The best budget synthesizers you can get right nowHardware synthesizers may seem like an untenable luxury to many producers. The most coveted synths generally start at a price of four figures, with vintage models pushing into the tens of thousands. You’ll certainly need a big bank balance or a good line of credit for a Yamaha CS-80! But fret not, producers and performers — there’s a wide choice of affordable synths that will cost you less than an iPhone.
There are some true gems to be had at this end of the market, with instruments that sound much more expensive, and that are far more versatile, than they deserve to be at the price. Here are our favourite budget synths, and why they might be right for you.

READ MORE: Best polyphonic synths you can buy right now

Best overall budget synth: ARTURIA MINIFREAK
Arturia MiniFreak. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
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The MiniFreak is an advancement of Arturia’s original MicroFreak, boasting a second multi-engine oscillator to pump through its authentic analogue filter stage, six voice polyphony, digital effects, and a real (albeit mini) keyboard in place of the touch-sensitive pads of the MicroFreak.
The oscillator engines are key to the synth’s sonic versatility. As I explain in my review: “Many of these engines operate almost like multi-oscillator synths in their own right, so by stacking two such engines the range and versatility of the MiniFreak’s voice is more than doubled [compared to MicroFreak].”
Additionally, the synth comes with a license for MiniFreak V, Arturia’s software emulation of its own synth. This integrates tightly with the hardware synth, which can act as a controller for the software (or, indeed, vice-versa).
As I conclude, “The MiniFreak is a small instrument whose unassuming exterior hides a behemoth of a synthesizer. It’s tough to believe the richness and character you can coax from such a compact, almost cute, instrument.”
Best value synth: BEHRINGER MODEL-D

 
Behringer’s Model-D is a desktop monosynth with no built-in keyboard, but its looks, features and layout are a direct facsimile of the legendary Moog Minimoog’s control panel, albeit on a smaller scale. Being a lookalike would be pointless if the unit didn’t sound anything like the real thing but, as demonstrated by popular synth YouTuber Starsky Carr (amongst others), the sonic differences between Model-D and Minimoog are astonishingly slight.
Given its affordability, Model-D’s build quality is nowhere near as robust as a genuine Minimoog. But this is nonetheless a bona fide analogue synth, with the depth and richness of sound to prove it — not to mention the same tuning and calibration headaches!
As well as being one of the best value monosynths on the market, Model-D also brings one of the most revered and desirable synths ever created into easy and affordable reach of the masses, whilst delivering a sound and hands-on experience that’s infinitely more satisfying than a software emulation.
Best budget polyphonic synth: DREADBOX NYMPHES
Dreadbox Nymphes. Image: Dreadbox
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Dreadbox Nymphes’ compact design boasts a six-voice synth based on a single VCO, with additional sub-oscillator and noise generator. The filter section packs both a 24dB/octave resonant low-pass filter and a 6dB/octave high-pass filter, a configuration that’s not dissimilar to the original Roland Juno synths. Modulation is furnished by a pair of ADSR envelopes and a pair of LFOs.
This architecture gives Nymphes, according to Jono Buchanan’s review, “multiple sonic personalities, with rasping basses, ethereal pads, spiky, wonky melodies, blunt sounds perfect for sequencing, and a host of options for electronic percussion”.
All controls have a secondary function accessed by holding down the Shift button, and there are other parameters that can only be accessed via a slightly awkward menu-based system. It’s a solution that saves on cost but that needs adapting to. Nevertheless, as Jono tells us, “if you’re looking for a compact, self-contained hardware synth with a spirit of its own, Nymphes has plenty to get excited about.”
Best budget modular synth: BEHRINGER 2600
Image: Behringer
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The Behringer 2600 shares the looks, extensive hands-on controllability, and re-patchable modularity of the vintage ARP 2600 that inspired it. However, it isn’t an exact sonic match to the original; as synth YouTuber and owner of both an original ARP 2600 and all three Behringer variants, Ralph Baumgartl, puts it, the Behringer’s sound isn’t as “brutal, untamed and raw” as the ARP.
It still sounds awesome, though, as I can attest to personally, my own 2600 sitting nearby as I write this. Its sound is simultaneously fat and edgy in a way that only an analogue synth can be, and with three oscillators, each pumping out multiple waveform shapes simultaneously, it can sound utterly huge.
Sonic accuracy isn’t really the point, though. What makes Behringer’s 2600 so good is that, as Baumgartl puts it, the synth has “all the essential synthesiser modules in one single box”, all of which can be patched and routed in whatever way you see fit. This makes the 2600 an ideal starting point for exploring modular synthesis or a powerful addition to an existing modular rig.
Best for beginners: KORG MINILOGUE XD
Korg Minilogue XD. Image: Korg
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We described the original Korg Minilogue as “A pretty wonderful product, full of great analogue character, and a joy to use”. The overhauled Minilogue XD — in the words of Andy Jones’ review, a “souped-up Minilogue” — adds new digital elements to this already tasty recipe.
The most significant addition is Korg’s Multi Engine, taken from its Prologue synth, which allows different sound generation models to be loaded. There’s a choice of a versatile noise generator and a Variable Phase Modulation (VPM) engine, which, as Andy explains, “brings FM oscillation to Minilogue, so expect some more edgy metallic and fast attack sounds”. But it’s also possible to load custom models as User models too, the synth comes with a Wavetable User model to get you started.
In conclusion, Andy tells us “[Minilogue XD] stands out in a competitive area as a synth which is both big in sound and flexible.[…] [T]here are few other synths – expensive, cheap, big or small – that offer as much instant fun, drama, education and attitude.”
Best affordable FM synth: KORG VOLCA FM 2

The original Korg Volca FM was an homage to the era-defining Yamaha DX7, with the same six-operator design, the same set of 32 algorithms, and the same suite of parameters. In fact, Volca FM can even load original DX7 patches.
The updated Volca FM 2 retains all of these features and comes packed into the same fun-sized enclosure as its predecessor, but it also contains updates that make it a much more capable and satisfying instrument. The most important change is a doubling of polyphony from three to six voices, giving the synth a far wider range of uses, but there’s also a reverb and improvements to the synth’s 16-step sequencer.
But what’s most pleasing about Volca FM 2 is that it packs the unique sound and powerful capabilities of FM synthesis into an ultra-portable unit, allowing you to explore FM and make cool sounds and sequences whenever and wherever you feel like it.
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