If you’ve ever tried to get new sample packs, you probably know how expensive they can get.
And usually, you don’t even use 90% or more of the sample pack.
That’s why Splice and Loopcloud were created.
Splice and Loopcloud allow you to download and pay only for the samples and presets that you download and use. So that way, you get a good return for your money.
Splice and Loopcloud both work on a monthly subscription basis, which gives you a certain amount of credits that you can use each month to buy samples. (If you don’t use them all they’re kept in your account for future use).
Splice charge 9.99$ / month at minimum and Loopcloud charge 7.99$ / Month both for 100 credits (which is usually more than enough).
It seems like there isn’t much of a difference between the two, but, there are a few major differences.
The difference between Splice and Loopcloud is that Loopcloud lets you download a free sample every day, and Splice doesn’t. Moreover, Loopcloud charges 7.99$ at a minimum while Splice charges 9.99$, and, Loopcloud’s software has a lot more features but is a bit less user-friendly.
Subscription Plans
It used to be that Splice and Loopcloud charge the exact same amount, however, recently the Splice team has raised their prices, and didn’t add as many features as Loopcloud has. Therefore, Loopcloud is the winner of this category.
Loopcloud Subscription Plans (10/10 Stars) –
- Free (0$/mo) – Gives you a sample every day which comes down to 30 samples each month.
- Artist (7.99$/mo) – Gives you 100 premium credits per month and 10 free samples per day which comes down to 400 samples each month.
- Studio (13.99$/mo) – Gives you 300 premium credits per month and 25 free samples per day which comes down to 1050 samples each month.
- Professional (21.99$/mo) – Gives you 600 premium credits per month and 50 free samples per day which comes down to 2100 samples each month.
Artist
$7.99/mo
More than enough for most beginner & intermediate producers.
What’s included
Studio
$11.99/mo
Best for professional producers who want constant inspiration and need lots of samples.
What’s included
Professional
$21.99/mo
Best for groups or multiple producers who want to use a single account.
What’s included
Costs –
- 1 sample = 1 credit
- Loopcloud doesn’t have presets
Trial Period –
Loopcloud offers a 30-day free trial period.
Other Offerings –
Loopcloud offers internal plugins that allow you to play their samples in various ways, which can be super useful and spark your creativity if you pick the right sample packs.
Loopcloud Pro also comes with a wide variety of amazing internal FX plugins such as delay, reverb, filters, etc…
I find this super helpful as you can actually process the samples easily and quickly from within the software.
Splice Subscription Plans –
- Sounds 100 (9.99$/mo) – Gives you 100 credits to spend each month
- Sounds 300 (19.99$/mo) – Gives you 200 credits to spend each month
- Sounds 600 (29.99$/mo) – Gives you 500 credits to spend each month
Sounds+
$9.99/mo
Get access to millions of pre-cleared sounds, presets, and MIDI.
What’s included
Creator
$19.99/mo
Everything from Sounds+ along with new on-demand education, Beatmaker, Astra, and exclusive presets.
Everything in Sounds+, and
Creator+
$29.99/mo
Everything from Creator along with 500 monthly credits.
Everything in Creator, plus
Costs –
- 1 sample = 1 credit
- 1 preset = 3 credits
Trial Period –
Splice offers a 14-day free trial period.
Other Offerings –
Splice also offers an option to rent external third-party plugins on a monthly basis. For example, you can rent Serum on Splice for 9.99$ per month.
Conclusion
First of all, Loopcloud has a free subscription model that Splice doesn’t. It will only let you download samples from their free sample library, but it’s still really nice, to begin with.
The free version of Loopcloud is recommended primarily for beginners who want a few great samples that can get them started. But, even if you’re an advanced producer, you can still find amazing samples in the free version, and save some money while you’re at it.
Moreover, Splice is just more expensive and honestly, I can’t find any reason why! Loopcloud’s plans are way more generous and have just as many – if not more features (which we’ll discuss later).
Splice and Loopcloud actually used to have the same prices. However, at some point Splice decided to jack up their prices, without any clear explanation.
Picking and buying preset packs is usually even worse than buying sample packs because you can’t really get a good view of what you’re buying. Therefore, it’s really helpful to be able to buy presets on Splice. However, I don’t consider it to be a reason for the higher prices.
The last difference is the longer and better trial period that Loopcloud offers – Loopcloud offers a 30-day trial that gives you 300 credits, and Splice offers a 14-day trial that only gives you 100 credits.
The winner here has to be Loopcloud, except if you’d like to be able to download presets from the software (In that case, Splice would be the winner).
Samples Quality
Overall Splice and Loopcloud are equally good when it comes to samples quality.
Splice’s samples used to be more creative, and just of a higher quality than Loopcloud’s samples. However, that is widely not the case anymore.
Loopcloud’s team has made such big progress in the past few years that they’re now at least as good as Splice – if not better.
After a long time using both platforms, I’ve found out that Loopcloud’s vocals, ambiance samples, and samples for genres like rock, pop, and jazz are better than Splice’s as Splice are more electronic-focused than Loopcloud.
Splice mainly focus on EDM & Trap, therefore you may want to check them out if you produce this type of genres.
But, you may never know what would be best for you and your creativity until you try them out.
So my recommendation is – Try them both out through their free trial periods, and see what works best for you.
Interface Quality
This is the hardest category to judge, and therefore you’ll probably hear lots of different opinions about it.
Loopcloud’s interface has a lot more features in its software than Splice’s interface does. Such as BPM and pitch shifting options over the samples, and simple audio processing options, such as reverse, cut, gain, etc…
Some people might say that Loopcloud’s interface has turned up to be a bit messy. But, from my personal experience, once you learn to work with it (which doesn’t take that long), you’ll use it over and over again.
Splice’s interface, on the other hand, doesn’t have any processing options. Therefore, it’s more organized and intuitive.
So who’s the winner of the category?
It’s totally up to you.
If you like the easy, accessible processing options of Loopcloud and you like having a list of all the different options of instruments and genres you can choose from in front of you, then Loopcloud is definitely your winner.
But, if you rather have a more straightforward and intuitive interface, then your winner is Splice.
So What Should You Buy?
To answer this final question, let’s sum up all of the pros and cons of Splice and Loopcloud.
Loopcloud
Loopcloud’s Pros –
- You can easily filter your search results and find what you’re looking for.
- It has a super convenient desktop application that you can easily drag samples from, directly to your DAW.
- It lets you process the samples inside the application.
- It lets you hear how multiple samples sound together in the application. (The free version only allows you to preview two samples together at a time).
- It gives you free samples each day.
- Everything you download is royalty-free.
- It has free plugins that you can use in your DAW to
Loopcloud’s Cons –
- Its user interface is a bit messy.
- It doesn’t include presets.
- It doesn’t offer external plugins rental.
Splice
Splice’s Pros –
- It has a massive variety of samples and presets to pick from, so it’s guaranteed that you’ll always find the sound you’re looking for.
- Everything you buy on Splice is automatically saved on your online library, and is yours forever, even if you cancel your subscription.
- The user interface is intuitive and user-friendly.
- You can easily filter your search results and find what you’re looking for.
- It has a super convenient desktop application that you can easily drag samples from, directly to your DAW.
- Intuitive and straightforward interface.
- Everything you download is royalty-free.
Splice’s Cons –
- It is paid only.
- It doesn’t have sound processing options, as Loopcloud does.
- It doesn’t have internal plugins, as Loopcloud does.
If you want internal processing options, better filtering options, a better trial period, cheaper prices, free daily samples, to hear multiple samples together, and free plugins, you should use Loopcloud.
But, if you want a more straightforward software, that lets you work quickly, lets you download presets, and rent plugins, you should use Splice.