SoundToys, Inc.

What SoundToys, Inc. does

Soundtoys, Inc. is a privately held audio software company headquartered at 225 Church St., Burlington, Vermont, that develops DSP-based audio effect plug-ins for digital music production. The product portfolio comprises 23 individual plug-ins organized around effect families — delay (EchoBoy, PrimalTap), saturation (Decapitator, Radiator, Devil-Loc), reverb (SuperPlate, Little Plate, SpaceBlender), pitch and vocal processing (Little AlterBoy, MicroShift), modulation (PhaseMistress, Tremolator, FilterFreak, PanMan, Crystallizer), EQ (Sie-Q), and the Effect Rack multi-effects system — supporting AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite, VST 2, VST 3, and Audio Units on 64-bit macOS (including Apple Silicon) and Windows.

The company sells perpetual one-time licenses directly via its Shopify-powered e-commerce site and through a global network of 40+ authorized resellers (Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Thomann, Plugin Boutique, Gear4music) across 17+ countries. Pricing ranges from $29-$199 per individual plug-in and $599 for the full Soundtoys 5 bundle, with a discounted $299 academic bundle and digital gift cards. Customer segments include professional music producers, mix engineers, and composers (e.g., Trent Reznor, Ludwig Göransson, Zedd, Glass Animals, Mike Dean), home-studio producers, students and educators, and film/TV/game composers and sound designers. The company also operates a recurring charity-driven sales program (cumulatively raising over $720,000 for humanitarian and civil-rights causes) and supports a free 30-day trial and iLok-based license management. Founded by Ken Bogdanowicz, Soundtoys operates with 1-10 employees, has no disclosed external funding, and is a profitable, founder-led, bootstrapped business.

Name

SoundToys, Inc.

Legal name

Soundtoys, Inc.

Website

https://soundtoys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Soundtoys, Inc. is a Burlington, Vermont-based audio software company that develops 23 DSP-based audio effect plug-ins (saturation, delay, reverb, modulation) sold as perpetual licenses to professional and home-studio music producers, mixers, and composers via direct e-commerce and a global reseller network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Other Sound Recording Industries (512290), Sound Recording Industries (5122)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Audio Plugins & Virtual Instruments (VST/AU/AAX) (MPAIAIAB)

Keywords

• Audio effect plug-ins
• Music production software
• Analog modeled effects
• DAW plug-in suite
• Mixing and mastering tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Software License Sales (One-Time Purchase): Soundtoys sells one-time perpetual software licenses for individual plug-ins and bundled collections. Individual plug-in prices range from $29 to $199; the Soundtoys 5 bundle is $599. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Upgrade Licenses: Users with older versions (e.g., Soundtoys 4) can purchase upgrades to the Soundtoys 5 bundle at a discounted upgrade price, enabling a recurring revenue stream from the existing customer base.
3. Academic Bundle Sales: A discounted academic bundle ($299) for students and educators, sold exclusively through verified resellers (Sweetwater and Thomann) who verify eligibility.
4. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards starting at $25, available for purchase on soundtoys.com. Gift cards do not expire and can be used on regular and sale-priced items.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Soundtoys designs, develops, and sells a catalog of professional audio effect plug-ins (VST, AU, AAX) used inside digital audio workstations for music production, mixing, mastering, post-production, and sound design. Offerings are sold as individual perpetual licenses, in bundles such as Soundtoys 5, and in a discounted academic variant, with a free trial of Decapitator available to drive acquisition. The flagship workflow product, Effect Rack, lets users chain and macro-control multiple Soundtoys effects inside a single plug-in instance.

Product overview

Soundtoys, Inc. is an audio effects software company headquartered in Burlington, Vermont, that develops plug-ins for digital music production. The company offers a portfolio of 23 individual audio effect plugins, with the Soundtoys 5 bundle ($599) serving as the core product that packages all plugins together. Individual plugins range from $29 to $199, with lower-cost 'Little' versions of some plugins available. The product lineup includes: delay effects (EchoBoy, EchoBoy Jr., PrimalTap, Little PrimalTap), saturation/distortion (Decapitator, Radiator, Little Radiator, Devil-Loc, Devil-Loc Deluxe), reverb (SuperPlate, Little Plate, SpaceBlender), pitch/vocal processing (Little AlterBoy, MicroShift, Little MicroShift), modulation (PhaseMistress, Tremolator, Crystallizer, FilterFreak, PanMan), EQ (Sie-Q), and the Effect Rack multi-effects system. Soundtoys also offers an Academic bundle for students and educators ($299), upgrade paths for existing users, and digital gift cards. All plugins support AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite, VST 2, VST 3, and Audio Units (AU) formats on Mac OS X and Windows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Soundtoys 5 The complete collection of Soundtoys audio effect plug-ins packaged as a single bundle, sold to producers, engineers, and composers at a discount versus buying the plug-ins individually.
• Soundtoys 5 Academic
• EchoBoy
• EchoBoy Jr.

Named customers30 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, minor and supporting.

• Sweetwater SoundcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSweetwater Sound is an authorized reseller of Soundtoys products in the United States, selling all individual plug-ins, the Soundtoys 5 bundle, and the Academic bundle exclusively for Soundtoys.
• ThomanncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThomann is an authorized reseller of Soundtoys products in Germany/Europe, selling all individual plug-ins, the Soundtoys 5 bundle, and the Academic bundle exclusively for Soundtoys (in EUR, GBP, and USD).
• Guitar Center / Musician's FriendmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGuitar Center Inc. is an authorized Soundtoys reseller in the United States, offering the full Soundtoys product catalog to customers through guitarcenter.com.
• Plugin BoutiquemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPlugin Boutique Ltd is an authorized Soundtoys reseller in the United Kingdom, selling Soundtoys products to customers in the UK market.
• Gear4musicmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGear4music Limited is an authorized Soundtoys reseller in the United Kingdom.
• Plugin DiscountsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPlugin Discounts is an authorized Soundtoys reseller in the United States.
• ShopifysupportingTechnology or IntegrationSoundtoys uses Shopify to process payment information on soundtoys.com. Shopify is the e-commerce platform underpinning the company's direct online sales.
• MailChimp / MandrillsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSoundtoys uses MailChimp and Mandrill to send email communications to customers, including transactional emails and marketing newsletters.
• iLoksupportingTechnology or IntegrationSoundtoys uses iLok for software license activation and management. Users are required to have an iLok account ID and internet connection at the time of activation to license Soundtoys plug-ins.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Plugin Alliance: Alliance of boutique plug-in brands (Brainworx, SPL, Shadow Hills, TBT, elysia) marketing modeled hardware emulations via subscription and bundles. Direct overlap with Soundtoys in saturation, EQ, and dynamics modeling at the high-end pro tier.
• FabFilter: Dutch boutique developer of premium audio effect and EQ plug-ins (Pro-Q, Pro-L, Saturn, Timeless) that compete head-to-head with Soundtoys in saturation, delay, and dynamics on the same DAW platforms at similar price points.
• iZotope: Premium audio plug-in developer (Ozone, Neutron, RX, Nectar) and now part of Native Instruments. Directly competes in mastering, mixing, and vocal processing and is increasingly bundling AI-driven features that compete with Soundtoys' modeling-based effects.
• Slate Digital: Subscription-based modeled plug-in developer (Virtual Mix Rack, Virtual Buss Compressors, FG-X) targeting the same professional mixing engineer segment with modeled analog emulations that compete with Decapitator and the broader Soundtoys 5 bundle.
• Arturia: French developer of modeled instruments and effects (Rev PLATE-140, Pre 1973, EQ SITRAL-295, TAPE MELLO-FI) that compete with Soundtoys' saturation and reverb lines. Distinguished by a broader catalog that includes software instruments and hardware controllers.

Emerging players

• Valhalla DSP: Solo-developer boutique maker of widely acclaimed reverb and delay plug-ins (VintageVerb, Room, Delay, Supermassive) priced significantly below Soundtoys. Competes head-on with SuperPlate, EchoBoy, and SpaceBlender with a reputation for high quality-to-price ratio.
• Output: Modern effects and instrument plug-in developer (Portal, Signal, Thermal, Arcade) targeting the same indie and professional producer segment. Competes with Soundtoys in creative modulation, saturation, and FX-forward sound design categories with a younger brand identity.

Broad incumbents

• Universal Audio: Incumbent maker of UAD DSP plug-ins and Apollo interfaces with a large catalog of modeled effects and instruments. Competes with Soundtoys in the modeled-saturation and modeled-reverb space but is structurally differentiated by its hardware-accelerated DSP platform.
• Waves Audio: Large, established plug-in developer offering hundreds of effects, EQs, compressors and modeled emulations. Competes broadly with Soundtoys across most categories (SSL, Abbey Road, H-Reverb, J37) at lower price points and aggressive bundle pricing.
• Native Instruments: Major music software company behind Komplete, Massive, and effects like Phasis and Replika. Now parent of iZotope. Overlaps with Soundtoys in modulation, delay, and reverb categories and competes on bundle value for producers building a complete toolset.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/soundtoys
• Facebookfacebook.com/soundtoys
• Instagraminstagram.com/soundtoys
• TikToktiktok.com/@soundtoysofficial
• Xx.com/SoundToys

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SoundToys, Inc.