7.2Good
Battery 4 is Native Instruments' drum sampler plugin for building, editing, and triggering drum kits from a cell-based sample grid.
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
Contenders
Battery 4 is Native Instruments' drum sampler plugin for building, editing, and triggering drum kits from a cell-based sample grid.
Sampler / XLN Audio
XO by XLN Audio is a drum sampler and beat-making plugin that visually organizes one-shot samples and lets you build and audition drum patterns.
Score verdict
On the Dubspot Score, XO comes out ahead (8.6). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
| Signal | Battery 4 | XO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $199 | — |
| Dubspot Score | 7.2 | 8.6 |
| Formats | VST, VST3, AU (macOS only), AAX | VST, VST3, AU, AAX, Standalone |
| Plugin formats | VST, VST3, AAX (Windows); VST, VST3, AU, AAX (macOS) — 64-bit only | 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, AAX, plus standalone application |
| 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 | — |
| Included sounds | — | 8700+ one-shot samples |
| Beat presets | — | 240+ fully editable beat presets |
| macOS requirement | — | macOS 10.13 or later (64-bit) |
| Windows requirement | — | Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) |
| Installation | — | Internet connection required during installation |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.