We tested five of the best kick drum plugins in 2025 — here’s which one you should buyThe kick drum is a crucial element in many modern genres, especially in electronic and dance music. It creates the foundation around which the rest of the track can groove, so it’s important to get it right. You could just pick a decent-sounding kick sample and be done, but to get the best results, you’ll probably want to refine your kick to make sure it fits perfectly with the other elements in the track, especially the bass. You could use the tools in your DAW to get meticulous with your 808s and 909s, but for quicker, deeper results, a kick plugin can be a worthy investment.
We’ve tested five kick drum instrument plugins that give you fine control over the transient clicks, the low-mid punch, and the sub-heavy tails. They use a mix of synthesis and sample playback to create powerful-sounding hits that can slot neatly into your mixes. There are a range of prices and tools on offer, the usefulness of which will depend on your genre and workflow.
Best kick drum plugins at a glance:

Best overall kick drum plugin: Sonic Academy – Kick 3
Best value kick drum plugin: Audija – KickDrum
Best kick plugin for sound design: The Him DSP – Kick Ninja
Best presets in a kick plugin: Plugin Boutique – BigKick
Best kick plugin for quick results: Drumforge – Kickforge

During testing, we find the import functions on both Kick 3 and Kick Ninja to be most effective; we have worse results with KickDrum as the import requires more editing and the sample layer plays back in mono. Of these three node-based instruments, Kick 3 is the most intuitive to edit, but all of them can create powerful and punchy-sounding kicks, and the added node modulation options in Kick Ninja and KickDrum lend them a touch more precision. The other two instruments are the best options for those who want a quick fix via a selection of decent presets.
Best overall kick drum plugin: Sonic Academy – Kick 3
£79.95, sonicacademy.com

 
Version 3 of Sonic Academy’s Kick plugin brings some fantastic new features to an already excellent kick drum plugin. It includes five layers of synthesised sub or sample playback, with fine control over the pitch and amp curves. New linear and logarithmic views help make editing more precise, alongside useful features such as phase locking nodes, and the ability to pitch track just the sub tails. This means the attack portion can remain consistent, whilst the sub can change pitch; a useful feature for moving 808 kick basslines.
Elsewhere, the import feature lets you analyse any kick from a full track and then create a preset version for further tweaking. There’s also flexible harmonics generation, a revamped effects section with a broad range of excellent effects, and a Trigger mode for replacing or augmenting kicks in your productions.
Kick 3 is one of the most expensive offerings here, but it’s also the most feature-packed including a vast number of presets, and it’s already seen a handful of updates since its release.
PROS

High-quality kick sounds with a broad preset collection
New programming features refine the editing process
AI import works well and lets you edit any kick in detail
Superb new effects section expands the sonic capabilities

CONS

Limited modulation options
A few missed opportunities
Macros limited to one effects control each
Rich with features, but a touch expensive

Read our full review of the Kick 3 here
Best value kick drum plugin: Audija – KickDrum
€44, audija.com

KickDrum is a colourful instrument that offers precise editing and a modular workflow. You can build your kick by combining different devices. These include a sine oscillator with harmonic distortion and a phase lock function, a sample playback and editing device, an EQ, a gain envelope, a saturator, and a clipper. Various device settings can be automated via the internal automation system, giving you the option to draw additional curves and fine-tune how the kick changes over time. There’s also excellent visual feedback where the oscillogram updates for every tiny change that you make.
Like Kick 3, it has an analyze function that can take a sampled kick and turn it into a device chain preset that utilises the oscillator and sampler, or just the oscillator. We find the results not quite as effective as Kick 3 and Kick Ninja though, as the import required more editing and the sample layer was playing back in mono. It is, however, very precise, punchy sounding, and reasonably priced.
PROS

Incredibly precise editing
Modular layout lets you focus on what you need
Flexible modulation curves
Very punchy sounding

CONS

Small number of samey presets
Some areas such as sample import no very intuitive
GUI can get a little confusing
Somewhat limited effects

Best kick plugin for sound design: The Him DSP – Kick Ninja
£59.99, pluginboutique.com

Kick Ninja is developed by EDM DJ/Producer The Him, and offers plenty of control for crafting the perfect kick. It includes a flexible anti-aliasing oscillator that blends a pure sine wave with a selectable waveform and harmonic oscillator. Alongside this, it has three sample layers with automatable pitch, amp and high-pass/low-pass filter envelopes. In fact there are a total of 22 different envelopes for various parameters that can be controlled over time, opening up options for crafting evolving kicks and basses.
Elsewhere there’s an oversampled effects section with two distortion modules, filters and a compressor. Again, this one has an AI import feature, but this time you can choose whether the original sample is layered on top of the sub, provided with a filter for further tweaking, or whether it just uses the attack portion to retain the original transient. It does an impressive job that’s on par with Kick 3.
PROS

70 presets
22 envelopes allow for broad expression and sound design
AI import function works very well
Can edit kicks in fine detail
Good sounding distortion and filters

CONS

Would be nice if there were more creative effects
Somewhat limited presets
GUI feels a little cluttered

Best presets in a kick plugin: Plugin Boutique – BigKick
£49 (currently available for £25), pluginboutique.com

BigKick is nearly 10 years old, but it still packs a punch. It lets you load two samples and combines these with a tone generation section for creating the body of the kick. The synth part lacks the visual precision and editing of some of the other tools here, but it’s arguably a simpler and faster plugin to work with. The sample layers each have a high-pass filter to help carve out space for the low-end, and the Body section has two models to choose from.
BigKick comes with some great artist presets, so it’s an easy choice if you want a decent collection of kicks that will work straight off the bat. If you want extra sounds, then there are 19 artist expansion packs in a range of electronic genres that are available for £5 each or £59 for a bundle.
PROS

Quick results with fast editing
Excellent and broad collection of artist presets
Good visual waveform feedback as you change parameters

CONS

GUI looks a little simplistic and dated
Can’t edit parameters with the same level of detail
Somewhat limited effects

Best kick plugin for quick results: Drumforge – Kickforge
£98 (currently available for £32), drumforge.com

Kickforge started off life as a Kontakt instrument in 2015, but it made the jump to its own plugin format in 2020, and added a bunch of new features and sounds. It differs from the other instruments here as it’s solely sample-based, and it features a sub layer and an attack layer. It also has a focus on both electronic and acoustic kick drums, including presets for rock and metal genres alongside EDM and drum and bass styles.
The factory library includes 13 natural acoustic subs and 40 electronic subs, plus 24 multi-sample acoustic tops (which can be set to round-robin mode for added realism), and 32 electronic one-shot tops. There are also additional artist presets packs from Vorso, Atrium Audio, Kane Churko and Prince Fox.
Kickforge provides fast controls for each layer with Filter and Sustain dials and a harmonics switch for the sub layer. You can then refine the sound using the Compressor, Transient and EQ effects section. It’s more basic than some of the other tools here, but the excellent presets make it a promising choice for those looking for quick results, or for kick drums outside of the more obvious electronic genres.
PROS

Quick and intuitive editing
Excellent collection of production-ready presets
Round-robin acoustic drums make for a broader palette than the competition

CONS

Limited editing options means no fine-tuning of envelopes
Basic effects with no distortion options
Quite expensive at full price

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