Kontakt 8 Player

macOS* 14, 15 and 26 (latest update)

Windows 10 or 11 (latest Service Pack)

*As of Kontakt 8.8, macOS 13 is no longer supported. Future updates may prevent installation below macOS 14.

• Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU, or Apple Silicon, 4 GB RAM (6 GB recommended)
• Graphics hardware support for Direct 3D 11.1 (Feature Level 11_0) or higher
• 2 GB free disk space
• Supports ASIO, Core Audio, and WASAPI

An internet connection is required to download, install, and activate the products in this collection. Once installed, all products can be used offline. Certain products may require additional free downloads.

Supported interfaces

macOS (64-bit only): Stand-alone, VST3, AU, AAX

Windows (64-bit only): Stand-alone, VST3, AAX

Kontakt 8 Player is a free application that can run all of Native Instruments’ sample-based instruments, as well as third-party products made especially for the Kontakt 8 Player platform. Instruments made for Kontakt 8 Player will also run in the full version of Kontakt.

Both Kontakt 8 Player and Kontakt 8 can be used as a standalone instrument or as a plugin (VST/AU/AAX) in your favorite host sequencer/DAW.

See the Kontakt 8 Player vs. Kontakt 8 comparison chart for more information.

Only third-party instruments that have been made specifically for Kontakt 8 Player can be loaded. Instruments that are not made for Kontakt 8 Player require the full version of Kontakt 8 to run, but can be used for 15 minutes at a time in demo mode and without the ability to save your work.

The full version of Kontakt is a powerful tool for sample instrument building. Users can arrange, edit, loop, slice, and time-stretch samples using seven playback modes. 62 built-in effects allow subtle to drastic sound shaping. Deep modulation possibilities allow for dynamic motion, and multiple sample groups with sophisticated routing deliver options only possible with the power of software.

Kontakt also includes the Kontakt Factory Library 2 – a ready-to-use toolset of 40 GB of high-quality samples and nearly 900 production-ready instruments, including synths, choirs, acoustic and orchestral instruments, drum machines, and much more. Furthermore, it includes the new hybrid synthesizer Conflux, 12 Leap Expansions, the Hybrid Keys Play Series instrument, as well as combined presets for Chords and Phrases Tools.

Kontakt owners can use the full range of Kontakt instruments – not just those built for Kontakt Player.

Read more about Kontakt 8

No – you wouldn't gain any extra features. So if Kontakt 8 is installed, then the Kontakt 8 Player installer will not run.

To use a Kontakt instrument, you need to have either Kontakt 8 Player or the full-featured Kontakt 8 software installed. If neither of these are installed on your computer, download the free Kontakt 8 Player, install, and launch it. Your Kontakt instrument will be visible in the Kontakt Player's browser. Please note that some newer libraries require the latest version of Kontakt 8 Player.

Yes, you can download both versions here.

Native Access 2 doesn’t currently support third-party instruments aside from some NKS partner products. For detailed installation and update instructions, please read this Knowledge Base article.

Read more about Native Access

All Native Instruments sampled instruments (e.g. the Abbey Road Drummer series, the Symphony Series, or Una Corda) are designed to be used with both Kontakt 8 and the free Kontakt 8 Player.

For step-by-step help on using NI sampled instruments, read this Knowledge Base article.