Kontakt is a software sampler and virtual instrument platform by Native Instruments. It functions as a stand-alone application or as a plug-in, and hosts third-party virtual instruments such as ours. All of our instruments (except for our iOS instruments) are made for Kontakt and therefore cannot be used without it.
But here’s where things can get confusing – Kontakt comes in two flavors:
- Kontakt Player is the free edition with a few limitations, it can only load specially licensed instruments (but not all of our products are licensed to work with Kontakt Player, take note of this on our product pages).
- Kontakt (often referred to as Kontakt Full) is the paid full edition, but it can load any instrument including non-licensed ones.
For a comparison of features between the two editions:
www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-8-player/kontakt-8-player-vs-kontakt-8
To learn more about Kontakt Player visit:
www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-8-player
To learn more about Kontakt (Full) visit:
www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-8