Collections
Collections are editorial lists built around a specific job, such as making a YouTube video or running visuals at a gig. Each entry says why it is there. For complete lists by type, platform or price, see categories.
- Music Visualisers for YouTube Music VideosA visualiser video is the most common way to put a track on YouTube without filming a music video. These tools render a full-length, landscape (16:9) video from an audio file, with spectrum, waveform, 3D or generated visuals.14 visualisers
- Music Visualisers for Instagram Reels, TikTok & ShortsShort-form platforms favour vertical 9:16 video, usually 1080×1920. Every tool here can export vertical video, which saves cropping a landscape render and losing the visual.12 visualisers
- Tools for Spotify Canvas-Style LoopsSpotify Canvas is a short, looping, vertical video shown behind a track in the Spotify mobile app. Spotify specifies a 9:16 video of 3 to 8 seconds; Canvas plays without its own audio, because the track itself is playing.7 visualisers
- Free Online Music VisualisersThese tools run in a browser and can be used without paying. The first group is fully free; the second has a free plan with limits such as watermarks, resolution caps or export quotas, which are summarised on each product page.13 visualisers
- Open-Source Music VisualisersOpen-source visualisers can be inspected, modified and embedded in other projects, subject to their licence. This collection groups them by what you would use them for. Licences are listed on each product page; note that copyleft licences such as GPL and AGPL carry obligations if you distribute modified versions.17 visualisers
- Music Visualisers for Live Shows & VJsFor live shows the visualiser has to run in real time, take live audio or MIDI input and output to a projector, LED wall or another application. These tools range from instant audio-reactive scenes to full VJ mixing software and programmable environments.11 visualisers
- Music Visualisers for DJsMost DJs do not have a dedicated VJ, so the useful visualisers are those that react automatically to the mix with little operation during the set. Connect the mixer's booth or record output to the computer, or capture system audio when DJing from the same machine.6 visualisers
- Music Visualisers for ProducersProducers use visualisers in two distinct ways: technical displays that help while mixing and mastering, and creative tools for making release content. This collection covers both.11 visualisers
- Waveform Video MakersA waveform video pairs audio with an animated sound wave, usually over artwork. The format is standard for podcast audiograms and common for music teasers. Tools split into podcast-oriented editors with captions and music-oriented visualisers with more styling.9 visualisers
- Audio Spectrum VisualisersSpectrum visualisers show the energy in each frequency band of the music. This collection spans decorative spectrum video makers, real-time displays for listening, and accurate analysers for audio work.11 visualisers
- MilkDrop and Its DescendantsMilkDrop, written by Ryan Geiss for Winamp, is the most influential music visualiser ever made, and its preset format is still in active use. These projects run MilkDrop presets today on Windows, macOS, Linux and in the browser. See What is MilkDrop? for background.7 visualisers
- AI Music Video GeneratorsAI music video tools generate footage instead of drawing a spectrum or waveform. They take different approaches: some separate the track into stems to drive generation, some apply an audio-reactive mode to a prompt-based video model, and some automatically edit stock or your own footage to the music.5 visualisers
- Oscilloscope Music ToolsOscilloscope music is audio designed to draw pictures when displayed in XY mode. Making it needs a tool that turns shapes into sound; watching it needs a software or hardware oscilloscope. See What is an oscilloscope visualiser?5 visualisers
- Visualisers to Use While Listening to SpotifySpotify's apps do not include a visualiser. In November 2024 Spotify also stopped giving new third-party apps access to its audio-analysis API, which several Spotify-specific visualisers relied on.7 visualisers
