Splice vs LANDR: Which One Actually Helps You Finish Tracks?

Splice offers a vast, industry-leading library of royalty-free samples for music creators, while LANDR provides an end-to-end suite that includes samples, AI mastering, and distribution. Both promise a stocked toolkit, but which one actually fits into a real production workflow?

In this breakdown, we’ll compare them head-to-head, looking at their features, how they solve problems, and their pricing. The goal is to help you find which platform gives you the sounds you need without slowing you down.

As you weigh your options, it’s worth considering a third path. Here at Output, we build tools like Arcade and Co-Producer that are less about endless browsing and more about finding the right sound, right now, directly in your DAW.

A Quick Overview on Splice and LANDR

What is Splice?

Splice is a subscription platform built around a library of royalty-free samples and a rent-to-own plugin store. Its workflow centers on a desktop app that syncs with your DAW, allowing you to audition sounds in key and tempo before dragging them into your project. You download sounds with credits, and anything you grab is yours to keep, even if you cancel.

What is LANDR?

LANDR is a subscription service that aims to be an end-to-end production suite. It’s built around an AI mastering engine and also includes music distribution, a sample library, and plugins. The whole idea is to give you one pipeline to take a track from creation to release.

Features of Splice and LANDR

Splice Features

Splice's platform is built around a few core functions designed to get sounds into your session.

• Royalty-Free Library: It provides a large catalog of samples, loops, one-shots, and presets that are cleared for commercial use.

• DAW Integration: A desktop app lets you audition sounds in your project’s key and tempo, then drag and drop them directly into your timeline.

• Sound Matching: Its 'Create mode' automatically finds and suggests loops from the library that are sonically compatible with each other.

• Rent-to-Own Plugins: You can acquire VSTs from other developers through monthly payment plans, owning them outright once paid off.

• Perpetual Ownership: Any sound you download using credits is yours to keep forever, regardless of your subscription status.

LANDR Features

LANDR bundles several services into a single subscription, aiming to cover the production process from start to finish.

• AI Mastering: Its AI mastering engine, which can be used as a plugin or online, processes tracks without using presets.

• Music Distribution: The platform handles music distribution to over 150 streaming services, and your releases stay live even if you end your subscription.

• Samples and Plugins: A subscription includes access to a library of over 3 million samples and more than 40 instrument and effects plugins.

• Collaboration Tools: It offers collaboration tools, including a video chat function that streams high-definition audio directly from your DAW for remote sessions.

• Courses and Networking: The service also provides access to a library of over 200 online music courses and a network of professionals for hire.

Why Choose One Over The Other?

• Try Splice if your process is laser-focused on sound sourcing. Its desktop app lets you audition samples in key and tempo right in your DAW, and you get to keep every sound you download—no take-backs.

• LANDR is a possinle choice if you want one subscription to handle the whole pipeline, from creation to release. It packages AI mastering and distribution with its sample library, offering a broad toolkit for getting tracks out the door.

Output: A Better Alternative to Splice And LANDR

While Splice and LANDR offer massive libraries, they can trap you in endless scrolling. At Output, we build tools designed to cut through the noise. Our ecosystem is built around playability and context, helping you find the perfect sound inside your DAW without breaking your creative flow.

What is Output?

We build a connected suite of instruments and effects that prioritize inspiration and speed. Here’s how our tools are different:

• Playable Samples: Instead of a separate app, our flagship product Arcade is a sample-based instrument that lives in your DAW. New sounds are delivered daily, and you can play and manipulate them on the spot.

• Context-Aware AI: Our AI tool, Co-Producer, listens to your track and suggests compatible sounds from our library. It turns your existing audio into a prompt for what comes next.

• Deep Sound Design: We make a suite of characterful FX plugins like Portal, which transforms audio with granular synthesis. These are tools for sound shaping, not just sample sourcing.

• A Connected Ecosystem: Our tools are designed to work together. Co-Producer finds sounds, Arcade lets you perform and tweak them, and our FX plugins let you mangle them into something completely different.

So, why choose us over the others? If you're tired of digging through folders and want tools that feel more like collaborators, that's where we come in. Splice gives you ingredients; LANDR gives you a factory line. We give you instruments that help you cook.

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Pricing of Splice vs LANDR

Splice Pricing

Splice’s pricing is straightforward: you pay a monthly fee for a set number of credits to spend on sounds. It’s all about how many samples you want to stockpile each month.

They offer three plans. The starter is Sounds+ at $12.99/month for 100 credits. The middle tier, Creator, gives you 200 credits for $19.99/month. For heavy downloaders, the Creator+ plan provides 500 credits at $39.99/month. You can also pay annually on any plan to save a bit of cash.

One credit usually equals one sample. A nice perk is that any sound you download is yours to keep forever, even if you cancel. Your unused credits also roll over each month, but they’ll expire if you end your subscription.

LANDR Pricing

LANDR’s pricing is a bit more layered, since it bundles mastering and distribution into its subscriptions. It’s less about just buying sounds and more about buying into a full production and release pipeline.

Their main offering is LANDR Studio, which comes in three tiers. The Essentials plan runs $8.25 per month, giving you 100 sample credits, unlimited MP3 mastering, and three WAV masters. Stepping up to the Standard plan at $11.99/month gets you 150 sample credits, but the mastering limits stay the same.

For those who need more firepower, the Pro plan is $24.99/month. This tier offers unlimited WAV mastering and 200 sample credits. All Studio plans include distribution to streaming platforms and access to a selection of LANDR’s plugins.

If you only need distribution, they also offer separate, stripped-down plans for that, starting at a few bucks a month.

Output Pricing

At Output, we keep our pricing straightforward, focusing on giving you access to tools rather than making you count credits. Our goal is to get powerful instruments into your hands without a complicated fee structure.

The simplest way to get everything is with our Output One subscription. For $14.99 per month (or $119.99 annually), you get our entire suite of software: the playable sample engine Arcade, our AI sound-finder Co-Producer, and all our FX plugins like Portal, Thermal, and Movement. It’s an all-access pass to the whole ecosystem.

If you just need a specific tool, you can subscribe to Arcade on its own for $12.99 per month. Co-Producer is available for $9.99 per month.

You can take Arcade for a spin with a free trial to see how it fits into your sessions before committing. We want you to know it works for you.

For producers who prefer to buy and own their tools outright, our FX plugins and classic Kontakt instruments are also available as perpetual licenses. You can grab them individually or as a bundle.

Splice, LANDR, or Output: Which is The Best Sample Library for You?

Ultimately, the right choice comes down to how you make music. Splice is a sound-digger’s paradise, and LANDR offers a complete production pipeline. But if you’d rather play your sounds than just pick them from a list, our tools are built to keep you in the zone. See what you can build with a free trial.

Happy creating!