What is iZotope Ozone?
iZotope Ozone is a mastering plugin suite whose AI Master Assistant builds a tailored master for your track, for producers and mastering engineers. It is made by iZotope, now part of Native Instruments, and is one of the most widely used mastering tools in music production. The current version is Ozone 12, available in Elements, Standard and Advanced editions.
Ozone combines an AI assistant with professional modules. The Master Assistant listens to your track and sets EQ, dynamics, stereo width and loudness, and its Custom flow lets you choose a genre profile, LUFS target, modules and intensity. You can then fine-tune each module by hand. Ozone 12 adds Stem EQ for adjusting vocals, bass, drums and instruments inside a stereo mix, Bass Control for low end, and Unlimiter, which uses machine learning to restore dynamics to over-compressed audio.
Main Features
- Builds a starting master with the AI Master Assistant.
- Sets genre profile, loudness target and intensity in the Custom flow.
- Adjusts vocals, bass, drums and instruments separately with Stem EQ.
- Restores dynamics to over-limited audio with Unlimiter.
- Shapes low end with the Bass Control module.
- Includes 20 mastering modules in Advanced, usable as separate plugins.
- Runs as a plugin in major DAWs.
How to Get Started with iZotope Ozone
- Download Ozone 12 from izotope.com and start the 10-day trial.
- Insert Ozone on the master bus of your DAW session.
- Run the Master Assistant on the loudest section of the song.
- Fine-tune the suggested modules and export your master.
iZotope Ozone Pricing
iZotope offers a 10-day free trial of Ozone. After that it is a paid purchase: Ozone 12 Advanced costs $499, with Elements and Standard editions offered at lower prices and frequent sales and upgrade discounts on the iZotope store.
Who Should Use It?
- Home producers mastering their own releases.
- Mixing engineers delivering reference masters.
- Professional mastering engineers who want fast starting points.
- Podcasters and video editors polishing final audio.
- Beatmakers preparing tracks for streaming loudness targets.
iZotope Ozone Alternatives
- LANDR: online AI mastering with subscription pricing
- Moises: affordable app with AI mastering and stems
- AudioShake: stem separation for remastering old mixes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is iZotope Ozone free?
No. Ozone has a 10-day free trial, and after that you need to buy an edition such as Ozone 12 Advanced at $499.
What does the Ozone Master Assistant do?
The Master Assistant analyzes your track and builds a master with EQ, dynamics, width and loudness settings. You can then adjust every module by hand.
What is new in Ozone 12?
Ozone 12 adds Stem EQ, Bass Control and Unlimiter, plus a Custom flow in the Master Assistant for genre, loudness and module choices.
Ozone vs LANDR: which is better?
Ozone is better if you want full control inside your DAW, while LANDR is better for quick online masters without learning plugins. Many producers use Ozone for final releases.