8.6Great
Arturia Pigments Play is a free player edition of Pigments with all six synthesis engines, 68 filters, 20 effects, and 100 curated presets.
Plugin comparison
Arturia Pigments Play vs Arturia Pigments
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which synth to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
9.1Essential
Arturia Pigments is a software synthesizer combining six synthesis engines, drag-and-drop modulation, filters, effects, and sequencing.
Score verdict
Which should you buy?
On the Dubspot Score, Arturia Pigments comes out ahead (9.1). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Arturia Pigments Play | Arturia Pigments |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $199 |
| Dubspot Score | 8.6 | 9.1 |
| Formats | Standalone, VST, VST3, AU (Audio Units), AAX, NKS | Standalone, VST, VST3, AAX, Audio Unit (AU), NKS |
| Type | Free multi-engine software synthesizer (player edition) | — |
| Engines | Virtual analog, sample, wavetable, granular, modal, harmonic (all six) | — |
| Filters | 68 filter modes | 19 filter types and 68 filter modes |
| Effects | 20 effect algorithms | 20 effects, with 3 FX slots per bus across two insert buses and one send/return bus |
| Editing | 4 macros (brightness, timbre, time, movement) plus 4 effects | — |
| Presets | 100 curated presets | Over 1,700 presets |
| Operating systems | macOS 11+ (Intel or Apple Silicon), Windows 10+ (64-bit), OpenGL 2.0 GPU | — |
| Formats | Standalone, VST, VST3, AU, AAX, NKS | — |
| Synthesis engines | — | Six engines: Modal, Granular, Wavetable, Sample, Harmonic, and Virtual Analog (plus a Utility engine) |
| Current version | — | Pigments 7 |
| Platforms | — | Windows 10+ (64-bit) and macOS 11+ (incl. Apple M1); 4 GB RAM, 3 GB disk space |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.