iZotope makes plug-ins for five jobs: repair (RX 12), mastering (Ozone 12), mixing (Neutron 5), vocals (Nectar 4 plus a few voice tools) and metering (Tonal Balance Control 3 and Insight 2), with a separate shelf of creative effects. The decision most buyers face is whether to buy the one product for their main job or a bundle or subscription that covers several. On iZotope's US store on October 20, 2026, single products ran from $29 (VEA) to $1,399 (RX 12 Advanced), bundles from $149 to $2,999, and subscriptions started at $15 a month.
My rule is simple: buy for the job that costs you the most time right now, and move to a bundle only when you would otherwise buy a second full product within a year. Sound Forge stays the editor on this site, and iZotope sits around it as plug-ins, so each section below also says where Sound Forge already covers the job before you spend anything. Since July 2026, iZotope and Sound Forge belong to the same company, Boris FX.
iZotope plugins by job
Start with the row that matches the work in front of you. Prices are list prices on iZotope's US store on October 20, 2026; nothing in the store was discounted that day.
| Job | Product and editions | US price | Where I'd start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repair: noise, clicks, clipping, buried dialogue | RX 12 Elements, Standard, Advanced | $99 / $399 / $1,399 | RX 12 Standard |
| Mastering finished songs | Ozone 12 Elements, Standard, Advanced | $55 / $219 / $499 | Ozone 12 Standard |
| Mixing multitrack songs | Neutron 5 Elements, Neutron 5 | $55 / $299 | Neutron 5, only if you mix in a DAW |
| Sung vocals | Nectar 4 Elements, Standard, Advanced | $55 / $199 / $299 | Nectar 4 Standard |
| Spoken voice | VEA; Velvet | $29; $49 | VEA plus Sound Forge's own tools |
| Metering and reference | Tonal Balance Control 3; Insight 2 | $129; $199 | Tonal Balance Control 3 for music |
| Creative effects | VocalSynth 2, Trash, Neoverb, Equinox, the Catalyst Series, Stutter Edit 2 | $49 to $249 | Pick by sound (table below) |
Repair and restoration: RX 12
RX is the reason most Sound Forge users look at iZotope at all. The RX 12 edition comparison lands on Standard ($399) for most buyers, Elements ($99) only for quick voice fixes inside a host, and Advanced ($1,399) for film and TV dialogue and multichannel work. The iZotope RX hub gathers every RX guide; these answer the questions people ask first:
- iZotope RX 12 review: which edition to buy and whether the RX 12 changes justify the price.
- RX 12 vs RX 11: Scene Rebalance, Stems View and ML De-bleed, and who should pay for the update.
- RX 12 tutorial for beginners: a first clean repair from import to export.
- Remove background noise in RX 12: which module fits steady hiss, hum or changing noise, with starting settings.
- RX Dialogue Isolate: the controls for pulling a voice out of noise, and the Standard vs Advanced split.
- RX price, trial and license rules: what each edition costs, how the 10-day trial works and what the license allows.
- CrumplePop vs iZotope RX: one-knob cleanup on a video timeline against a full repair editor.
- Best iZotope RX alternatives: SpectraLayers Pro, Acoustica, dxRevive, Hush Pro and the free picks.
Before buying RX, check what Sound Forge already does. Sound Forge vs iZotope RX shows where the two overlap. The built-in tools handle steady background noise, hiss and hum, clicks and pops and clipped audio, and the restoration software comparison puts eight tools side by side. I'd buy RX when noise changes over time, when dialogue has to be separated from music or effects, or when repair is a weekly job rather than an occasional one.
Mastering: Ozone 12
Ozone 12 comes in Elements ($55), Standard ($219) and Advanced ($499). The Ozone 12 review puts five published review scores at a median of 9.0 out of 10 (range 5 to 10) and recommends Standard. The iZotope Ozone hub collects every Ozone page; three settle the buying question:
- Ozone 12 Elements vs Standard vs Advanced: which modules each edition adds, including the Advanced-only Stem EQ and Unlimiter.
- Ozone 12 vs Ozone 11: IRC 5, Bass Control and the steerable Master Assistant, and whether owners should update.
- Ozone EQ: the free Ozone 12 Equalizer and how to get it through Komplete Start.
- Ozone Imager 2: the free stereo widener and its mono-safe settings.
Sound Forge masters single files on its own. The Wave Hammer mastering workflow and Sound Forge for mastering cover the built-in route, while streaming loudness standards and true peak explained set the targets. I would add Ozone when you master music regularly and want reference matching, an assistant that proposes a starting chain and dedicated low-end and stereo modules. For occasional podcast or voice loudness work, Sound Forge's own chain is enough.
Mixing: Neutron 5
iZotope describes Neutron 5 as a suite of 10 intelligent tools to shape and refine a mix. It comes in two editions, Neutron 5 Elements at $55 and Neutron 5 at $299; there is no Standard or Advanced tier. Neutron is built for multitrack mixing, so it earns its place in a DAW. Inside Sound Forge, a single-file editor, it adds less than RX or Ozone, and I would not buy it for editing work alone. The Neutron 5 review separates the Mix Assistant from the modules worth running by hand.
If you mix and master your own songs, the Mix & Master Bundle Standard ($429) pairs Neutron 5 with Ozone 12 Standard and costs $89 less than the two bought separately ($518). For the decisions behind any mixing plug-in, start with compressor vs limiter and parametric vs graphic EQ. If FabFilter is the alternative you are weighing, iZotope vs FabFilter sets Pro-Q 4 and Pro-L 2 against their Neutron and Ozone counterparts.
Vocals and voice: Nectar 4, VEA, Velvet and Melodyne
Sung vocals and spoken voice call for different tools, and iZotope sells both. The guide to the best iZotope plugins for vocals picks one tool and edition per vocal job; here is the line-up:
- Nectar 4 (Elements $55, Standard $199, Advanced $299): the vocal chain for music. iZotope pitches Standard as having everything you need to enhance your vocals, and that is the edition I'd start with. Nectar 4 Elements vs Standard vs Advanced shows which modules each edition adds.
- VEA ($29): increases clarity, evens out levels and reduces background noise on voice recordings; iZotope aims it at podcasters and content creators.
- Velvet ($49): a de-esser that also removes mouth noises and clicks, part of the Catalyst Series.
- Vocal Doubler (free): a natural doubling effect for wider vocals.
- Melodyne 5 Essential: included in both iZotope subscriptions. Melodyne Essential vs Assistant explains when pitch editing needs the $249 Assistant rather than the $99 Essential.
For dialogue buried in noise, RX does the heavy lifting, starting with Dialogue Isolate. Sound Forge already covers the common spoken-word fixes: sibilance, plosives, breaths and mouth clicks, and Sound Forge for podcasters ties them into one noise, loudness and export workflow. My pick for a podcaster on a budget is VEA plus those built-in tools before any larger suite.
Metering and reference: Tonal Balance Control 3 and Insight 2
- Tonal Balance Control 3 ($129, or $99 as an update from any earlier version): compares your track with 30+ genre targets or your own references. The guide covers the targets, the Leveled view and whether it is worth the money.
- Insight 2 ($199): iZotope's metering and analysis plug-in for loudness, intelligibility, spectral balance and more.
Both sit in iZotope Pro only; the Plus plan includes neither. Before buying, use what you already have: Sound Forge's own loudness meters read LUFS and true peak, and this site offers a free online LUFS meter, a phase correlation meter, an online spectrum analyzer and a roundup of free metering plugins. I'd buy Insight 2 only when every job ships against a loudness spec. For music, Tonal Balance Control 3 answers the more useful question: does the balance sit where the genre expects?
Creative effects
These are production and sound-design plug-ins rather than fixes. Descriptions follow iZotope's own product copy; prices are US list on October 20, 2026, and the last column shows which subscription includes each one.
| Plug-in | What it does | US price | Subscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| VocalSynth 2 | Vocal effects: Vocoder, Compuvox, Polyvox, Talkbox and Biovox engines plus seven stomp-box style effects | $199 | Plus and Pro |
| Trash | Distortion with over 600 distortion types and impulse responses | $99 | Plus and Pro (Trash Lite is free) |
| Neoverb | Reverb for music producers with AI-driven features | $99 | Pro only |
| Equinox | Reverb for post and music production built on Exponential Audio algorithms with adaptive unmasking | $249 | Pro only |
| Aurora | Reverb that reacts to the audio to unmask instruments and vocals | $49 | Plus and Pro |
| Cascadia | Tape delay with adaptive unmasking | $49 | Plus and Pro |
| Plasma | Adaptive Flux Saturation | $49 | Plus and Pro |
| FXEQ | Five creative effects driven through one EQ workflow | $49 | Pro only |
| Stutter Edit 2 | BT's one-button stutter editing effect | $199 | Not listed in either plan |
Aurora, Cascadia, Plasma, FXEQ and Velvet form the Catalyst Series, which Music Production Suite 9 includes. The five creative tools in iZotope Plus (VocalSynth 2, Trash, Aurora, Cascadia and Plasma) cost $445 bought outright, against $150 for a year of Plus. Even so, if you want one or two of them for years, I'd buy them outright; Plus wins only when you also use its mixing, mastering and vocal tools.
Bundles and subscriptions
A bundle pays off once you would otherwise buy a second full product, and the iZotope bundles compared guide matches each suite to a buyer. On iZotope's US store on October 20, 2026:
| Option | What it includes | US price | Same tools bought separately |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elements Suite 12 | Elements editions of Ozone 12, Neutron 5, RX 12 and Nectar | $149 | $264 |
| Mix & Master Bundle Standard | Neutron 5, Ozone 12 Standard | $429 | $518 |
| Mix & Master Bundle Advanced | Ozone 12 Advanced, Neutron 5, Nectar 4 Advanced, Tonal Balance Control 3, Neoverb | $599 | $1,325 |
| Music Production Suite 9 | 100 plug-ins, including RX 12 Standard, Ozone 12 Advanced, Neutron 5, Nectar 4 Advanced, Tonal Balance Control 3, the Catalyst Series and eight Native Instruments effects | $799 | $1,625 for the five headline products alone |
| RX Post Production Suite 9 | RX 12 Advanced, Neutron 5, Nectar 4 Advanced, Equinox, Insight 2 and more | $1,799 | $2,445 for those five |
| Everything Bundle | RX 12 Advanced, Ozone 12 Advanced, Neutron 5, Nectar 4 Advanced, the Catalyst Series, Equinox, Trash and more | $2,999 | Not summed |
| iZotope Plus | Over 40 tools, including Neutron 5, Ozone 12 Standard, Nectar 4 Standard and RX 12 Elements | $15 a month or $150 a year | $816 for those four |
| iZotope Pro | Over 100 tools, including Ozone 12 Advanced, RX 12 Standard, Neutron 5 and Nectar 4 Advanced | $25 a month or $250 a year | Three years cost $750 |
The rent-or-own math is close. Three years of iZotope Pro cost $750, against $799 for Music Production Suite 9 owned outright. The difference is what happens when you stop paying: according to iZotope's subscription FAQ, cancelled tools revert to read-only mode after the expiration date, keeping their last settings with controls you can no longer edit, so iZotope recommends bouncing affected tracks to audio first. Subscriptions run through Native Access, check in online once a month and start with a 7-day free trial. I'd subscribe for a project-heavy year or to try the whole range, and buy perpetual licenses for the one or two tools you expect to use for years.
Students and teachers get EDU versions of most products at half price, for example Music Production Suite 9 EDU at $399.50. Owners pay less too: Elements Suite 12 is $99 as an upgrade from any Elements product, and Music Production Suite 9 is $459 as a crossgrade from RX Standard or Advanced. The iZotope upgrade price guide lists the upgrade paths; updating an owned product cost a median 41% of the new price. For timing, iZotope Black Friday shows that the last two November sales cut single plug-ins by a median 40% (25% to 60%), and the deals hub tracks current offers.
Free plugins and trials
iZotope's free plug-ins page lists Vocal Doubler, Vinyl, Ozone Imager and Trash Lite, plus Ozone EQ, which comes through Native Access with Komplete Start. The free iZotope plugins guide separates those five real freebies from trials that only look free, Ozone Imager 2 covers the widener's mono-safe settings, and the free plugins hub collects every free tool covered on this site.
Everything else starts as a trial. Individual products run a 10-day trial (RX 12 Elements with export disabled, Ozone 12 Elements fully functional), and subscriptions start with 7 days free. Trials are listed on iZotope's product downloads page, and the RX trial and license guide covers the RX case in detail.
iZotope in Boris FX: what changed
On July 2, 2026, Boris FX announced its acquisition of iZotope. iZotope was previously part of Native Instruments, and the deal was coordinated with inMusic's acquisition of Native Instruments, completed on June 30, 2026. Boris FX says all iZotope products, licenses and subscriptions remain fully active and that iZotope runs as a business unit within Boris FX, with its engineering, product and support teams in place.
For customers, iZotope's own note on joining Boris FX is short: there's no action you need to take. Products stay available through the downloads page and Product Portal, both perpetual licenses and subscriptions continue, and future changes will be communicated well in advance. What has not moved is the account plumbing: subscriptions still install and authorize through Native Access.
The practical change for this site is that iZotope now sits in the same company as Sound Forge, which Boris FX acquired along with VEGAS Pro and ACID Pro in an announcement dated March 30, 2026. Its audio line also includes Samplitude, Sequoia, Music Studio and CrumplePop. The Boris FX hub maps the whole company, and the Boris FX audio hub covers the audio side.
Install and authorization
Two apps handle iZotope licenses. Perpetual licenses install and authorize through iZotope Product Portal. Subscriptions, and Native Instruments products bought in the iZotope shop, install only through Native Access; subscriptions moved there on April 30, 2025. Native Instruments' Everything Bundle page lists the formats: AAX, AU and VST3, 64-bit only, with VST2 no longer supported. When something breaks, start with the guide that matches the symptom:
- Product Portal fixes: the right app for your license type, sign-in loops and authorization errors.
- RX plugins not showing up: edition, format, plug-in scan and account checks.
- Sound Forge VST plugins not showing: the fixes on the Sound Forge side.
- What is a VST plugin: the plug-in format basics, if VST3, AU and AAX are new terms.
Using iZotope plugins in Sound Forge
Current Sound Forge (2026.0.0.71) is a 64-bit Windows application that hosts VST2, VST3 and ARA plug-ins. Current iZotope plug-ins ship as VST3, so install the VST3 builds and let Sound Forge rescan. Sound Forge is not on the host lists iZotope publishes for its plug-ins, so run the product's 10-day trial inside Sound Forge before you pay. Sound Forge plugins explains what each edition includes and how to load VST3 and ARA, the Plug-In Chainer guide shows how to stack several effects, and Sound Forge pricing helps if you are still choosing an edition. Because Sound Forge runs on Windows, Mac users should read Sound Forge for Mac before planning an iZotope chain around it. For video work, VEGAS Pro plugins covers what each VEGAS edition includes and how to install add-ons.
How to choose
- Your recordings are noisy or damaged: RX 12 Standard ($399), or Elements ($99) if you only clean voice inside a host. Try Sound Forge's built-in noise tools first.
- You master your own songs: Ozone 12 Standard ($219).
- You mix and master in a DAW: Mix & Master Bundle Standard ($429).
- You record spoken voice on a budget: VEA ($29) plus Sound Forge's built-in voice fixes.
- You would use three or more full products: Music Production Suite 9 ($799) to own, or iZotope Pro ($250 a year) to rent.
- Money is tight: the five free plug-ins first, then Elements Suite 12 ($149).
- You already own iZotope: check the upgrade and crossgrade prices before paying full price.
- You can wait: the last two November sales cut single plug-ins by a median 40%; see iZotope Black Friday for buy-below targets.