Best Helm Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from software synthesizers ranked against Helm on the same published basis.
- 1Helm vs DefleMask
- 2Helm vs Cardinal
- 3Helm vs Sonic Pi
- 4Helm vs VCV Rack
- 5Helm vs Vital
- 6Helm vs Dexed
- 8Helm vs Surge XT
- 9Helm vs Synth1
- 10Helm vs SynthMaster 3
- 11Helm vs PlasticSynth
- 12Helm vs Repro
- 13Helm vs Efx FRAGMENTS
- 14Helm vs Falcon
- 15Helm vs Kilohearts Ultimate
- 16Helm vs MASCHINE
- 17Helm vs Trilian
- 18Helm vs chipspeech
- 19Helm vs SynthMaster One
- 20Helm vs Aalto
- 21Helm vs Abyss 2
Helm alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DefleMask | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 2 | Cardinal | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Sonic Pi | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 4 | VCV Rack | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Vital | 6.6 | Free plan | $5/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Dexed | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Surge XT | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Synth1 | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Mac, Windows |
| 10 | SynthMaster 3 | 5.5 | No | — | Mac, Windows |
| 11 | PlasticSynth | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
| 12 | Repro | 5.2 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 13 | Efx FRAGMENTS | 5.1 | No | — | Mac, Windows |
| 14 | Falcon | 5.1 | No | €20/mo | Mac, Windows |
| 15 | Kilohearts Ultimate | 5.1 | No | — | Mac, Windows |
| 16 | MASCHINE | 5.1 | No | $39/mo | Mac, Windows |
| 17 | Trilian | 5.1 | No | — | Mac, Windows |
| 18 | chipspeech | 5.0 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 19 | SynthMaster One | 5.0 | No | — | Windows, Mac, iOS |
| 20 | Aalto | 4.9 | No | — | Windows, Mac |
| 21 | Abyss 2 | 4.9 | No | — | Windows, Mac |
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Questions about Helm alternatives
What is the best alternative to Helm?
DefleMask, number 1 in software synthesizers with a score of 6.7 out of 10. The others here: Cardinal, Sonic Pi, VCV Rack and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Helm?
DefleMask is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 8 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.