Players and formats
Which player does a free piano need?
Most free pianos aren't plugins on their own. They load inside a free player, and each player has its own catches. Here's what each one is and which pianos use it.
Splice INSTRUMENT (formerly Spitfire LABS)
Spitfire closed LABS on 31 October 2026. Most free LABS pianos, including Glass Piano, Autograph Grand, Modular Piano and Tape Piano, now live in Splice INSTRUMENT, a free plugin (AU, VST3, AAX and standalone) for macOS 11 and Windows 10 or later. Soft Piano did not stay free: it is now a premium pack.
LABS packs you already installed keep working for now, but they can no longer be installed or downloaded again through LABS.
The catch: You give an email address to download it, and some packs inside INSTRUMENT need a paid Splice plan. Every piano listed here is one of the free ones.
| Instrument | Maker | Type | Player | Size | Account | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autograph Grand | Spitfire Audio | grand | Splice INSTRUMENT | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Glass Piano | Spitfire Audio | grand | Splice INSTRUMENT | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Intimate Grand Piano | Spitfire Audio | grand | Splice INSTRUMENT | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Modular Piano | Spitfire Audio | experimental | Splice INSTRUMENT | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Tape Piano | Spitfire Audio | upright | Splice INSTRUMENT | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
Kontakt Player
Native Instruments' free player. It loads libraries that have been licensed to run in it, and many big-name free pianos use it.
The catch: Many "free Kontakt libraries" only open in the full, paid version of Kontakt, or play for a few minutes in demo mode in the free Player. Each listing here says which one a piano needs.
| Instrument | Maker | Type | Player | Size | Account | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOUNDATIONS | Piano | Heavyocity | cinematic | Kontakt Player | 2.7 GB uncompressed (1.21 GB on disk with NI lossless compression) | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Piano Uno | Native Instruments | grand | Kontakt Player | — | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
| The Felt Seiler – Free Edition | Strezov Sampling | felt | Kontakt Player | Approx. 2 GB (about 1 GB download, 1 GB unzipped) | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
Decent Sampler
A free sampler plugin from Decent Samples. Hundreds of free instruments are made for it, including many of the felt and home pianos on Pianobook.
Decent Sampler: free piano libraries and how to install them →
| Instrument | Maker | Type | Player | Size | Account | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 Bechstein Upright | Andrew Ward (Pianobook) | upright | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Claustrophobic Piano | Christian Henson (Pianobook) | upright | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Felt & Fog | Renger Koning (Pianobook) | cinematic | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Flannel Piano | Christian Henson (Pianobook) | experimental | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| forms:piano | Venus Theory | cinematic | Decent Sampler | 205 MB | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Legacy Knight Piano | Paul James (Pianobook) | cinematic | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Midnight Upright | Nami Audio (Pianobook) | felt | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Pleyel Felt | Björn Groos (Pianobook) | felt | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| S.K.Y. Felt Piano | Skyler Young (Pianobook) | felt | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Summer Felt | Christian Henson (Pianobook) | felt | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| The 9,000ft Piano | Christian Henson (Pianobook) | grand | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| The King's Upright | Dan Keen (Pianobook) | upright | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Winter Piano | Christian Henson (Pianobook) | felt | Decent Sampler | — | Yes | 4 Nov 2026 |
SINEplayer
Orchestral Tools' free player. Its free instruments are downloaded and managed inside SINEplayer itself.
SFZ and SoundFont players
SFZ and SoundFont (.sf2) are open sample formats. You load them into a free player such as Plogue's sforzando, and they work in almost any DAW.
| Instrument | Maker | Type | Player | Size | Account | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headroom Piano | Bengt Nilsson | grand | SFZ player | 156.2 MB | No | 4 Nov 2026 |
| LivingRoom Upright Piano (Micro SFZ Edition) | KeyPleezer | upright | SFZ player | 107 MB | No | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Piano in 162 | Ivy Audio | grand | SFZ player | 4.9 GB | No | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Salamander Grand Piano | Alexander Holm | grand | SFZ player | 394 MB (16-bit/44.1 kHz) or 1.18 GB (24-bit/48 kHz) | No | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Scarypiano | Karoryfer Samples | experimental | SFZ player | 342 MB | No | 4 Nov 2026 |
Standalone plugins
Some free pianos are complete plugins (VST3, AU or AAX) and need no separate player. Install them like any other plugin.
| Instrument | Maker | Type | Player | Size | Account | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s Piano | SampleScience | grand | Standalone plugin | 196 MB | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Beskhu Upright Piano | SampleScience | upright | Standalone plugin | 158 MB | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Cozy Piano | SampleScience | upright | Standalone plugin | 77 MB (plugin version) | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Dusty Felts | Somerville Sounds | felt | Standalone plugin | — | — | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Room Piano v3 | SampleScience | upright | Standalone plugin | 59.4 MB | — | 4 Nov 2026 |