FabFilter Total Bundle vs x42-plugins

FabFilter Total Bundle is a collection of 14 audio plug-ins for music production and audio processing on macOS and Windows. Its tools cover EQ, reverb, compression, multiband dynamics, limiting, de-essing, gating, distortion, delay, filtering, and synthesis. Listed formats include VST, VST3, Audio Units, CLAP, AAX Native, and AudioSuite; Windows downloads list VST, VST3, CLAP, and AAX, while macOS downloads are described as 64-bit plug-ins in all formats. Downloads are fully functional for a 30-day trial, after which a license key can unlock them. The bundle costs $1,069, paid once. A personal license can unlock the plug-ins on up to three computers used by the licensee. It includes free minor updates, but not new major versions or additions made to the bundle after purchase. FabFilter also describes an offline installation and registration option using an installer and license key transferred to the computer.

x42-plugins is a collection of audio-processing tools offered as LV2 plugins and standalone JACK applications for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its audio, MIDI, and utility tools include equalizers, meters, synthesizers, tuners, and sequencers. The Meter Collection has needle and bar-graph meters, an EBU R128 meter, phase displays, and spectrum analysis. The Equalizer is a four-band parametric EQ with shelf and high- and low-pass filters, zero latency, and spectrum and spectrogram displays. LV2 plugins need an LV2-capable host; standalone applications require JACK. The FAQ lists Ardour, Harrison Mixbus, REAPER, Audacity, and Carla among LV2-compatible software. x42-meters, x42-eq, and x42-whirl are included with Harrison Mixbus and Mixbus32C. Source code is available under GNU GPL version 2 or later. Without a valid license signature, plugins process audio, but their GUI stops responding to mouse input and eventually fades to black. Listed one-time license prices are 19.00 USD for Whirl Speaker, 29.00 USD for Equalizer, and 49.00 USD for Meter Collection.