Valhalla alternatives, free and paid
Valhalla's own Supermassive is free and is the first thing to try. For a free VintageVerb or Room stand-in, Dragonfly Reverb or TAL-Reverb-4 (both run on Linux). For Shimmer, Eventide's ShimmerVerb. If you want the big shoegaze wall without tuning a reverb at all, that is my Adrift.
Valhalla reverbs are cheap, great, and everywhere, so people usually look for an alternative for one of three reasons: they want something free, they are on Linux (Valhalla does not make Linux builds), or they want a sound Valhalla does not do. Here is the list sorted by those reasons.
I make Siesta Audio plugins, and mine are on this list, marked as mine. Everything else is here because people actually recommend it. Prices are rough list prices and change often, so check before you buy.
| Plugin | Price | Formats | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| ValhallaSupermassiveValhalla DSP | Free | VST2, VST3, AU, AAXMac, Win | Free delay and reverb for massive echoes and huge washes, with many algorithm modes. |
| Dragonfly ReverbMichael Willis (open source) | Free | VST2, VST3, CLAP, LV2Mac, Win, Linux | Free bundle of hall, room, plate and early-reflection reverbs. |
| TAL-Reverb-4TAL Software | Free | VST2, VST3, AU, AAX, CLAPMac, Win, Linux | Plate reverb with a vintage 1980s character and a lush modulated tail. |
| Adrift (mine)Siesta Audio | $39 | VST3, AU, StandaloneMac, Win, Linux | Two-knob shoegaze reverb: HEAT for warmth and saturation, MELT for the size of the wall, FREEZE to hold a sound forever. |
| ShimmerVerbEventide | Paid, often discounted | VST2, VST3, AU, AAXMac, Win, iOS | Reverb with parallel pitch shifting, from Eventide's pitch-shift hardware, with a Freeze button. |
| Cloud SeedGhost Note Audio | Paid, free evaluation mode | VST3, AUMac, Win | Algorithmic reverb for huge, endless spaces and modulated echoes. |
| Pro-R 2FabFilter | Paid | VST2, VST3, AU, AAX, CLAPMac, Win | High-end algorithmic reverb with musical controls and a decay-rate EQ. |
| Seventh HeavenLiquidSonics | Paid | VST2, VST3, AU, AAXMac, Win | Fusion-IR reverb recreating the Bricasti M7 halls, rooms and plates. |
Free alternatives to Valhalla
ValhallaSupermassive is free and comes from Valhalla itself, so if price is the only reason you are looking, start there. It is a delay and reverb built for size; it will not do a small, realistic room.
Dragonfly Reverb is the closest free answer to VintageVerb and ValhallaRoom: halls, rooms, plates and early reflections, open source, and native on Linux. TAL-Reverb-4 is a free 80s-flavored plate that suits synths and vocals.
Valhalla alternatives on Linux
Valhalla does not ship Linux builds. Dragonfly Reverb and TAL-Reverb-4 run natively, and so does Adrift (VST3 and Standalone on Linux). For Reaper and Bitwig users on Linux, see the best free plugins for Reaper.
Paid alternatives
- Instead of ValhallaShimmer: Eventide ShimmerVerb, from the company whose hardware started the shimmer sound.
- Instead of ValhallaRoom: LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven for realistic Bricasti-style spaces, or FabFilter Pro-R 2 for surgical control.
- Instead of tuning any of them: Adrift. It is not a general-purpose reverb. It does one thing, the warm shoegaze wall, from two knobs and a preset, with a Freeze to hold the sound.
Building a shoegaze or ambient chain? See the best shoegaze plugins and reverb plugins with freeze.
Quick answers
Is Valhalla free?
ValhallaSupermassive is free. VintageVerb, Shimmer, Room and Valhalla's other reverbs are paid, at low prices for what they do.
What is the best free alternative to ValhallaVintageVerb?
Dragonfly Reverb is the closest free match, with halls, rooms and plates. ValhallaSupermassive is free too but is built for huge spaces rather than vintage halls.
What is a free alternative to ValhallaShimmer?
ValhallaSupermassive at high feedback gets you endless, washy tails for free, though without Shimmer's pitch-shifted octave. For a paid shimmer, Eventide ShimmerVerb.
Does Valhalla work on Linux?
Valhalla does not make Linux builds. Dragonfly Reverb, TAL-Reverb-4 and Adrift run natively on Linux.