Where to Buy Loops and Samples: The Best Sample Pack Sites Compared

There have never been more loops and samples to buy, and that's the problem. Millions of sounds, hundreds of labels, subscriptions, credits, bundles and "free" packs that want your email address. Finding sounds that are actually good, and that you're actually allowed to use, takes more effort than it should.

Here's where we'd buy loops and samples, how the different ways of paying compare, and what to check before you hand over any money. We're on the list, and we'll be honest about where we fit.

Subscription or buy outright?

The first decision isn't which shop, it's how you want to pay.

• Subscriptions give you a monthly allowance of credits to spend on individual sounds from a huge library. Great if you want one snare from one pack and a vocal from another. The cost adds up over a year, though, and you're paying whether you use the credits or not.
• Buying packs outright means paying once and owning the whole pack. Better value if you'll use a lot of it, and there's no monthly bill. The downside is that you pay for the sounds you don't use too.

Plenty of producers do both: a subscription for odds and ends, and full packs from labels and sound designers they trust.

SOUND7

We're a small UK label and store, and every SOUND7 pack is made in-house by Martyn, who also designs factory sounds for synth makers including u-he, discoDSP and Novation. Our sample packs focus on the genres we know best: dub techno, techno, trance, house and chillwave, plus sound packs for the Elektron Analog RYTM.

Every sample pack is 44.1kHz, 24-bit WAV, labelled with key and BPM, and royalty free. Our packs are only sold here, not through other stores, and they're an instant download after checkout.

• Good for: deep, analogue-sounding techno and trance, consistent quality and clear labelling.
• Not so good for: range. We cover a handful of genres rather than everything.

Start with: Deep Dub Vol. 3 for dub techno, ANA7OG 7EQUENCES for analogue techno sequences with MIDI, or Above Trance Vol. 1 for progressive and uplifting trance. Or browse all SOUND7 sample packs.

Splice

Splice is the biggest name in sample subscriptions, with millions of sounds from labels, artists and sound designers. You pay monthly for an allowance of downloads, pick individual sounds rather than whole packs, and keep everything you've downloaded even if you cancel. The sounds are royalty free.

The search and preview tools are excellent and the library is enormous. The flip side is that Splice sounds are everywhere: the most popular loops turn up on a lot of tracks, so it pays to dig past the front page.

• Good for: huge variety, buying single sounds, keeping what you download.
• Not so good for: standing out, and the cost if you don't use your credits.

Worth knowing: Sample Magic, once a big independent label, joined Splice, and its packs are now only available there. More on whether it's worth the money in our guide: Is Splice worth it?

Loopmasters and Loopcloud

Loopmasters has been selling sample packs since 2003 and works with a long list of labels and sound designers, so its catalogue is strong across dance music in particular. You can buy packs outright from the store, or use Loopcloud, its subscription service, which lets you search, audition and edit sounds in time and in key with your DAW before you download.

After a few years under the Beatport Group, Loopmasters went back into the hands of its founder, Matt Pelling, in 2025.

• Good for: dance music, buying full packs, and auditioning sounds in context with Loopcloud.
• Not so good for: a quick browse. There's a lot to wade through.

Tracklib

Tracklib is different from everything else here. Instead of royalty-free loops, it gives you original recordings from real records, soul, funk, jazz and more, and handles the clearance so you can sample them legally.

You subscribe to download tracks and stems, then pay a licence fee and share revenue with the rights holders when you release. That makes it more expensive than a sample pack, but it's the only way on this list to legally flip a real record without chasing the rights yourself.

• Good for: hip hop, house and anything built on genuine sampled records.
• Not so good for: cheap experiments. Read the licence terms for each track before you release.

Native Instruments

Native Instruments isn't a sample shop as such, but its Kontakt platform runs most of the big instrument libraries, and its Expansions add genre-focused sounds for its own instruments and Maschine. If you work in film, TV or with realistic instruments, a lot of what you'll buy will run in Kontakt. See our guide to Kontakt and Kontakt Player.

Producer Loops and Prime Loops

Both are long-running independent stores selling sample packs, MIDI and presets outright, across most electronic genres plus hip hop and pop. They're worth checking for sales, which can be generous, and for packs you won't find on the subscription sites.

Direct from sound designers

Many independent sound designers sell straight from their own sites or through Bandcamp. You'll often find more distinctive sounds this way, and more of your money goes to the person who made them. The catch is that quality and labelling vary, so listen to the demos properly.

What to check before you buy

• The licence. "Royalty free" usually means you can use the sounds in your own music without paying again, but not resell them or use them in your own sample packs. Vocal samples sometimes carry extra conditions. Read the terms.
• The format. 24-bit WAV is the standard to look for. Key and BPM in the file names saves a lot of time.
• The demo. A demo track built entirely from the pack tells you more than any description.
• The contents. Check the file count and size. Some packs pad their numbers with near-duplicate variations.
• Where your downloads live. If a store closes or moves its catalogue, make sure you've kept your own copies.

Want to start for free?

Try before you spend. Our free sounds page has free samples and presets to try, our free MIDI chord pack has over 7,400 chords and progressions, and our guide to the best free sample resources covers the rest.