Plugin comparison
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which sampler to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
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Contenders
Battery 4 is Native Instruments' drum sampler plugin for building, editing, and triggering drum kits from a cell-based sample grid.
Sonic Academy Kick 2 by Sonic Academy. The kick design synth for electronic music: layer click and sub with node envelopes to build custom kicks from scratch.
Score verdict
On the Dubspot Score, Sonic Academy Kick 2 comes out ahead (8.5). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
| Signal | Battery 4 | Sonic Academy Kick 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $199 | $50 |
| Dubspot Score | 7.2 | 8.5 |
| Formats | VST, VST3, AU (macOS only), AAX | VST3, AU, AAX |
| Plugin formats | VST, VST3, AAX (Windows); VST, VST3, AU, AAX (macOS) — 64-bit only | — |
| Built-in effects | Solid EQ, Solid Bus Comp, Transient Master, tape saturation, LoFi, and convolution reverb | — |
| Install size | 4.6 GB for complete installation (0.6 GB free disk space required to install) | — |
| System requirements | macOS 13, 14, or 15 (Intel or Apple Silicon) / Windows 10 or 11, with 4 GB RAM | — |
| Graphics | Graphics card supporting OpenGL 2.1 or higher required | — |
| Type | — | Kick drum synthesizer |
| Developer | — | Sonic Academy |
| Use | — | Electronic kick design |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.