Native Instruments has launched Komplete 26, a software bundle rebranded to reflect its release year. The suite comes in four tiers: Select at £89, Standard at £494, Ultimate at £1,124, and the Collector’s Edition at £1,754. Personalised upgrade pricing is available for existing owners.
The bundles
The Standard Edition contains over 180 instruments and 315GB of content. The Ultimate tier expands this to more than 280 instruments occupying 950GB. The Collector’s Edition includes 340+ instruments and consumes over 1.6 terabytes of space. Reviewing every item is impractical, so the focus here is on the differences between the tiers and the new additions since the previous release.
Upgrade costs vary depending on what you currently own. If you have earlier versions of Komplete or flagship products like Guitar Rig or Kontakt, you will pay less. An entry-level option, Komplete Select, costs £89. It offers three themed flavours: Beats, which includes Battery 4, Massive X Player and Ozone 12 Elements; Band, focused on acoustic instruments; and Electronic, built around synth sounds. This tier is suitable for those unsure about committing to a larger purchase, though the scope is naturally more limited.
Installation and structure
Once you register your serial in Native Access, the software becomes available for download. You should set a default content location immediately to prevent hundreds of gigabytes of audio from filling your system drive. NI organises the suite into sections, grouping the flagship platforms—Kontakt 8, Absynth 6, Massive X and Guitar Rig 7 Pro—separately from the sampled and synthesised instruments that run within them. Battery 4 is included in nearly all editions.
The main difference between the collections is the volume of content. All versions include the core tools. Kontakt functions as a playback platform for pre-created instruments, while Absynth, Massive X and Guitar Rig are organic sound generation and processing engines. You get the full synthesis capabilities in the Standard Edition, but the number of instruments, presets and expansions increases with Ultimate and peaks at the Collector’s Edition. An exhaustive comparison is available on the NI website.
New additions
Updates are spread across several categories. Absynth 6 is a key new addition, returning to the bundle with MPE support and a refreshed interface. Other new instruments include Circular, Odes, Claire: Avant, and the Electric Keys Definitive Collection. The flagships from the previous version remain, though owners of Guitar Rig or Kontakt will receive a discount on upgrading to 26.
The Standard Edition includes the Play series, covering various keyboards, guitars and orchestral sources, plus selected expansions and synth patches. It also features a solid core of effects plugins, including new contributions from iZotope and Brainworx, which are now part of the NI family. However, the Elements versions of Nectar, Neutron and Ozone are included in all three bundles. You do not get the full versions, even with the Collector’s Edition. These are welcome additions that expand the toolset in mixing and mastering areas where NI has not traditionally held a large presence.
What it means
For producers, the choice depends on whether you need a broad toolkit or specific cinematic resources. The Standard Edition provides an excellent set of sound design tools for musicians working across many styles. The Ultimate bundle offers the majority of the catalogue, excluding some cinematic library instruments and every last expansion pack. It is priced at just over double the Standard edition.
The Collector’s Edition adds the remaining content, largely focused on cinematic scoring tools, along with over 150 expansion packs in various genres. It includes exclusive instruments such as Circular, Claire: Avant and Odes. This tier is aimed at composers requiring a vast, cinema-focused scope of acoustic and orchestral instruments on top of everything else. For most other users, the Standard or Ultimate bundles are sufficient.
Any of these bundles represents a significant saving compared to buying content individually. NI has chosen not to push a subscription model for this specific suite, recognising that professional producers and composers prefer to own their software outright. While the company offers a subscription option under the 360 umbrella for a different set of products, the Komplete bundles remain a one-time investment.
Starting at around £500, the cost is an investment. Including all flagship products in the Standard Edition is a smart move, as most are sound design tools rather than playback platforms like Kontakt. The content is compatible with the NKS control format, an added bonus if you use NI hardware or an NKS-compatible controller.
The selection is all-encompassing, covering world percussion, vintage keys, drums, pianos, electric guitars, vocals, horns, advanced synths, textures, classic analogue sounds and more. Throw in the sound design capabilities of Absynth and Reaktor, the processing power of Guitar Rig and other effects, and you have a comprehensive library.
