Audioloom vs. HISE: Which approach suits your plugin idea?

Compare Audioloom, the no-code plugin builder with its own store, licensing and payouts, with HISE, the free open-source framework for plugin development in C++.

Here's what Audioloom offers you:

  • No programming knowledge required; build directly within your DAW
  • Store, licensing, hosting and payouts included
  • No upfront costs; just a revenue share on actual sales
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HISE

Audioloom and HISE: a direct comparison

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Feature comparison of Audioloom and HISE. Yes means the feature is included, No means it is not, and Coming soon means Audioloom is adding it.
FeaturesAudioloomHISE

Plugin Development

Use without programming knowledgeYesNo
VST3, AU and AAX exportYesYes
macOS supportYesYes
Windows supportYesYes
Linux supportNoYes
Instruments and sample players Coming soon Yes

Sales & Distribution

Own store and checkoutYesNo
Marketplace for additional reachYesNo
Everything on one platform: build, sell and manageYesNo

Licensing & Protection

Licensing includedYesNo
Anti-piracy takedowns handledYesNo
Hosting and updates includedYesNo

Costs & Community

No upfront costsYesYes
No fixed costs, revenue share onlyYesNo
Cloud collaborationYesNo
Active Creator communityYesYes

Two platforms at a glance

One is a business platform with an integrated plugin builder; the other is a highly customizable plugin builder based on C++

No-code plugin builder + marketplace

Audioloom

Design, test and ship VST3, AU and AAX plugins right inside your DAW with no programming and sell them through your own website and the Audioloom marketplace.

Strengths

  • No code required, built and tested inside your DAW
  • Store, licensing, hosting and payouts included
  • Real-time testing as you build

Limitations

  • Effects only: no instruments or sample players yet
  • macOS and Windows only

Best for

producers and engineers who already have built their sound and want to sell it as a plugin, without becoming a software team.

Open-source developer toolkit

HISE

A free, JUCE-based framework for building instruments and effects with C++, a JS-derived scripting language and a visual DSP graph editor.

Strengths

  • Full programming control over every module
  • Covers instruments and samplers, not just effects
  • Windows, macOS and Linux

Limitations

  • Requires code, or a developer, to build anything
  • No store, checkout or hosting: build that yourself
  • GPL route requires open-sourcing your plugin

Best for

developers, or creators willing to learn to code, who want full control over an instrument or effect and want to define every aspect of their presence.

Creators who chose Audioloom

Why choose Audioloom for your plugin?

No programming knowledge required

Build your plugin directly within your DAW, without any code or a development team.

$0 upfront costs

You pay nothing in advance. Audioloom only earns a share when you make a sale: 30% of net turnover.

Store, licensing and hosting included

Everything is already managed: No additional tools, no dedicated server, no self-built copy protection needed.

Ready to use straight away

Test your sound in real time directly in your DAW – no waiting for external developers or approvals.

Sell on the Audioloom marketplace

Your plugin is from day 1 part of the marketplace with over 70,000 customers, with weekly promotions and events happening to bring new visitors to your brand.

Become part of the creator community

Join the creator community to exchange on ideas, tools, tips and tricks. Supporting each other and leveraging the benefits of cross collaborations.

For whom is Audioloom the best alternative to HISE?

Audioloom is designed for producers and sound engineers who already have a sound they wish to distribute as a plug-in, without having to set up their own software company. Sales, licensing, hosting and payments are all handled directly via the platform, so no additional tools or a dedicated development environment are required. This makes Audioloom particularly suitable for creatives who would rather spend their time working on the sound itself than setting up their own business infrastructure.

Mixing and mastering engineers

Your own signature plugin range based on the workflows you use every day, without needing a development team.

Music producers with their own signature sound

Turn your signature chain into a ready-to-sell product, straight from your DAW.

Influencer and content creators with an audience

Your audience already trusts you. Audioloom takes care of the store, licensing and payouts, so you don't have to worry about the technical side of things.

Audio brands and small teams

Build multiple plugins under one brand, with cloud sync and invited collaborators instead of a one-man operation.

Plugins built with Audioloom

How building your plugin will work

Both give you a visual interface editor. The difference is what happens underneath it.

Audioloom

Drag effect modules into a chain directly inside your DAW, with no separate app to learn. Test changes in real time against your own mix. Design the interface with a drag-and-drop editor. When it's ready, one click starts a cloud build for Mac and Windows installers.

HISE

Assemble modules (oscillators, samplers, modulators, effects) inside HISE's own editor, then extend behavior with a JS-derived scripting language or, for anything performance-critical, C++ through Scriptnode or a full compiler toolchain. Design the interface with HISE's own Interface Designer. Compiling a plugin means setting up and maintaining that toolchain yourself.

Where to go from here

Ready to build

Request creator access

Apply for curated creator access and start building your plugin.

Request access

Still deciding

See what creators are building

Browse plugins already live on the Audioloom Store before you commit.

Browse Plugins

Frequently asked questions

The fastest creators went live in two weeks. On average, it takes four to six weeks from the initial idea to the finished plugin in the store, depending on how much time you invest.

Yes. Designers, DSP engineers and marketing people can all work together on the same plugin. You invite collaborators, assign roles and grant permissions, and changes are shared and merged through Cloud Sync.

No. You build your plugin with drag and drop directly inside your DAW, without any code or a development team.

Yes. Audioloom has a dedicated module where you can integrate your own custom DSPs.

On your own website and in the Audioloom Store. You set the price, brand and presentation. Audioloom handles hosting, licensing, payments, taxes and updates.

There are no upfront costs. Audioloom works on a revenue share, so you only pay when you actually sell.

Access is curated and aimed at experienced audio creators, producers, engineers and other industry professionals. After your request, the Audioloom team reviews whether your profile fits the marketplace.

Your plugins run as VST3, AU and AAX on macOS and Windows, compatible with all major DAWs.

Yes, under the GPL v3 open-source license, on the condition that your own plugin's source code is released as open source too. To keep your code private, HISE sells a commercial license: a Starter Pack for a one-time €200 that covers up to €2,000 in total revenue, then €50 per month below €50,000 in annual revenue and €300 per month above that, VAT excluded. Proprietary use also requires a separate commercial JUCE license. Prices as of September 25, 2026.

Source: hise.dev/#license, store.hise.dev/hise/hise-license/

Yes, under either license. Under the GPL you can sell your product for any price, as long as you give buyers the ability to modify and compile it themselves. With a commercial license you can keep your code private. HISE itself does not include a store, checkout, licensing service or hosting for updates, so you need to build or buy that part separately.

Source: hise.dev/#license, hise.dev/#features

Only partly. HISE has a visual interface designer and a visual DSP graph editor called Scriptnode, but custom behavior is written in its JavaScript-based scripting language or in C++, and compiling a plugin relies on the compilers of your own development environment, which you set up and maintain yourself.

Source: hise.dev/#features, docs.hise.dev/working-with-hise/menu-reference/export/index.html

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