice sounds without changing its notes. People mix these words up a lot. The right plugin depends on the job.
- Pitch shifting moves a whole sound up or down without changing its speed. Use it for deep voices, high vocal chops, octave layers and harmonies.
- Pitch correction, often called auto-tune, pulls each sung note to the nearest note in your song’s scale. Fast settings give the hard, robotic sound; slow ones hide it.
- Formant shifting changes the size and character of a voice without changing its notes. It’s why a pitched voice can still sound human instead of like a cartoon.
- Frequency shifting moves every frequency by the same number of Hz, so the sound turns metallic. It’s fun for sound design and useless for tuning.
A semitone is one step on a piano keyboard, so 12 semitones make one octave. Graillon 3 does the first three jobs. MAutoPitch corrects and shifts formants, but it only moves the pitch itself by up to 100 cents, which is one semitone. Inner Pitch, Pitchproof and Kilohearts Pitch Shifter are pure shifters, and GSnap only corrects.
The 9 best free pitch shifter VST plugins, reviewed
Each pick has what it does, what it runs on, the job it’s best at and its catch. We re-checked every price and download on the maker’s own site on October 31, 2026, and all nine are still free.
1. Graillon 3 Free Edition (Auburn Sounds)

Graillon is a live voice changer and auto-tune in one plugin. It’s our top pick. The free edition gets the Pitch Shift knob (12 semitones up or down), formant control, pitch correction with all three pitch engines, and a compressor, gate, chorus, preamp and bitcrusher. It’s the auto-tune that Mix Elite’s free 4.5-hour FL Studio course installs and uses on a pop vocal.
Version 3.2 runs on Windows 7 and up, macOS 10.15 and up and Ubuntu Linux. It comes as CLAP, VST3, VST2, AU, AAX and LV2, though the Linux build dropped VST2. The download is a plain zip file, with no account needed.
Best job: vocals, from octave-up chops to a deep voice to auto-tune. The catch: the vocal doubler, pitch-tracking modulation and Tune Keyboard are paid only. The full edition was on sale for $29 on October 31, down from $38.67.
2. Inner Pitch 2 Free (Auburn Sounds)

Inner Pitch is the clean, big-range shifter from the same company. Pitch and Formant each go two full octaves up or down, and L/R Shift moves the left and right sides apart for a wider sound. Unlike most free shifters, it also handles whole mixes, so it can move a full loop, not just one voice.
Auburn’s user guide makes its I2 engine the default because it has far fewer artifacts when shifting down. The free edition gets everything on the product page, and the paid one adds Robot pitch correction plus extra quality modes. Version 2.1 has the same systems and formats as Graillon.
Best job: deep voices, octave layers under bass and synths, and fixing a loop’s key. The catch: it adds at least 17.8 ms of delay, which you’ll notice if you sing through it live.
3. MAutoPitch (MeldaProduction)

MAutoPitch is free auto-tune with two extras that matter here. Formant shift moves the voice’s character 12 semitones each way, and Width detunes the left and right sides by up to 100 cents. Melda’s manual says Width can make a track sound as if it was recorded twice and panned hard left and right.
It’s part of Melda’s free MFreeFXBundle and runs on 64-bit Windows and macOS, Intel or Apple Silicon. You install it through MPluginManager, Melda’s own installer app, which asks you to log in. In Mix Elite’s vocal recording video, Max, the founder of Mix Elite, rates its formant shifting. He’s less keen on its auto-tune, which did something odd to the waveform in his test.
Best job: doubling a vocal and quick formant moves. The catch: the pitch itself only moves by one semitone, so it’s not for big shifts, and you need an account to install it.
4. Pitchproof (Aegean Music)

Pitchproof is the guitar player’s pick, built to feel like an old harmonizer pedal. Its Pitch menu gives you fixed jumps like 7 semitones up or down, or in-key harmonies from a 2nd to a 7th. Set Key to your song’s key (C also covers A minor) and blend the dry and shifted sound with Blend.
It’s free. It’s also the full version, with a guitar tuner, two MIDI keyboard modes and a Transient Fix switch that Aegean recommends leaving on. Downloads are direct, with no account. Windows gets 32-bit and 64-bit builds, and the Mac build (macOS Monterey to Tahoe) comes as VST3 and AU.
Best job: guitar shifts and fast harmonies. The catch: the range stops at one octave up or down, and it works best on single notes, not big chords.
5. Kilohearts Pitch Shifter

Kilohearts Pitch Shifter does one job well. Set the pitch in semitones and blend it in with Mix. Correlate gives a clearer sound on many sources. Kilohearts warns it can struggle with complex pads and textures.
It’s free with a Kilohearts account, as one of 34 plugins in Kilohearts Essentials, and installs with the Kilohearts Installer. It runs on 64-bit Windows and macOS, Apple M chips included, as VST2, VST3, AU and AAX.
Best job: a quick harmony layer under a lead, with Mix turned down. The catch: you need the account and the installer.
6. GSnap (GVST)

GSnap is a classic free auto-tune, still a free download at gvst.uk. It has no pitch shift knob. That makes it a pick for correction only. Its manual says a Threshold of 100 cents covers a normal scale, while a pentatonic scale needs 150. In MIDI mode, it bends your vocal to the notes you play.
It only works on one voice at a time, and it comes as VST2 only, for Windows, Mac (Apple Silicon included) and Linux. Best job: hard-tune and forcing a vocal onto a new melody. The catch: it can’t shift pitch, and its MIDI mode won’t work in OBS.
7. MIDI Choir (MV’s Plugins)

MIDI Choir turns one voice into a choir. It re-pitches a single vocal to whatever notes you play on a MIDI keyboard, so you can play chords and hear your own voice sing them. Its developer built it to sing harmonies live. Version 3.1 is free, as a 64-bit or 32-bit VST2 or a standalone app.
Best job: live harmonies played on a keyboard. The catch: it’s Windows only (the developer points Mac users to Windows emulation), and because it needs MIDI notes, it won’t work in OBS.
8. Vocal Pitch Shifter (Stone Voices)

Stone Voices’ Vocal Pitch Shifter is plain and quick: 12 semitones up or down, cents for fine tuning, and a mix control. The maker says its low latency, meaning very little delay, lets you use it in real time, for example on stage. It’s a direct download with no account, for Windows 8 to 11 (VST2 or VST3) and macOS 10.11 and up (VST2, VST3 or AU).
Best job: live singing and streaming. The catch: it only does pitch, fine tune and mix, and its page doesn’t mention Apple Silicon.
9. PitchNasty (Airwindows)

PitchNasty is a gritty pitch effect for sound design. One control moves the pitch in half steps, a second bends it smoothly on top, and Grind and Feedback rough it up. Airwindows suggests thickening a snare with a 30% layer of pitch up.
It’s free, open source and listed as zero latency. There are builds for Windows, Intel and M1 Macs and Linux, and the Airwindows Consolidated build adds CLAP, VST3 and LV2. Best job: drums, samples and live use with no delay. The catch: it’s made for effects, not natural vocals.
Bonus: Valhalla Freq Echo, a frequency shifter

Valhalla Freq Echo is free, but it’s a frequency shifter with an echo, not a pitch shifter. Use it for metallic, spacey sound design, not tuning. It runs on Windows and Mac, Apple Silicon included.
Which free pitch shifter is easiest for beginners?
Stone Voices Vocal Pitch Shifter and Kilohearts Pitch Shifter are the easiest to learn. Set the pitch, set the mix, done. For vocals, Graillon 3 Free is the easiest all-in-one, with its Pitch Shift knob and Formant switch right on the front.
Two newer free shifters keep the controls just as simple, but both ask you to sign up first:
Pitchmunk (Vox Samples)

Pitchmunk keeps everything on one panel. Its big Pitch knob covers two octaves up or down, 48 semitones in all, and a Formant knob with a Follow switch sits next to it. Filter, Drive and Mix finish the sound.
It’s free, but Vox Samples sends it by email after you sign up, as part of a bundle of free plugins. KVR lists it for Windows and Mac as VST3, AU and AAX, with no VST2, so it won’t load in OBS.
AV Pitchshifter (AngelicVibes)

AV Pitchshifter has three knobs. Semitones moves the pitch, Cents fine-tunes it and Mix blends it in, and three buttons switch between its sound modes. It came out in June 2026, it’s free with an AngelicVibes account, and KVR lists version 1.0.2 as VST3 and AU for Windows and Mac. With no VST2 version, it won’t load in OBS either.
Which free pitch shifter should you use for each job?
Pick by the job, not the brand. For octave-up chops, use Graillon 3 or Inner Pitch 2 with formants kept. For a deep voice, use Inner Pitch 2 or FL Studio’s Edison. Harmonies need Newtone, Pitchproof or MIDI Choir, a sample’s key needs FL Studio’s pitch corrector, and live use needs PitchNasty or Stone Voices.
Below is how Mix Elite does each one in FL Studio. Each job also names a free plugin that does the same in any other DAW, the music app you make songs in. Max shows most of these moves in his videos, and every setting comes from his own screen or the maker’s manual.
How do you pitch vocal chops up an octave without the chipmunk sound?
Raise the pitch 12 semitones but keep the formants where they are. Formants are the resonances that tell your ear how big a voice is. When they rise with the pitch, you get the helium sound.
- Graillon 3 Free: turn PITCH-SHIFT to +12 (right-click the knob to snap to whole semitones) and leave Formant on. Auburn’s guide says formant preservation often sounds harsh at full strength, so pull Formant Amount back until the voice sits.
- Inner Pitch 2 Free: set Pitch one octave up, then set Formant on its own by ear, since each control has two octaves of range.
- FL Studio’s Sampler: double-click the clip and set Mode to e3 Mono, which Image-Line built for vocals and solo instruments with automatic formant preservation. PITCH counts in cents, and 1,200 cents is one octave.
- Want the old sped-up soul sound instead? Set Mode to Resample. Then pitch and length change together, like a record played fast, which is exactly the chipmunk tone some sample beats want.
Max adds one trick in his hidden FL Studio features video. A vocal chop pitched up turns bright. To keep the pitch but make it darker, switch the sample to Stretch Pro and pull the FORMANT slider down. Then right-click FORMANT and create an automation clip, so the chop starts normal and drops darker as it plays. Image-Line’s manual agrees that automating the formant adds motion to a sample.
How do you make a deep villain voice?

Drop the pitch about 5 to 7 semitones and move the formants down with it, so the voice sounds bigger, not just lower. Max builds exactly this for a producer tag in FL Studio, with nothing but Edison, FL Studio’s audio editor.
- Hold Shift and drag the vocal clip down to copy it. Right-click the copy and choose Make unique, so your edits don’t touch the original.
- Open the copy in Edison, then press Alt + T to open the Time stretcher / pitch shifter.
- Drag Pitch coarse (1) and Factor coarse (2) to the left. Factor coarse is the formant. Max starts both at -7 semitones, finds that too much, and settles the pitch at about -5.
- Click Preview, then Accept.
- Still not deep enough? Max turns the sample’s PITCH knob down to about -200 cents, two more semitones.
Then tuck it under the original vocal. With plugins, use Inner Pitch 2 and move Pitch and Formant down together, since Auburn says its I2 engine has far fewer artifacts when shifting down. In Graillon 3, Formant Shift moves the voice’s size 12 semitones either way on its own.
Why does a pitched-down vocal sound fake, and how do you fix the formants?
Most shifters drag the formants down with the pitch, so the voice sounds like a giant or a monster instead of a deeper person. Keep the formants in place first, then move them only as far as you want the voice’s size to change.
In FL Studio’s Pitch Shifter, Image-Line says a Formant Correction of 0% keeps the formants still for the most natural sound. Pitcher’s Formant switch does the same job, and Image-Line warns that with it off, shifts of more than a few notes give the helium sound. In Graillon, that’s the Formant switch, and in the Sampler it’s e3 Mono.
How do you make harmonies from one vocal?

Copy the vocal and move the copy to a note that fits your key, such as 4 semitones up (a major third) or 7 up (a fifth). Then mix it under the lead. Max does it note by note in Newtone in Mix Elite’s harmonies video:
- Put a copy of the vocal on its own track, click the clip’s menu and choose Pitch-correct sample.
- Turn CENTER up and VARIATION (2) all the way down.
- Press Ctrl + A to select every note, then click one note on Newtone’s keyboard to move them all there (1). His lead vocal is in D#, so he starts on D#.
- Turn TRANS (3) all the way down for a hard, robotic glide between notes.
- Try other notes. Four semitones up gives a major third and seven gives a fifth. His rule is simple: if it doesn’t sound bad, it works.
Max sums it up: “basically you can make chords using only one vocal sample,” as long as each voice gets its own copy. Newtone runs as a trial in the Producer Edition. You can hear the result. You just can’t export it.
Without Newtone, Pitchproof’s 3rd setting gives what Aegean calls the typical major or minor chord harmony, and Blend mixes it with the dry voice. MIDI Choir lets you play the harmony notes on a keyboard. FL Studio’s Pitch Shifter manual suggests a 50% mix for two-part harmonies, and Pitcher (Signature Bundle) harmonizes up to four notes you play.
How do you make a harmony sound like a different singer?

Shift the harmony’s formant a few semitones down or up, so its voice sounds bigger or smaller than the lead. Otherwise it can sound like a clone.
In Newtone, double-click to enter Advanced edit, then drag a note’s Formant control (1). In the harmonies video, Max pulls one part down to -4.43 semitones and then lines its timing up with the lead, because harmonies sound best when they’re tight. With plugins, MAutoPitch does it too. In his free plugins video, Max copies the vocal, moves the copy’s formant a little up or down, adds some Width, and blends both.
How do you fix a sample’s key with a pitch shifter?

Find the sample’s note first, then shift it by the number of semitones between that note and your song’s key. In FL Studio, right-click the sample’s waveform and choose Edit in pitch corrector (1), and Newtone shows which note it is.
This works on drums too. Max’s point in Mix Elite’s snare video is that “usually snares are pitched to some notes, even if you can’t hear it,” so it pays to check. He reads his acoustic snare’s note in the pitch corrector and shifts it four semitones up to match his song. He says it sounds tighter, too.
For full loops, pick a shifter built for them. Auburn says Inner Pitch handles whole mixes, while Image-Line says Pitcher won’t work on chords or complete mixes. In the Sampler, Stretch modes keep the tempo while you change the pitch, and the Special modes are made to keep drum hits sharp.
Which free pitch shifter works live with low latency?
Use PitchNasty, which Airwindows lists as zero latency, or Stone Voices Vocal Pitch Shifter, which is built for real-time use, and keep your audio buffer low. Latency is the split-second delay a shifter adds because it works on short slices of audio. Auburn’s guide says Inner Pitch has lower latency than Graillon, down to 17.8 ms.
FL Studio lines tracks back up for playback, so you mostly hear the delay when you sing or play through the plugin. Here’s how to cut it, from Image-Line’s manual and Mix Elite’s vocal recording video:
- Lower the buffer. Open Options, then Audio settings, and set the buffer length as low as it goes before the sound crackles. Image-Line calls 10 ms (441 samples) a good target.
- Use your interface’s own driver. If you record through an audio interface, choose its own ASIO driver. Image-Line says it can run at a lower latency than FL Studio ASIO.
- Record in a lighter project. A busy project may not run at a low buffer, so the vocal recording video suggests recording in a separate project.
- Skip Graillon’s I2 engine live. Auburn calls it a very slow mode with hefty CPU use, so stick with G2 or G3 when you stream.
- Let PDC work while mixing. FL Studio’s plugin delay compensation (PDC) lines up tracks that run late because of their effects, so the shifted vocal stays in time on playback.
Streaming in OBS? OBS only loads VST 2.x plugins and passes no MIDI. Graillon, MAutoPitch, Inner Pitch, Kilohearts Pitch Shifter and Stone Voices work there, while VST3-only plugins and MIDI Choir don’t.
Which free pitch shifter is best for guitar?
Pitchproof. Its +7 and -7 settings and in-key harmonies cover classic whammy and harmonizer sounds, Transient Fix keeps your pick attack, and the built-in tuner is a bonus. If you outgrow it, Kuassa Whammo is a paid whammy-style plugin at $39 plus VAT.
How to pitch shift in FL Studio with the tools you already have
Before you download anything, look at what FL Studio already gives you. The edition notes come from Image-Line’s compare page, checked on October 31, 2026.
- The Sampler’s Time stretching section: shift a sample’s pitch without changing its speed, with formant control in Stretch Pro.
- Edison (Producer Edition and up): an audio editor with a pitch and formant tool.
- Newtone (Signature Bundle and up): fix or move a vocal note by note, formants included.
- Pitcher (Signature Bundle and up): real-time pitch correction and harmonies.
- Pitch Shifter (All Plugins Edition only): its Voice tab shifts 12 semitones each way with formant control.
- Newtime (Producer Edition and up) fixes timing, not pitch.
Skip the Master pitch knob at the top of the screen. It changes the pitch of the whole project, and in the free course Max says you’ll basically never use it, except for fun.
Shift pitch without changing speed in the Sampler

This trick comes from a 36-second Mix Elite short. Copy your vocal onto a new Playlist track, right-click the copy and choose Make unique. Double-click the copy to open it.
In the Time stretching section, set Mode to Stretch Pro (2). Then turn PITCH (1). The short drops it by 700 cents, which is 7 semitones. Move the FORMANT slider (3) to change the voice’s character, then play the copy under the original vocal. Here’s the whole thing:
Open a vocal in Newtone

Newtone is FL Studio’s note-by-note pitch editor, and the free course uses it on a pop vocal. Click the menu at the top left of the audio clip (1) and choose Pitch-correct sample (2). The vocal opens in Newtone.
Snap the vocal to your song’s scale

Open the Edit menu, the scissors icon (1), then go to Scale (2) and pick your song’s key (3). Turn on Snap to scale in the same menu. Don’t know the key? Drop the vocal into the analyzer on tunebat.com. In the course, it came back as C# minor.
Set Center, Variation and Transition

Now use the three knobs at the top. CENTER (1) moves each note’s average pitch onto the right note. VARIATION (2) keeps or flattens the wobble inside each note, and TRANS (3) sets how the voice glides from note to note.
For natural tuning, turn Center up first, then play with Variation, but never take Variation all the way down. Max’s warning about Transition is blunt: “if you change the transition to 0% it will be completely robotic,” which is what you want for the harmony trick above. For a lead, keep it higher. For a deeper walkthrough, see our guide to tuning vocals like a pro.
Export pitched samples at a higher quality

The export window has a Resampling setting for how carefully FL Studio recalculates samples played at a new pitch or speed. The free course sets Resampling (1) to at least 32-point and suggests going higher if your song uses lots of stretched samples. Max keeps it honest, though: “you can go with 512 but you will not hear much of the difference in usual scenarios,” so there’s no need to max it out.
How to install a free pitch shifter in FL Studio
Here’s the install with Graillon 3 Free, the way Mix Elite’s free 4.5-hour FL Studio course does it. The same steps work for every plugin on this list. Our full guide on how to install VST plugins in FL Studio covers the folders, plus the fixes for when a plugin won’t show up.
The video is long, so jump ahead: the vocal tuning part starts at about 3:25:50, and Graillon comes in at 3:29:09.
Step 1: Download the free edition and pick VST3

Download the Free Edition from the Auburn Sounds website and run the installer. When it asks which components you want, keep VST 3 and VST 2.4 ticked (1). Leave AAX and the FLStudio plug-in unticked (2). AAX is for a different DAW, and the course skips the FL Studio version so your projects open the same way on any computer.
Step 2: Scan for it in FL Studio
In FL Studio, open Options, then File settings, then Manage plugins, and click Find installed plugins. You don’t have to star it. Every installed plugin shows up under More plugins in a mixer slot, starred or not.
Step 3: Put it on your vocal’s mixer track

A pitch shifter is an effect, so it goes on a mixer track, not in the Channel Rack. Give the vocal its own track first. Double-click the audio clip and pick a track number, or select the channel and press Ctrl + L. Then click the vocal’s mixer track (1), click an empty slot (2), and choose Graillon 3.
How to use Graillon 3 to shift and tune a vocal

To shift the pitch, turn PITCH-SHIFT (1). Right-click it to snap to whole semitones, so the new pitch stays in key. The Formant switch under it keeps the voice human, and Formant Shift changes its size on its own.
For auto-tune, use the Correction section (2). First, click the small clef icon next to the keyboard (3) and pick your song’s scale. Without a scale, Graillon tries to stick the vocal to every note, when a song in one key only uses seven of them.
Then set Smooth. The lower the milliseconds, the faster and more robotic the tuning gets. For a gentle tune, Max suggests: “If you want to have very soft effect, go to something like 20 milliseconds.” The course settles on 10 ms. Leave the correction amount at 100%; Auburn’s guide says 0 and 100% are its most useful values.
One more FL Studio trick from the course: tweak Smooth, then go to Tools, Last tweaked, Create automation clip. Now you can draw in more or less tuning for each part of the song.
How to use MAutoPitch for quick auto-tune and wider vocals

Load MAutoPitch on the vocal’s mixer track the same way. DEPTH (1) sets how much correction you get, and SPEED (2) sets how fast it grabs each note. In Mix Elite’s video, they sit at 100% and about 33%. Pick your key and scale at the bottom, which is Minor here (4).
FORMANT SHIFT (3) moves the character of the voice up or down by up to 12 semitones without changing the notes. For a wider vocal, turn up WIDTH a little, or use it on a copy of the vocal for the doubling trick above.
Is Waves SoundShifter free? The best free alternatives
No. Waves SoundShifter has no free version, even though lots of people search for a free download. Its list price is $129, and Waves puts it on sale often: it was $34.99 on October 31, 2026.
Only the Pitch part of SoundShifter works as a normal insert in every DAW, since its Graphic and Parametric parts are Pro Tools AudioSuite only. For the same jobs for free, use Graillon 3 for vocals, Inner Pitch 2 for big, clean shifts on anything, or Pitchproof for guitar. Skip any site that offers a free SoundShifter download. It isn’t Waves.
Free pitch shifters to skip in 2026
Older lists, including the first version of this one, still recommend these. Here’s why they’re out:
- Stolon (Novaflash): no download left, and development has stopped.
- Son Of A Pitch (Saltline): the maker’s website is gone, and only copies on other sites remain.
- dShift (whiteLABEL): 32-bit Windows only, with no 64-bit version planned.
- FreSh (Max Project): 32-bit, for Windows XP to 8.1, and a frequency shifter anyway.
- Voloco: no longer free. It’s $14.99 a month after a 14-day trial.
- KeroVee (g200kg): last updated in April 2013.
- BlueLab PitchShift: its official website no longer loads.
Paid pitch shifters worth it when free isn’t enough
Free covers most jobs. If you outgrow it, these are the upgrades, at regular prices checked on each maker’s site in October 2026:
- Graillon 3 full edition, $38.67: adds the Vocal Doubler, pitch-tracking modulation and the Tune Keyboard.
- Little AlterBoy (Soundtoys), $99, with a free 30-day trial.
- Waves SoundShifter, $129 at full price.
- Kuassa Whammo, $39, for whammy-style guitar shifts.
- Pitcher and Pitch Shifter, which come with FL Studio’s Signature Bundle and All Plugins Edition.
The best free pitch shifter VST plugins at a glance
Here are all nine in one place, from the best all-rounder to the specialists.
| Plugin | Best for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Graillon 3 Free Windows, Mac, Linux | Vocals: pitch, formant and auto-tune in one. | The doubler and a few extras are paid. |
| Inner Pitch 2 Free Windows, Mac, Linux | Big, clean shifts on any sound. | Robot tuning is paid. |
| MAutoPitch Windows, Mac | Quick auto-tune and wider vocals. | Installs through Melda’s app, with an account. |
| Pitchproof Windows, Mac | Guitar, whammy-style shifts and harmonies. | One octave of range. |
| Kilohearts Pitch Shifter Windows, Mac | Simple shifts and harmony layers. | Needs a free account and an installer. |
| GSnap Windows, Mac, Linux | Hard-tune and MIDI-forced melodies. | Correction only, VST2 only. |
| MIDI Choir Windows | Harmonies played on a MIDI keyboard. | No Mac version. |
| Stone Voices Vocal Pitch Shifter Windows, Mac | Live singing and streaming. | Pitch, fine-tune and mix only. |
| Airwindows PitchNasty Windows, Mac, Linux | Gritty effects on drums and samples. | Made for effects, not natural vocals. |
All nine come in 64-bit versions, which modern DAWs like FL Studio run best. Every price in this guide was checked on the maker’s own site on October 31, 2026.
Pitch is only one part of a finished vocal. Our guide on how to mix vocals covers the rest of the chain, and mixing vocals with only FL Studio’s stock plugins shows a full chain with nothing to download. For more tuning options, see our list of the best free autotune plugins.
DAY 5 OF THE 7-DAY MUSIC PRODUCER COURSE
Make your vocals sound finished, not just in tune
Day 5 of the 7-Day course is about recording and mixing vocals: setting up your room, the V.O.C.A.L. mixing formula, and the mistakes that make vocals sound amateur. You also get 10 copy-and-paste vocal processing chains, practice acapellas, and a list of the best free VST plugins for mixing vocals. It’s taught in FL Studio (the free trial works), about 45 minutes a day, and on day 7 a pro gives you feedback on your finished track. It’s $27, and you get 60 days to decide if it was worth it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free pitch shifter VST?
Graillon 3 Free Edition by Auburn Sounds. It shifts pitch 12 semitones each way, keeps voices natural with formant control, and adds real-time pitch correction. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux with no account needed. For bigger shifts on any sound, including full loops, Inner Pitch 2 Free goes two octaves each way.
Does FL Studio have a pitch shifter?
Yes. A sample’s channel settings have a Time stretching section: set Mode to Stretch Pro and turn PITCH to change the pitch without changing the speed, with a FORMANT slider. Producer Edition and up adds Edison for pitch and formant edits, the Signature Bundle adds Newtone and Pitcher, and the All Plugins Edition adds Pitch Shifter.
Is there a free version of Waves SoundShifter?
No. SoundShifter is paid, with a $129 list price, and Waves often puts it on sale: it was $34.99 on October 31, 2026. Sites offering a free download aren’t Waves. For free, use Graillon 3 for vocals, Inner Pitch 2 for big clean shifts, or Pitchproof for guitar.
How do you pitch a vocal up an octave without the chipmunk sound?
Shift the pitch up 12 semitones but keep the formants in place. Formants tell your ear how big a voice is, so when they rise with the pitch you get the helium sound. Use Graillon 3 with Formant on, Inner Pitch 2, or FL Studio’s e3 Mono mode, then tuck the shifted copy under the original vocal.
Why does my vocal sound fake when I pitch it down?
Most shifters move the formants down with the pitch, so the voice sounds like a giant instead of a deeper person. Keep the formants in place first: Formant on in Graillon, Formant Correction at 0% in FL Studio’s Pitch Shifter, or e3 Mono in the Sampler. Then lower the formant only as far as you want the voice to grow.



