> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://soundforgepro.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Free iZotope Plugins: The Five Real Freebies and What's Only a Trial - URL: https://soundforgepro.com/free-izotope-plugins/ - Published: 2026-10-20T22:29:50.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T01:07:41.000Z - Description: iZotope gives away five plugins: Ozone EQ, Trash Lite, Vinyl, Vocal Doubler and Ozone Imager 2. Here is what each one does, how to get it legally through iZotope, Native Instruments or the App Store, what reviewers report, and which iZotope tools are only trials. - Author: Erick Finn - Tags: Free Plugins, iZotope **iZotope gives away five plugins right now: Ozone EQ (the Ozone 12 equalizer), Trash Lite, Vinyl, Vocal Doubler and Ozone Imager 2\. All five list at $0.00 in iZotope's US store; four are claimed with an iZotope account, and Ozone EQ comes through Native Instruments' Komplete Start. RX, the Ozone, Neutron and Nectar editions, full Trash and VEA are paid, and you can only try them for a limited time.** If you mix or master, I'd install Ozone EQ first. It is the real Ozone 12 equalizer module with its Transient/Sustain mode, and the cheapest paid Ozone edition does not list that mode at all. Add Trash Lite next for the day a track needs grit. Vinyl, Vocal Doubler and Imager are small single-job tools, worth having before the job turns up. Everything else carrying the iZotope name is a trial, and those trials behave very differently once the clock runs out. That is the part most free-plugin lists skip, so it gets its own section below. For free tools from other developers, the [free plugins and trials hub](https://soundforgepro.com/free-plugins/) keeps the wider list, and the [iZotope hub](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope/) routes to every paid product guide. ## The five free iZotope plugins at a glance [iZotope's free plugins page](https://www.izotope.com/pages/free-audio-plug-ins) names Vocal Doubler, Vinyl, Ozone Imager and Trash Lite, then gives Ozone EQ a separate block that sends you to Native Instruments. Nothing is packaged as one iZotope freebie bundle. Each tool has its own product page and its own $0.00 checkout, so you collect only the ones you will use. | Plugin | What it does | Desktop formats | How you get it | Paid step-up | | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Ozone EQ | Ozone 12's Equalizer module with Mid/Side, Left/Right and Transient/Sustain modes | Plan on VST3, AU, AAX | Komplete Start through Native Access 2 | Ozone 12 Elements, Standard or Advanced | | Trash Lite | Trash's distortion module: 60+ types, XY pad, Drive, Tilt | VST3, AU, AAX; AUv3 on iPad | iZotope store at $0.00; App Store on iPad | Full Trash, $99 | | Vinyl | Record dust, scratches, warp, mechanical noise and a Lo-fi effect | AU, AAX, VST2, VST3 | iZotope store at $0.00 | None sold; included in iZotope Plus and Pro | | Vocal Doubler | Natural doubling for a lead vocal | AU, AAX, VST2, VST3 | iZotope store at $0.00 | None sold; included in iZotope Plus and Pro | | Ozone Imager 2 | Stereo width, Stereoize and vectorscope meters | AU, AAX, VST2, VST3 | iZotope store at $0.00 | None sold; included in iZotope Plus and Pro | Prices are iZotope's US store list prices on October 20, 2026\. The Ozone EQ format line is an inference from the Ozone 12 family, explained in the compatibility section. ## Ozone EQ: the free Ozone 12 equalizer Ozone EQ is the Equalizer module from Ozone 12, offered as a free download on [Native Instruments' Ozone EQ page](https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/izotope/ozone-11-eq/). Only this module is free. The rest of Ozone stays in the paid editions and their trials. NI's address for the page still says "ozone-11-eq": the equalizer first appeared as the Ozone 11 EQ in a refreshed Komplete Start around late 2023, and the page now presents the Ozone 12 module. The reason I put it first is Transient/Sustain. iZotope's free page highlights that mode for the free EQ, while the [Ozone 12 edition comparison](https://www.izotope.com/products/ozone-advanced) lists no Transient/Sustain channel modes for Elements; Standard and Advanced have them. So the free equalizer can treat the attack of a sound separately from its tail, which the entry-level paid Ozone cannot. The [Ozone EQ guide](https://soundforgepro.com/ozone-eq-free/) covers the Komplete Start install step by step, both Transient/Sustain and Digital mode, and the fixes for when the EQ doesn't show up. The rest of the toolkit is what you would expect from a mastering EQ. [Native Instruments' Ozone EQ walkthrough](https://blog.native-instruments.com/ozone-eq/) describes Gain Match, which keeps loudness level while you EQ so you judge tone rather than volume, an Amount slider that scales the whole curve, and channel splits into Mid/Side, Left/Right or Transient/Sustain. [Bedroom Producers Blog's linear-phase EQ roundup](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2024/10/10/best-free-linear-phase-eq-vst-plugins/) explains the two filter modes: Analog is minimum-phase IIR, Digital is linear-phase FIR with per-band phase adjustable from 0% (linear) to 100% (minimum), and Digital asks more of the CPU. Neither iZotope nor NI prints a format list for the free EQ. Ozone 12 itself ships VST3, AU and AAX in 64-bit only and dropped VST2, so plan on those three formats and not on VST2\. If the free module makes you want the Maximizer and the other modules, the [Ozone 12 Elements vs Standard vs Advanced comparison](https://soundforgepro.com/ozone-12-elements-vs-standard-vs-advanced/) maps which edition carries which module, and the [Ozone hub](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope-ozone/) collects every Ozone guide. Sound Forge editors who only need a quick tonal fix can also start with the built-in tools in the [Sound Forge Pro equalizer guide](https://soundforgepro.com/how-to-use-equalizer-sound-forge-pro/). ## Trash Lite: Trash's distortion module, free Trash Lite is the free mode of the current Trash: it carries Trash's namesake distortion module and leaves the other modules for the paid version. [iZotope's Trash Lite page](https://www.izotope.com/products/trash-lite) lists more than 60 distortion types (Rusty Bits, Cactus, Noise Art and Distropia among them), an XY pad that blends up to four distortion settings, a Drive control you can modulate and a Tilt control. A Randomize button rolls new XY pad settings, and automatic output gain with a limiter keeps the level in check while you push the drive. ![Trash Lite window with the XY pad, Randomize dice, Drive and Tilt knobs, Auto Gain and Limiter switches, and greyed Multiband, Convolve and Effects tiles marked 1 to 6](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/4b/af4b05d4-2e0b-4edc-8378-1e2a62fecc70/content/images/2026/10/trash-lite-module-controls.webp) 1 moves the blend between four distortion types, 2 rolls a random setting, 3 and 4 set Drive and Tilt, 5 keeps output level in check; 6 marks the modules only the paid Trash opens. The [full Trash](https://www.izotope.com/products/trash) adds the Convolve module with more than 600 impulse responses and an IR loader, Multiband splitting into low, mid and high bands, an Envelope Follower and 4x oversampling for the Trash module. It lists at $99 in iZotope's US store on October 20, 2026 ($49 as an update from a previous Trash). You do not reinstall to move up: buy the full version, enter its serial number, and the same plugin opens the rest of the feature set. Trash Lite is also free on iPad as an AUv3 plugin for Logic Pro for iPad, from the App Store. The full Trash page lists iPadOS 17 or later for the iPad version. The [Trash release notes](https://www.izotope.com/pages/release-notes/trash) date the current Trash to version 1.0.0 on March 11, 2024, with 1.3.0 on September 25, 2025 as the latest entry, so reviews of older Trash generations describe a different plugin. The [Trash Lite guide](https://soundforgepro.com/trash-lite/) gives starting points for drums, bass and vocals and weighs up the paid Trash. Trash Lite is for distortion you choose. Clipping you did not choose is a repair job, and the guide to [fixing distorted audio](https://soundforgepro.com/fix-distorted-audio/) covers that side. ## Vinyl: lo-fi record character [iZotope's Vinyl page](https://www.izotope.com/products/vinyl) describes a free plugin that simulates the dust, scratches, warp and mechanical noise of vinyl records, plus a Lo-fi effect modeled on the tone of 80s hip-hop resampling. It also supports Native Instruments' NKS, so MASCHINE and KOMPLETE KONTROL hardware can drive it. The [Vinyl release notes](https://www.izotope.com/pages/release-notes/vinyl) show Lo-fi arriving in version 1.90 on November 19, 2020, the same release that made Vinyl 64-bit only, and the current version 1.13.0 from May 15, 2025, which added Windows HiDPI support and raised the minimum macOS to Ventura. Vinyl has history behind it. It was the first product iZotope ever made, and when the 2020 overhaul shipped, [MusicRadar quoted iZotope CEO Mark Ethier](https://www.musicradar.com/news/izotopes-free-vinyl-plugin-returns-with-a-new-gui-and-a-lo-fi-80s-hip-hop-effect) calling it "the free plugin that started it all." ![Vinyl plugin window with the Mechanical, Electrical, Dust and Scratch controls grouped as noise, apart from the year buttons, Lo-fi, Wear and Warp grouped as character](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/4b/af4b05d4-2e0b-4edc-8378-1e2a62fecc70/content/images/2026/10/vinyl-controls.webp) Set the blue group (5 to 8: era, Warp, Lo-fi, Wear) first, then raise the orange noise controls, starting Dust and Scratch from zero. The one practical warning comes from users. [KVR Audio's Vinyl user reviews](https://www.kvraudio.com/product/vinyl-by-izotope/reviews) complain that the noises are too strong even at 30% and that static and scratches do not lock to MIDI clock. Treat the noise controls as seasoning: set the era and Lo-fi tone first, then bring surface noise up slowly. The [iZotope Vinyl guide](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope-vinyl/) has starting settings for lo-fi vocals and transitions and a side-by-side with RC-20\. Vinyl adds record noise; taking it off real records is the opposite job, and the guide to [digitizing and restoring vinyl in Sound Forge](https://soundforgepro.com/sound-forge-pro-for-vinyl-restoration/) covers it. ## Vocal Doubler: natural doubles on a lead vocal [iZotope's Vocal Doubler page](https://www.izotope.com/products/vocal-doubler) reduces the plugin to one pad: drag up and down for stereo separation, left and right for human variation. The [Vocal Doubler release notes](https://www.izotope.com/pages/release-notes/vocal-doubler) put version 1.00 on October 9, 2017 and the current 1.4.0 on June 9, 2025, with Windows HiDPI support and a minimum of macOS Ventura. The best guidance on settings is old but specific. [Bedroom Producers Blog's 2018 Vocal Doubler review](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2018/10/08/izotope-vocal-doubler/) found it natural on lead vocals with moderate separation and modulation around 50%, found the separation setting fiddly with modulation pushed to 0% or 100%, and measured about 7% of available CPU on a Core i7, which it called a bit higher than expected for this kind of effect. iZotope's own page calls it light on CPU. Read the 2018 figure as one historical reading of the first version, not a current benchmark. The [Vocal Doubler guide](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope-vocal-doubler/) has starting settings for a natural double and compares it with Nectar 4 and VocalSynth 2. A doubler widens the vocal by making the two channels differ, so check the result in mono before you commit. The guide to [mono compatibility and phase correlation](https://soundforgepro.com/mono-compatibility-phase-correlation/) shows the check. ## Ozone Imager 2: free stereo width and meters [iZotope's Ozone Imager page](https://www.izotope.com/products/ozone-imager) lists Stereoize II for subtle widening, Stereoize I for a more colorful phasing effect, three vectorscope meter modes and a resizable window, and calls the plugin "a sampling of what Ozone has to offer." The current version is 2.3.0 from May 20, 2025, according to the [Ozone Imager release notes](https://www.izotope.com/pages/release-notes/ozone-imager). Mono-safe width settings and the differences from Ozone 12's four-band Imager module are in the [Ozone Imager guide](https://soundforgepro.com/ozone-imager/). Its vectorscope also makes it a reasonable companion to the meters in the [free metering plugins roundup](https://soundforgepro.com/free-metering-plugins/). ## How to get them legally: store, Native Access, App Store There are three legitimate routes, and each plugin uses only one of them on desktop. Start from the product pages: [iZotope's downloads page](https://www.izotope.com/pages/product-downloads) lists paid product demos and the subscription trial, not the five freebies. ![Three routes to iZotope's free plugins: the iZotope store through Native ID and Native Access, Komplete Start through Native Access 2 for Ozone EQ, and the iPad App Store for Trash Lite AUv3](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/4b/af4b05d4-2e0b-4edc-8378-1e2a62fecc70/content/images/2026/10/free-izotope-get-routes.webp) Four freebies come from iZotope's store; Ozone EQ arrives with Komplete Start; Trash Lite also has an iPad version. 1. **iZotope store (Vinyl, Vocal Doubler, Ozone Imager 2, Trash Lite).** Open the product page, add the plugin to the cart at $0.00 and check out signed in. iZotope accounts now sign in with a Native ID, the same login Native Instruments uses. Install through Native Access: [iZotope's subscriptions FAQ](https://www.izotope.com/pages/subscriptions) names it the single app for installs and updates, and the old Product Portal is no longer used. Bedroom Producers Blog notes that Trash Lite asks for a serial number on first launch. 2. **Native Instruments (Ozone EQ).** On NI's Ozone EQ page, click "Free Download with Komplete Start", create an account or sign in, and follow the installation in Native Access 2\. [NI's Komplete Start page](https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/bundles/komplete-start/) asks for no credit card or subscription. Sources disagree on which other iZotope tools sit inside Komplete Start, so rely on it only for Ozone EQ and claim the other four from iZotope's store. 3. **App Store (Trash Lite for iPad).** Install the free AUv3 and load it inside Logic Pro for iPad. None of these needs an iLok. [Native Instruments' support list of iZotope products in Native Access](https://support.native-instruments.com/support/solutions/articles/69000879236-which-izotope-products-are-available-in-native-access-after-license-migration-) names Vinyl, Vocal Doubler, Ozone Imager 2, Ozone 12 Equalizer and Trash, and says only Exponential Audio products still use iLok after the license migration. Trash Lite is not named separately there; it sits under the Trash product it upgrades into. Ownership changed this year, licenses did not. iZotope announced in July 2026 that it is [joining Boris FX](https://www.izotope.com/community/blog/joining-boris-fx) and says existing products, licenses and subscriptions stay fully active with no action needed. If Native Access refuses to install or authorize a plugin, start with the [iZotope authorization and install fixes](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope-product-portal-authorization-install-fixes/). ## Formats, systems and Apple silicon Three of the five share one requirements list; Trash Lite and Ozone EQ follow their newer product families and have no VST2 build. | Plugin | Formats | Systems | Watch for | | ------------------------------------ | -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Vinyl, Vocal Doubler, Ozone Imager 2 | AU, AAX, VST2, VST3; 64-bit only | macOS 14.7, 15.7 or 26.1 on Intel or Apple silicon (native or Rosetta 2); Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11 24H2 | On Apple silicon, the VST2 build appears only in hosts running under Rosetta | | Trash Lite (desktop) | VST3, AU, AAX | Windows and macOS; the Trash Lite page prints no separate requirements | No VST2; the full Trash page says VST2 is no longer supported | | Trash Lite (iPad) | AUv3 | iPadOS 17 or later, as listed for the iPad version of Trash | Runs inside Logic Pro for iPad | | Ozone EQ | Plan on VST3, AU, AAX | Komplete Start: macOS 14, 15 or 26; Windows 10 or 11; Intel Core i5 or Apple Silicon; 4 GB RAM (6 GB recommended); OpenGL 2.1 | Ozone 12 dropped VST2; NI lists 2 GB of disk as the minimum and 17 GB for the complete Komplete Start installation | The Apple silicon note comes from the release notes, not the product pages, which still list VST2 for the older three. If your host only scans VST2 and runs natively on an M-series Mac, load the AU or VST3 instead. The explainer on [what a VST plugin is](https://soundforgepro.com/what-is-a-vst-plugin/) covers the VST2 and VST3 difference. iZotope's tested-host list for Vinyl, Vocal Doubler and Ozone Imager names Logic Pro 11, Pro Tools 2024, Ableton Live 12, Cubase 14, Nuendo 14, Studio One 7, Reaper 7, FL Studio 2024, Audition 2025, Premiere Pro 2025, DaVinci Resolve 19 and Reason 13\. Sound Forge is not on it, which matters for the next section. ## Using the free iZotope plugins in Sound Forge Expect them to work as VST3 plugins, without a vendor guarantee. Sound Forge Pro 2026 is a 64-bit Windows application (version 2026.0.0.71 on the [Boris FX Sound Forge downloads page](https://borisfx.com/downloads/sound-forge/)), and [VEGAS Creative Software's Sound Forge edition list](https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/sound-forge/pricing/) shows third-party VST2 and VST3 hosting, plus ARA. Because Sound Forge is missing from iZotope's tested hosts, compatibility is expected rather than confirmed. - **Load the VST3.** Trash Lite and Ozone EQ have no VST2 anyway. For Vinyl, Vocal Doubler and Imager, the [Sound Forge Pro Plug-In Manager help](https://cdn.borisfx.com/borisfx/Documentation/soundforge/2026/en/content/proonly/plug-in%5Fmanager.htm) shows how to hide the VST2 copy so only the VST3 appears; hidden plug-ins return after a forced rescan. - **Apply them the usual way.** The [Sound Forge help on applying effects](https://cdn.borisfx.com/borisfx/Documentation/soundforge/2026/en/content/applying%5Fprocesses%5Fand%5Feffects.htm) lists the Process, Effects and FX Plug-Ins menus, drag-and-drop from the Plug-In Manager, and the Plug-In Chain. Ozone EQ followed by Ozone Imager is a sensible chain for a stereo master; the [Plug-In Chainer guide](https://soundforgepro.com/how-to-use-plug-in-chainer-sound-forge-pro/) shows how to build and save it. - **If a plugin does not appear,** work through the [Sound Forge VST plugins not showing fixes](https://soundforgepro.com/sound-forge-pro-vst-plugins-not-showing/) before reinstalling. One company now sits behind both products: [Boris FX acquired Sound Forge](https://blog.borisfx.com/press/boris-fx-acquires-vegas-pro-sound-forge-and-acid-pro) on March 30, 2026, and iZotope joined Boris FX in July 2026\. I would not read that as tighter integration yet; nothing official says the free plugins behave differently in Sound Forge. For a wider list of tools that suit the editor, see the [Sound Forge plugins guide](https://soundforgepro.com/sound-forge-plugins/). ## Test results: what reviewers and users report The composite result is clear on two plugins and thinner on the rest. It draws on eight published sources from four platforms (Bedroom Producers Blog five times, Production Expert, KVR Audio and MusicRadar), dated from 2006 to October 2026\. Published numbers are scarce: the only performance figure is a single 2018 CPU reading for Vocal Doubler, and the only rating is KVR's 4.50 out of 5 for Vinyl from four old user reviews. So this is a count of verdicts, with the few numbers reported as their sources published them. | Plugin | Verdicts | Published result | Date and conditions | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Trash Lite | Positive in 2 of 3 Trash Lite sources (the third gives no verdict) | "Best overall" free distortion; "super happy with how it sounds and how versatile it is" at launch | October 2026, M1 MacBook Air and a Windows 10 laptop in Studio One; March 2024 launch coverage | | Ozone EQ | Positive in 2 of 2 | "Mastering-grade"; listed 2nd of 6 free linear-phase EQs | May 2026 (Ozone 12 era); October 2024 (Ozone 11 EQ) | | Vocal Doubler | Positive in 1 of 1, with a caveat | Natural at about 50% modulation; about 7% CPU | October 2018, Core i7, version 1.0 era | | Vinyl | Positive in 2 of 2 | 4.50/5 from 4 KVR user reviews; noise too strong even at 30% | User reviews 2006 to 2021; November 2020 news coverage | | Getting them | Friction noted in 2 of 8 | Account and serial for Trash Lite; about 17 GB for the full Komplete Start | October 2026; May 2026 | **Trash Lite** has the strongest current record. [Bedroom Producers Blog's October 2026 free distortion roundup](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/distortion/) names it "Best overall" after using it on an M1 MacBook Air and a Windows 10 laptop in Studio One. Its one complaint is the large Upgrade button in the interface. At launch, [the same site's Trash Lite news post](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2024/03/12/izotope-trash-lite/) was "super happy with how it sounds and how versatile it is" and reported a 174 MB desktop download. **Ozone EQ** is the best value. [Bedroom Producers Blog's May 2026 bundle round-up](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2026/05/14/three-plugin-bundles/) says the iZotope plugins alone are worth installing Komplete Start, calls Ozone EQ "a mastering-grade EQ you'd otherwise pay for", and puts the full Komplete Start install at roughly 17 GB, which matches NI's own figure. The 2024 linear-phase roundup listed the Ozone 11 version second of six and called it "a great candidate because of this versatility." **Vocal Doubler and Vinyl** are liked, but their review record is old. The 2018 Vocal Doubler review is the only one with a CPU figure. Vinyl's KVR score rests on four reviews of versions 1.71 to 1.8, and [MusicRadar's coverage of the 2020 update](https://www.musicradar.com/news/izotopes-free-vinyl-plugin-returns-with-a-new-gui-and-a-lo-fi-80s-hip-hop-effect) calls it one of the most popular free plugins around. The consistent caution is level: Vinyl's noise runs hot, and Vocal Doubler sounds best in the middle of its pad. My verdict from the evidence: Ozone EQ and Trash Lite are the two free iZotope plugins with recent, specific praise, and both earn a permanent slot. Vinyl and Vocal Doubler are dependable one-job tools whose reviews predate their current versions, so judge them on your own material. ## What iZotope does not give away: trials and prices RX, Ozone, Neutron, Nectar, full Trash and VEA are paid. You can try the paid tools two ways: a 10-day product trial, whose limits differ by product, or the 7-day subscription trial, which turns into a paid plan unless you cancel. | Product | US list price, October 20, 2026 | Trial | After the trial | | ------------------ | ------------------------------- | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | RX 12 Elements | $99 | 10 days, export disabled | Demo mode inserts silence at regular intervals | | Ozone 12 Elements | $55 | 10 days, full functionality | Settings remain; the plugin window and controls are inaccessible until authorized | | Neutron 5 Elements | $55 | 10 days, unrestricted | Demo mode inserts silence at regular intervals | | iZotope Plus | $15 a month or $150 a year | 7 days | Renews automatically as a paid monthly plan unless canceled within the trial | | iZotope Pro | $25 a month or $250 a year | 7 days | Same automatic renewal | The trial terms come from iZotope's download pages for [RX 12 Elements](https://www.izotope.com/pages/product-downloads/rx-elements), [Ozone 12 Elements](https://www.izotope.com/pages/product-downloads/ozone-elements) and [Neutron 5 Elements](https://www.izotope.com/pages/product-downloads/neutron-elements). Nectar 4 Elements also lists at $55 and VEA at $29 on the same date. The RX trial is the one to plan around: with export disabled, it is for judging the repair, not for delivering it. RX has no free edition; the [RX price, trial and license guide](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope-rx-price-trial-license/) shows what each edition costs, and the [RX Elements vs Standard vs Advanced comparison](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope-rx-elements-vs-standard-vs-advanced/) shows which modules each one includes. The subscriptions are broader than the free set. Per the subscriptions page, Plus includes Neutron 5, Ozone 12 Standard, Nectar 4 Standard and RX 12 Elements; Pro includes Ozone 12 Advanced, RX 12 Standard, Nectar 4 Advanced and Neutron 5\. Both also include Vocal Doubler, Vinyl, Ozone Imager 2 and the full Trash. Subscription tools need a Native Access check once a month, and after a canceled plan expires they go read-only: saved settings stay, controls cannot be edited. One trap for bargain hunters: iZotope's "Crossgrade from any paid iZotope product" pricing requires a paid product, so owning only the free plugins does not appear to qualify. The [iZotope price and upgrade guide](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope-price-upgrade-guide/) lists the upgrade and crossgrade paths that do. My advice: use the 10-day product trial when you are judging one tool, and start the subscription trial only when you are ready to pay or have a reminder set to cancel. ## Expired giveaways and old freebies Several free iZotope offers that still circulate in search results are over. - **Ozone Elements through Focusrite.** [Focusrite's Ozone 11 Elements offer](https://us.focusrite.com/articles/free-for-a-limited-time-izotope-ozone-11-elements/) gave the plugin free to registered-hardware owners until January 6, 2025, and has expired. An earlier Focusrite offer gave away Ozone 9 Elements; that one is over too. - **VEA in Japan.** iZotope Japan gave VEA away until July 31, 2026 as part of a Japan-limited sale, as [Bedroom Producers Blog reported](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2026/07/26/izotope-japan-vea-free/). That offer has closed: on October 20, 2026, VEA lists at $29 and no free offer was running. - **Neutrino.** The free spectral-shaping plugin launched on September 15, 2016 is not on iZotope's current free page or in its store. No official discontinuation notice turned up, so treat it as no longer offered. - **$0.00 end-of-life listings.** Audiolens, Iris 2, Dialogue Match and BreakTweaker show $0.00 in iZotope's US store but carry an end-of-life tag and are absent from the free plugins page. They are retired products, not current freebies. Giveaways come and go without notice, so do not plan a purchase around one returning. Discounts are the realistic way to pay less, and the [iZotope Black Friday guide](https://soundforgepro.com/izotope-black-friday/) and [deals hub](https://soundforgepro.com/deals/) track them with dates. ## Verdict: what to install first Install the free iZotope plugins in this order: 1. **Ozone EQ.** A mastering-grade equalizer with linear-phase Digital mode and Transient/Sustain, for nothing. It is also the best preview of Ozone before you spend $55 or more. 2. **Trash Lite.** The strongest current reviews of the set, and a clean upgrade path if you ever want Convolve and Multiband. 3. **Vinyl or Vocal Doubler,** depending on the job: Vinyl for lo-fi texture with the noise kept low, Vocal Doubler for a natural double on a lead vocal. 4. **Ozone Imager 2** for width moves and a vectorscope you can keep on the master. Get them only from iZotope's store, Native Instruments and the App Store. For paid tools, a 10-day product trial is the safer test than the 7-day subscription trial, because the subscription renews automatically. When you want free tools beyond iZotope, the [free plugins hub](https://soundforgepro.com/free-plugins/) picks up from here. ## FAQ ### Is iZotope RX free? No. There is no free RX edition. RX 12 Elements has a 10-day trial with export disabled, after which Demo mode inserts silence; it lists at $99 in the US store on October 20, 2026. ### Is Trash 2 free? No. Trash 2 is a legacy product that is no longer sold individually; existing owners still reach it through their account. The free option is Trash Lite, based on the current Trash released in 2024. ### Can I still get Ozone Elements for free? Not on October 20, 2026\. The Focusrite giveaways of Ozone 11 Elements and, earlier, Ozone 9 Elements have ended. Ozone 12 Elements has a 10-day full trial, and the free Ozone EQ is the permanent free piece of Ozone. ### Do the free iZotope plugins need an iLok? No. iZotope products now install and authorize through Native Access; only Exponential Audio products still use iLok.