KERN audio / pricing
$29 is the price.
it is also the sale.
no introductory offers. no black friday discounts. no "was $99, now $29." the price you see today is the price everyone has always paid.
why it works this way
why $29
soothe 2 costs $219. FabFilter Saturn 2 costs $154. KERN plugins start from the same DSP research, the same psychoacoustic precision, the same obsessive testing. the difference is overhead. one developer. no office. no sales team. no middlemen. the savings go to you, not to a marketing budget.
why no sales
if we ran a 50% off sale tomorrow, everyone who bought yesterday would feel burned. we do not want that relationship with you. $29 today. $29 on black friday. $29 next year. you will never regret buying a KERN plugin because it went on sale a week later.
why no iLok
your license is yours. no dongle. no cloud activation. no account to create. buy once, download, activate offline. if your hard drive dies, reactivate on the new one. we trust you. that should not be a radical position.
why no subscription
subscriptions make sense for services that cost money every month to run. a plugin runs on your computer. there is no server, no cloud, no ongoing cost on our side. charging you monthly for software that costs us nothing to deliver would be dishonest. one payment. yours forever. all updates included.
pricing
50 papers. 5 knobs. $29.
no iLok. no subscription. no account.
SMOOTH
one-time. yours forever.
tame harsh resonances across your mix
- + permanent license
- + all future updates
- + no iLok or account
- + works offline
- + macOS + windows
- + VST3 / AU
30-day refund policy. no questions.
WARM
one-time. yours forever.
three saturation characters. tape, tube, transformer.
- + permanent license
- + all future updates
- + no iLok or account
- + works offline
- + macOS + windows
- + VST3 / AU
30-day refund policy. no questions.
WIDE
one-time. yours forever.
stereo width that stays mono-safe
- + permanent license
- + all future updates
- + no iLok or account
- + works offline
- + macOS + windows
- + VST3 / AU
30-day refund policy. no questions.
Soothe 2 costs $199. SMOOTH costs $29. same results.
THE KERN BUNDLE
all three plugins. one license key.
SMOOTH cleans. WARM adds character. WIDE places stereo. the full chain: $59.
buy the bundle / $59plus CHECK: our spectral mono compatibility analyzer
free for everyone. no account needed.
download freefrequently asked questions
the questions people actually ask
can I try before I buy? +
yes. every KERN plugin has a free demo with the full feature set. the only difference is a brief periodic silence every ~45 seconds. download from each product page.
what happens if I do not like it? +
30-day refund policy. no questions asked. email support@kernaudio.io with your order number and we will process the refund.
do I need an account to use KERN plugins? +
no. no iLok account, no KERN account, no online activation required. buy, download, enter your license key. that is it.
how many computers can I install on? +
three activations per license key. if you need more, email support@kernaudio.io and we will sort it out.
will the price go up? +
we have no plans to raise prices. if we ever do, every existing owner keeps their license forever with all future updates included.
will you add AAX / Pro Tools support? +
not currently. VST3 and AU cover Logic, Ableton, FL Studio, Reaper, Bitwig, Studio One, and Cubase. we will add AAX if demand justifies the licensing cost.
what is the bundle? +
SMOOTH + WARM + WIDE for $59 instead of $87 individually. one license key unlocks all three plugins. 32% off the individual price.
can I upgrade from an individual plugin to the bundle? +
email support@kernaudio.io with your existing order number. we will work out an upgrade credit.
is CHECK really free? +
yes. $0 at checkout. we ask for an email address so we can send your download link. no restrictions, no trial period, no feature limitations. CHECK is our mono compatibility analyzer for everyone.
who makes KERN? +
one developer in copenhagen, denmark. three years of DSP research. every plugin is built from published psychoacoustic research, tested against professional alternatives, and held to a 3% CPU budget.
a note on pricing
i set the price at $29 because that is what i would pay. not what a spreadsheet says the market will bear. not what a competitor charges minus 10%. just: what is this worth to a producer who needs it?
KERN exists because i spent three years reading psychoacoustic research papers and writing C++ instead of making music. the plugins i wanted to use did not exist at a price i could justify. so i built them. $29 per plugin covers the cost of that work and lets me keep building the next one.
the no-sales policy is not stubbornness. it is respect. when you buy SMOOTH today, you paid the same as the person who bought it on launch day. there is no coupon code floating around that makes you feel like you overpaid. the price is the price, and it is fair.
if you have questions about pricing, licensing, or anything else, reach out at jonas@kernaudio.io. i answer every email personally.
jonas, KERN Audio