By Erick Finn, independent music producer and audio engineer.
Part of the Sound Forge Pro 2026 Guide — start there if you're new to the editor.
This comparison is part of the Sound Forge Comparisons hub. If you are still choosing between Audacity, Adobe Audition, iZotope RX, WaveLab, Reaper, Vegas Pro, Acid Pro, Samplitude or Sound Forge Plus, start there.
Last updated: July 3, 2026
Sound Forge and Sound Forge Plus share the same core editor: waveform editing, metering, VST2/VST3/ARA support, multichannel recording, playback, and editing support, batch processing, and the main included effects packages. Plus adds four Plus-only extras on top of that shared core: Melodyne 5 Essential for pitch correction, Vandal for guitar and bass amp simulation, VariVerb II for algorithmic reverb, and 3D Reverb for spatial placement. That's the practical difference: Plus is the same core editor with four extra bundled plugins.
Quick answer: Buy the base tier unless you specifically need one of the four Plus-only extras. If you don't record vocals or instruments that need pitch correction, don't play guitar or bass through amp simulation, and don't do surround sound design work, Plus adds nothing you'll use. This guide goes past that one-line answer and explains what each plugin actually does, where it falls short, and which of your specific workflows would justify the extra cost.
Sound Forge vs Sound Forge Plus at a Glance
| Feature | Sound Forge | Sound Forge Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Core waveform editor | Included | Included |
| VST2/VST3/ARA support | Included | Included |
| Peak and loudness metering | Included | Included |
| Click, crackle, and clipping repair | Included | Included |
| Batch processing | Included | Included |
| Melodyne 5 Essential (pitch correction) | Not included | Included |
| Vandal (amp emulation) | Not included | Included |
| VariVerb II (algorithmic reverb) | Not included | Included |
| 3D Reverb (spatial reverb) | Not included | Included |
| Best for | Mastering, restoration, podcasting, voice-over | Vocal tuning, guitar DI work, spatial sound design |
What the Base Tier Already Includes
Before deciding whether Plus is worth it, it helps to know what you're not missing by staying on the base tier. The base Sound Forge tier already includes the core editor, sample-level waveform editing, peak and loudness metering, coreFX and essentialFX suite plugins, dynamic EQ tools, VST2/VST3/ARA support, click and crackle repair, clipping repair, broadband noise reduction, multichannel support, automatic record start, batch processing, and event-based non-destructive editing. None of that requires Plus.
The base tier can still handle reverb. It includes built-in reverb tools and Acoustic Mirror for convolution reverb, and it can host third-party VST reverbs through the Plug-In Chainer if you already own or install one. The reverb guide covers what's available out of the box. Plus doesn't introduce reverb to Sound Forge. It adds VariVerb II and 3D Reverb on top of what's already there.
What Melodyne 5 Essential Actually Does
Melodyne Essential is the entry point into Celemony's pitch correction software, and it's meaningfully more limited than the full versions musicians usually mean when they say "Melodyne." Celemony's own comparison of Melodyne editions lays out exactly where each tier's line sits, and it matters here because it decides whether Plus solves your problem or just gets you partway there.
What Essential includes: the Main Tool for adjusting each note's pitch, timing, and duration, note separation controls, and macros for pitch, timing, and dynamics that apply broad corrections quickly. It works on monophonic material, meaning one note at a time, which covers a solo vocal, a bass line, a single horn part, or a guitar solo. You can also time-stretch or transpose an entire mix using Essential, even though you can't edit individual notes within a polyphonic mix.
What Essential leaves out: the DNA algorithm that lets you edit individual notes inside a chord. If you record a guitarist who fumbles one note in a strummed chord, or a pianist who hits a wrong key in a full chord voicing, Essential can't isolate and fix that single note. You'd need Melodyne Assistant or Editor for that, sold separately by Celemony outside of Sound Forge. Essential also has no vibrato or formant controls, no audio-to-MIDI conversion, and while it displays sibilants in Melodic mode, it gives you no tools to actually edit them.
Where Essential is useful inside Sound Forge: a singer-songwriter who records their own vocal takes and needs to nudge a few flat notes into tune, a podcast host who wants to correct one obviously sour note in an otherwise clean intro jingle, or anyone fixing pitch on a single-instrument recording without needing chord-level surgery. The voice-over recording guide covers the rest of that workflow, since pitch correction is usually one small step in a longer processing chain. If your work is monophonic, single voice or single instrument at a time, Essential covers it. If you're regularly correcting harmonies, chords, or ensemble recordings, you'll hit its ceiling fast.
What Vandal Actually Does
Vandal is an amp emulation plugin for guitar and bass tone shaping. The official Sound Forge page describes it as amplifier, speaker, cabinet, and microphone modeling with presets and manual tone controls, letting you choose and adjust each stage of the signal path rather than picking one fixed captured tone.
Vandal makes sense inside Sound Forge for a specific workflow: reamping a DI'd guitar or bass track during post-production, adding amp character to a demo recorded direct into an interface, or sound design work that needs a guitar or bass tone without setting up a mic and a real amp. It doesn't make sense if your work is mastering, restoration, voice-over, or podcast production, since none of those touch guitar or bass tone shaping. In my own editing work, Vandal is most useful for checking whether a DI guitar take has enough usable tone before committing to a proper reamp.
What VariVerb II and 3D Reverb Add Over the Base Tier
The base tier's built-in Reverb and Acoustic Mirror cover standard reverb needs: adding space to a dry vocal, smoothing a room recording, or convolving with a real space's impulse response. VariVerb II and 3D Reverb go further in different directions.
VariVerb II is an algorithmic reverb with a deeper parameter set than the base Reverb plugin: multiple room, hall, plate, and spring reverb types, adjustable room size and damping, and non-linear reverb modes for creative effects that don't try to sound like a real space. If the base Reverb plugin feels too basic for detailed sound design work, VariVerb II is the upgrade path.
3D Reverb is built for spatial placement rather than general ambience. It creates virtual 3D rooms with directional reflections and can expand stereo audio into multichannel output, positioning sound at specific points in a virtual space. This is relevant for surround sound design or immersive audio post-production. It's not a tool a stereo mastering or podcast workflow will reach for often.
Who Should Buy Plus
The Sound Forge Plus features are narrow by design: four included plugins, nothing else. A singer-songwriter who records and pitches their own vocals without a separate Melodyne license. Sound Forge Plus for guitar work fits a producer who reamps DI guitar or bass tracks as part of their editing workflow, and Sound Forge Plus for vocals fits anyone doing regular pitch cleanup on their own or a client's takes. A sound designer doing surround or spatial audio work who needs 3D placement without a separate plugin purchase. Someone who already knows they want Melodyne Essential and Vandal individually and finds the Plus price lower than buying both separately.
That last point is worth checking before you buy anything. If the current Plus price is lower than buying Melodyne Essential and comparable amp or reverb plugins separately, and you would actually use those tools, Plus can be the better deal. Pricing changes, so confirm current numbers on the official Sound Forge pricing page before comparing.
Who Should Stick With the Base Tier
Sound Forge for podcasting and Sound Forge for voice-over both point to the same answer: the base tier. Podcast producers and voice-over engineers whose work is noise reduction, EQ, compression, and loudness normalization on spoken word. Sound Forge for mastering doesn't need Plus either: mastering engineers processing finished stereo mixes get nothing from the four Plus plugins, since none of them touch the mastering chain. Archivists and restoration specialists cleaning up old recordings, where the work is noise and click removal rather than pitch or amp tone. Anyone whose Sound Forge use is entirely single-file editing, batch conversion, and format delivery.
If you're not sure which category you fall into, the base tier's 15-day trial covers everything except the four Plus-exclusive plugins, so you can run your actual project material through the real toolset before deciding whether the gap matters. The pricing guide covers the subscription versus perpetual license decision separately from the tier decision, and the full review covers what the software does beyond this specific tier question.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sound Forge Plus worth the extra cost compared to regular Sound Forge?
Only if you'll use at least one of the four plugins it adds. Melodyne Essential handles monophonic pitch correction, Vandal handles guitar and bass amp simulation, and VariVerb II plus 3D Reverb extend the reverb options beyond what the base tier already includes. If your work is mastering, restoration, podcast production, or voice-over, none of those four apply and the base tier covers your workflow completely.
Does the base version of Sound Forge include reverb?
Yes. The base tier includes a built-in Reverb plugin and Acoustic Mirror for convolution reverb, plus support for any third-party VST reverb through the Plug-In Chainer. Plus adds VariVerb II, an algorithmic reverb with deeper room and damping controls, and 3D Reverb, built for spatial and surround placement rather than general ambience.
Can Melodyne Essential fix a wrong note in a chord?
No. Melodyne Essential works on monophonic material only, one note at a time. It can't isolate and correct a single note within a chord or a polyphonic recording. That requires Melodyne Assistant or Editor, sold separately by Celemony outside the Sound Forge bundle. Essential covers solo vocals, single-instrument lines, and full-mix time-stretching or transposition where you're not editing individual notes within a chord.
Is Vandal useful for anything other than guitar and bass?
Vandal is mainly useful for guitar and bass tone shaping. You can use it creatively on other audio, but its controls and presets are built around amp, cabinet, speaker, and microphone modeling. If your work doesn't involve shaping guitar or bass tone, you probably won't reach for it often.
Can I upgrade from the base tier to Plus later?
Check with Boris FX directly before assuming a specific upgrade path, since tier upgrade policies can differ from version upgrade policies and change between releases. The safer approach if you're unsure which tier you need is to trial the base tier first, since it's the tier most workflows actually require, and add the Plus-specific plugins individually later if a project calls for pitch correction or amp simulation.