99Sounds vs BandLab Sounds

99Sounds is an independent sound design label and free sound effects repository launched in 2014 by Tomislav Zlatić. Its collections include cinematic effects, drum samples, field recordings, rain sounds, loops, and other categories. Audio files and plugins are royalty-free for personal and commercial projects, including music, video, game development, podcasts, and sound design, and attribution is not required. The license does not permit selling or redistributing downloaded audio, either separately or as an attachment to work. It also bars use of the sounds in noise, white-noise, sleep-sound, or similar apps. Free instrument plugins are listed in VST, VST3, and AU formats. The maker says its instruments work with VST and AU hosts on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows and macOS, but not macOS Catalina. Drumplayer includes twelve kits, eight slots, stereo and multiple mono outputs, channel volume and pan, and pitch-modulation LFO. Upright Piano includes four sampled notes per octave, six dynamic layers per note, and adjustable envelope, tremolo, filter, and reverb. Sound and plugin downloads cost nothing.

BandLab Sounds is a library of royalty-free loops, samples, and one-shots for music creation. Its website advertises more than 160,000 loops and one-shots. Users can browse Packs, Loops, and One-Shots, preview sounds, save favorites, and download them; samples can also be dragged into BandLab Studio to make tracks. Downloads use claims that refresh weekly without carrying over: the Free plan gives 20 claims per week, BandLab Pro gives 100, and BandLab Max gives 500. A non-exclusive, royalty-free license allows use in personal or commercial compositions when a sound forms part of a larger composition, but standalone redistribution or resale is prohibited. My Sounds lets members upload external audio to cloud storage, organize collections, and search with custom tags. Supported formats are AAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, and WAV, with a 2 GB allocation and a one-minute limit per file. BandLab Sounds is available on Android, iOS, and the web, including through the BandLab mobile app and Sounds Hubs. Listed prices include $14.99 a month for Pro and $199 a year for Max in the first year, then $299 a year.