The term “autotune” is one of the few musical phrases which has become a household word. Invented by Dr Andy Hildebrand and debuted at the 1997 NAMM show, the term “autotune” actually refers to the first version of the Antares Auto-Tune software that he developed. Colloquially adopted into mainstream conversation, autotune is used interchangeably to mean pitch correction software.
Autotune works by utilising phase vocoders, pitch detection algorithms, and pitch-shifting algorithms, which allow you to manually or automatically adjust the pitch of individual notes in a performance.
Though it was originally developed for the subtle nudging of pitches, it’s most famously recognised from Cher’s blockbuster hit “Believe”, released in 1998. This track helped popularise the extreme use of the tool, giving vocals the classic hard-tuned effect that we know so well in modern pop.
Whilst this is the most obvious and noticeable use of pitch correction, almost every record you hear has gone through pitch correction to polish performances to meet the standards of modern productions.
Since its inception, pitch correction plugins have undergone huge transformations, adding new features and effects whilst improving algorithms for even more flexibility. A long time has passed since the original 1997 Auto-Tune plugin, so we’re going to take a look at the best autotune plugins you can buy for subtle and extreme pitch correction.
In a hurry?
Here are our top 3 autotune plugins to get you started:
| Celemony Melodyne 5 Assistant | Strikes the perfect balance between complex editing and fast automatic workflow. Built on the same Grammy Award-winning technology as more expensive Melodyne packages. | Check the current price |
| Antares Auto-Tune Pro X | The most comprehensive plugin available. Tune multiple tracks simultaneously, edit in real-time with MIDI integration, edit in immense detail with updated graph mode, and customise the interface between Advanced and Beginner modes depending on your needs. | Check the current price |
| Synchro Arts RePitch | Delivers a highly transparent tone, offers independent adjustments of sibilance and breaths for maximum control, includes both automatic and manual modes and features pitch-specific processing to eliminate unwanted artefacts all in a light CPU plugin. | Check the current price |
The best autotune plugins
1. Antares Auto-Tune Pro X
Best autotune plugin for professionals looking for a complete experience
Type of pitch correction: Includes both graphic and automatic options
It’s no surprise that the original inventors of the technology have perfected vocal tuning plugins. Their flagship product, Auto-Tune Pro X is the pinnacle of tuning technology, providing the proverbial kitchen sink to your arsenal of vocal production tools.
No shortage of features, Auto-Tune Pro X offers both graphical and automatic tuning options, with a plethora of fine-tuning details including scale editing and vibrato control parameters which can be edited in real-time using MIDI control.
Helping to streamline the process of tuning, it also comes with Auto-Key, a plugin to detect the scale and key of your performance automatically. This information can be sent directly to Auto-Tune Pro X for more accurate automatic tuning, helping producers with limited music theory knowledge.
It’s entirely customisable, letting you switch between Advanced and Basic modes. This means you only view the parameters required for the depth of your project, making it suitable for any range of abilities.
Rich in features and boasting arguably the best sound quality available in any tuning plugin, it’s entirely non-destructive to the quality of your audio, even when you’re applying the built-in synthetic and natural vibrato controls, to maintain the integrity of your original recordings.
Presented in a perfected interface that looks sleek and is very intuitive, the price of the plugin reflects the quality, providing you with all the tools you could ever need for editing vocal performances, including on-the-fly live recordings with low latency mode.
2. Celemony Melodyne 5 Assistant
Best autotune plugin for intermediate-level producers looking for transparent sound.
Type of pitch correction: Graphic
The first company to introduce graphical editing for vocal pitch correction, Celemony Melodyne 5 Assistant is the gold standard for surgical pitch correction. Melodyne is firmly geared towards subtle and transparent-sounding pitch correction, meaning no robotic T-Pain-style vocals are possible here.
Powered by the Grammy Award-winning DNA (Direct Note Access) technology, it’s intelligent enough to analyse non-musical information such as atonal ‘S’ sounds, consonants, and breaths, ensuring you’re only processing the actual vocal track. This results in an incredibly natural sound that’s non-destructive to the overall audio quality of your track.
The interface is slightly dated in aesthetics but gets the job done and lets you perform much more than just pitch adjustments. Re-arrange sentences, quantise the audio, or create harmonies and arrangements all through the one-window interface.
This cost-effective introduction to the Melodyne platform gives you a lot for your money. Along with everything mentioned, there are detailed macro controls which let you alter the volume between pitched and dry notes to ensure there are no obvious changes between notes in a recording, not many other tools offer this at this price point!
3. Synchro Arts Revoice Pro 4
Best autotune plugin for authentic multitrack editing
Type of pitch correction: Graphic
A boutique option, Revoice Pro 4 offers an all-encompassing solution for pitch correction, time alignment, and advanced vocal manipulation, making it an invaluable asset despite its premium pricing.
Delve into a realm beyond conventional pitch correction, where each vocal note’s pitch can be meticulously edited to suit your needs. This plugin doesn’t stop there; it also lets you edit multiple tracks simultaneously! The modern music landscape demands lush vocal layering, and Revoice Pro 4 excels in this arena, aligning an entire song in mere minutes.
Central to Revoice Pro 4’s prowess is its patented Audio Performance Transfer (APT) technology, enabling exact replication of timing and pitch between performances, granting pristine harmonies and doubles ideal for genres like hip-hop and pop. The software’s SmartAlign technology intelligently navigates alignment start and end points, sparing you extensive manual editing while preserving artistic control.
Revoice Pro 4 boasts Logic ARA Compatibility, allowing seamless integration with Logic Pro DAW through instant plugin capture and processing. This enhancement streamlines your workflow during intensive mixing sessions, allowing you to channel your energy into the creative core of your project.
For music producers, dialogue editors, and post-production professionals, Revoice Pro 4 is the pinnacle of efficiency and precision. Its uncompromising sound quality retains the authenticity of the original performance, maintaining the organic tone of your audio tracks.
4. Soundtoys Little AlterBoy 5
Best autotune plugin for experimental vocal tuning
Type of pitch correction: Automatic
Offering something entirely different from the rest of the autotune plugins on the list, Soundtoys Little AlterBoy 5 is focused on creativity instead of meticulous vocal pitch correction.
Four knobs and three modes are all that’s presented in the compact interface, marking a drastic change from what we’ve seen already. It’s incredibly easy to use and has a surprising amount of functionality for such an affordable and streamlined plugin.
A Pitch, Formant, Drive, and Mix control knobs are paired with Transpose, Quantize, and Robot modes. These allow you to perform tasks from formant shifting the gender of a vocal, achieving the classic hard-tuned T-Pain sound, to harmonising with existing performances.
Little AlterBoy offers a refreshingly uncomplicated approach that sets it apart from conventional solutions. While it can indeed create the sought-after hard-tuned vocal effect, it stands out as more than just a typical autotune tool.
For those in search of meticulous vocal fine-tuning and precise timing adjustments, alternative options might be more suitable. However, where Little AlterBoy truly shines is its ability to fuel creativity. It’s a perfect choice for those looking to infuse their vocals with a unique artistic flair.
5. iZotope Nectar 3 Elements
Best AI-powered autotune plugin for beginners
Type of pitch correction: Automatic
The simplest of any autotune plugins on the list, Nectar 3 Elements is an AI-powered all-in-one vocal suite. Employing the automated Vocal Assist Module, Nectar 3 Elements intelligently scans your audio and applies optimised settings across parameters such as Clarity, De-Ess, Dynamics, Tone, Space, and, most importantly for this list, Pitch.
Designed to take rough vocal recordings to the finished article in as few clicks as possible, Nectar 3 Elements opts for a subtler approach to pitch correction for a natural and authentic tone, rather than letting you use it as a creative tool for hard-tuning effects.
Taking any guesswork or steep learning curves out of the equation, all that’s required is to select the Vibe and Intensity settings you’re after and the plugin does the rest. For this, it’s perfect for beginners as the interface is clean and simple, the results are very good and the price is very attractive considering it’s not only pitch correction that can be applied.
6. Slate MetaTune
Best autotune plugin for accurate automated pitch correction
Type of pitch correction: Automatic
This powerful plugin boasts an intuitive interface, impressive features, and top-notch sound quality that set it apart in the market.
At a glance, MetaTune‘s interface mirrors the Antares-style GUI, comprising a piano keyboard for pitch selection and macro-style knobs for essential parameters. However, a closer look reveals a treasure trove of innovative features. Its heat map simplifies pitch identification, while tone generators assist in pinpointing critical notes.
MetaTune’s speed control is a game-changer, offering a range from natural to hard quantised effects. The unique negative speed range and Note Stabilizer function combat the common “flutter” problem in hard tuning, ensuring smooth and accurate results.
One standout feature is MetaTune’s ability to group multiple instances across various tracks – a massive time-saver for complex vocal arrangements. Plus, its simple doubler function and unique Amount slider enhance the user experience, providing unparalleled control.
While MetaTune doesn’t do everything, what it does, it does exceptionally well – monophonic pitch correction. It doesn’t offer polyphonic pitch correction or timing correction, but its focus on precision vocal tuning is commendable.
If you’re seeking a fast, easy, and high-quality pitch correction plugin, MetaTune is a no-brainer. Even if you’re already using another solution, MetaTune’s unique features may just tempt you to make the switch. With MetaTune, Steven Slate has raised the bar in vocal tuning software.
7. Synchro Arts RePitch
Best natural autotune plugin for professionals
Type of pitch correction: Graphic
A sometimes overlooked vocal tuning plugin, RePitch delivers authentic, natural-sounding vocals. Designed for subtle and transparent tuning, RePitch is focused on professional singers looking to add an extra dash of perfection to a performance and isn’t going to be helpful in the hands of creative engineers wanting to utilise autotune as an effect.
Powered by advanced note detection technology and smart processing capabilities, you can independently process the pitched and non-pitched components of your performance. This maintains the character of your vocal with no unwanted artefacts.
The plugin also offers a unique blend of automatic pitch correction and manual editing. Its industry-first SynchroLink technology communicates with other Synchro Arts plugins, like VocAlign Ultra, enabling you to make simultaneous pitch and time changes across multiple tracks—a major time-saver! Plus, with ARA2 support, it integrates seamlessly with compatible DAWs.
There is an instantly familiar feel to the GUI. Anyone with experience using Melodyne products will be able to navigate and command the interface with ease, making it a massive time-saver for professionals in the studio.
Given the plethora of detailed controls and parameters available, the excellent sound quality and highly stable tuning possibilities, the price of admission for RePitch is entirely worth it and I think this is an excellent choice for professionals who aren’t satisfied with their current tuning plugins.
8. Auto-Tune EFX+ 10
Best all-in-one autotune plugin for beginners
Type of pitch correction: Automatic
A unique entry, Auto-Tune EFX+ 10 is an all-in-one solution which combines modular effects with an automatic pitch-correction algorithm. Suitable for a variety of different producers, it can serve as the creative hub for a beginner looking to explore tonal possibilities of a vocal performance but can also enable professional producers to get a specific sound fast and with fewer other tools required to create it.
Similar in function to the more basic Antares Auto-Tune offerings, EFX+ 10 doesn’t overwhelm you with tuning features, providing a simple few parameters including the Retune Speed and Humanize functions to automatically snap to the nearest note in the selected Key and Scale.
Where this plugin shines is the combination of auto-tuning and creative processing that takes vocal performances from raw and rough to tuned, polished, and professional in as little time as you can imagine.
It’s incredibly intuitive, and navigating through the 100 onboard effects and presets is made extremely simple with the modern interface. Overall, for the price this is a very effective solution that suits a lot of requirements and I’d recommend it for any level of producer or singer.
9. Celemony Melodyne 5 Studio
Best autotune plugin for seasoned veterans looking for the ultimate pitch-correction software
Type of pitch correction: Graphic
Melodyne, a cutting-edge pitch correction tool, reigns supreme in the realm of vocal processing. Renowned for its ability to deliver subtle, natural-sounding pitch correction, it’s much more than just an auto-tune effect – it’s an artisan’s tool for perfecting vocal recordings.
The user interface is meticulously crafted, facilitating precise adjustments that result in pitch-perfect yet organic-sounding vocals. Achieving this level of quality is a tall order without the right software, but Melodyne makes it seem effortless.
A standout feature of Melodyne is its multi-track note editing capability. This allows you to view and tweak the notes of multiple tracks simultaneously, bringing a degree of transparency and tangibility to the editing process that is unrivalled in the industry.
But Melodyne doesn’t stop there. It also provides access to instrumental and vocal overtones, enabling you to alter their colour in novel ways. The creative possibilities are virtually limitless from morphing and resynthesis to ultra-musical equalisation.
While Melodyne can be used within your DAW, its standalone version operates flawlessly too. Recent updates have further enhanced software compatibility and streamlined the GUI, making it even more user-friendly.
Why use pitch correction?
Widespread across the industry, autotune is employed by professional artists, from Katy Perry to Kanye West. It’s not about cheating but enhancing sound quality. To sing perfectly in tune all of the time is an almost impossible task, so autotune is just another tool to get the best sound from performances.
In today’s music scene, listeners anticipate flawless vocals; hence, pitch correction becomes indispensable. Very few artists don’t use pitch correction, some of the best singers can have off days. Even a beautiful, emotional take can be tarnished by off-key notes. Autotune polishes such performances, preserving their raw emotion.
Autotune also serves as a creative tool, adding another layer to the music. Artists like T-Pain and Cher have popularised this technique, using pitch correction as a stylistic choice during production.
Another lesser-known use of pitch correction is creating vocal harmonies. Instead of manually singing each harmony, pitch correction adjusts the original performance’s notes, resulting in a perfect harmony that’s in sync with the main vocal.
In a recording studio, where every second counts, autotune also saves valuable time. Achieving the perfect vocal take can be time-consuming, but autotune expedites this process, ensuring high-quality vocals in less time. It’s not just about correcting pitch; it’s about maximising efficiency and creativity in music production.
What to look for in an autotune plugin
When looking to purchase an auto-tune plugin, sound quality is the priority. This includes the accuracy of pitch correction and the avoidance of unwanted artefacts such as clicks or pops. We recommend listening to audio samples, watching video demos, and reading reviews to get a better understanding of the performance of the plugin.
Ease of use is another significant factor. Some plugins offer simplicity with few adjustable parameters, while others provide extensive customisability. It’s important to select a plugin that aligns with your workflow and requirements for your projects.
The features offered should also cater to your specific needs. Whether you prefer a plugin with only the bare essentials such as iZotope Nectar 3 Elements or a comprehensive solution like Auto-Tune Pro-X or Synchro Arts Revoice Pro 4, the added functionality might change your workflow or replace existing plugins in your projects so careful consideration is required.
CPU usage can’t be overlooked. High CPU consumption can lead to system lags or crashes, especially during recording sessions. Make sure your chosen plugin is compatible with your computer’s processing power.
Lastly, budget plays a significant role. The cost of plugins varies widely, and while price often indicates quality, you should avoid buying the most expensive just because it may look better. It’s crucial not to exceed your budget.
Our vocal tuning tips!
1. Select the appropriate input type
When using autotune, choose the correct input type based on the audio source. Different audio sources require different processing algorithms such as Soprano, Alto/Tenor, Low Male, Instrument, or Bass Instrument. Selecting the appropriate type enhances pitch detection and correction accuracy.
2. Master the speed control
The speed knob in autotune plugins is a powerful tool that dictates the aggressiveness of pitch correction. A speed setting of 0 creates the iconic robotic effect akin to T-Pain or Cher with abrupt pitch changes, while slower values create a more natural sound. Experiment with different settings to find the right balance for your project.
3. Utilise two-stage editing
For precise adjustments, start by passing the performance through an automatic tuning mode. Afterwards, fine-tune any stray or incorrect notes using a graphical editor to address the nuances and tighten the performance.
4. Set the song’s scale
To improve accuracy, configure the pitch correction to match the song’s key and scale. This lets your plugin determine which notes to correct the pitch. Alternatively, opt for a chromatic scale to retain flexibility and delete unnecessary notes later.
5. Less is more
Autotune’s charm often lies in its subtlety. Unless you’re aiming for a distinctive auto-tune effect, avoid overusing it and let the natural qualities of the vocal shine through. Over-editing can lead to noticeable and undesirable artefacts.
6. Employ humanise features
Utilising “humanise” settings can further reduce robotic sound effects. Particularly useful with lower Retune Speed values, Humanize imparts a more organic quality to longer notes while maintaining quicker retune speeds for shorter sounds.
7. Explore vocal comping first
Instead of relying solely on pitch correction, focus on vocal comping, which involves combining multiple vocal takes to create a seamless performance. Aim to capture the best possible vocal recordings during the recording process, minimising the need for extensive pitch correction.
FAQs
What autotune do professionals use?
Antares Auto-Tune Pro X is the autotune of choice for professionals. The most advanced autotune plugin to date, Auto-Tune Pro X features MIDI integration, fully adjustable Retune speed, Flex-Tune and humanise parameters, and updated Graph Mode. It also supports ARA2 DAWs and is compatible with Apple Silicon devices.
Is Waves or Antares better?
Antares offers much more than Waves, making it the best autotune plugin. Both plugins are capable of producing the signature synthetic vocal effect but Antares Auto-Tune provides more flexibility, a better interface, a range of onboard effects, and, more importantly, stable tuning with fewer artefacts.
What is the most realistic autotune?
Celemony Melodyne 5 Studio is the most realistic autotune plugin. Using proprietary Melodic Algorithm analysis, Melodyne 5 Studio intelligently and musically identifies the notes in your performance to deliver authentic and natural tuning that doesn’t colour the sound of your original recording.
Final thoughts
A key part of any modern recording or mixing, pitch correction isn’t as taboo as it once was. Getting natural sounds to augment a performance or exploring your creativity are both valid reasons for diving into autotune plugins. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to how you want to work, so see what’s best for you – there’s sure to be one that suits you on our list of the 9 best autotune plugins.
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