Stem splitters — free online tools compared

You hear a song on Spotify and want to chop the vocals for a beat. Or you need just the drums from a track for a remix. Or you're extracting a melody to flip into something new. Stem splitters make this possible by isolating vocals, drums, bass, and instruments from a finished mix.

Five years ago, this required a studio engineer and thousands of dollars. In 2026, free AI-powered tools do it in your browser. But free tools come with limits.

What stem splitting actually does

Stem splitters use machine learning to analyze a full stereo mix and separate it into its component parts:

• Vocals: lead vocals, isolated.
• Drums: kick, snare, hi-hats, percussion.
• Bass: low-end instruments.
• Instruments (or "Other"): piano, strings, synths, guitars.

This isn't perfect. If a vocal melody and a synth are in the same frequency range, the splitter can't separate them cleanly. But for most commercial music, the separation is 85-95% useful.

The six tools tested, ranked

1. Moises — most feature-rich free tier

What it does: Stems splitting + live performance mode.

Quality: Good. Vocals are clean. Drums are clear. Bass is accurate.

File limits: 10 MB free tier. Premium ($9.99/month) is unlimited.

Speed: 2-5 minutes for a 3-minute song.

Best for: Singer-songwriters learning to sing without vocals, or producers extracting vocal loops.

Download: moises.ai. No software install — browser-based.

Verdict: The best free-tier experience. If you only split 1-2 tracks a week, you never need to pay.

2. LALAL.AI — high quality, credit-gated

Quality: Excellent. Often better than Moises on complex mixes.

Free tier: 2 free credits/month. Then pay $0.50-1.00 per split.

Speed: 1-3 minutes.

Best for: Producers who are serious about stem extraction and willing to pay for premium quality.

Watch-out: The free tier is tiny.

Verdict: Top-tier quality. Not genuinely "free" — it's a paid tool with a teaser.

3. Ultimate Vocal Remover (UVR) — best-kept secret for local use

What it does: Stems splitting with offline, open-source software. Downloads to your computer; no cloud required.

Quality: Professional-grade. Rivals LALAL.AI on many tracks. The best accuracy on vocal isolation specifically.

Free tier: Completely free. Open-source. No login. No credit-gated limits.

File limits: None.

Speed: Depends on your CPU. 1-5 minutes for a 3-minute song.

Technical hurdle: Requires downloading a software installer (~300 MB). Slightly technical. Windows, Mac, Linux supported.

Download: github.com/Anjok07/ultimatevocalremover_v5.

Verdict: If you're splitting more than 3 tracks a month, download this. Zero cost, unlimited, professional quality.

4. Audacity — the DIY option (not recommended)

Quality: Poor. The method (simple phase-cancellation) works only if the vocals are centered in the stereo field.

Verdict: Outdated for stem splitting. The AI tools above are order-of-magnitude better.

5. FL Studio 21's native stem splitter

What it does: Built into FL Studio 21+.

Quality: Very good. Integrated directly into your DAW.

Best for: Producers already working in FL Studio.

Verdict: If you use FL, you already have a professional splitter.

The comparison table

When to use which tool

You want to try stem splitting once

Use Moises free tier. 10 MB is one split. No signup hassle, quick test.

You're splitting vocals for a TikTok cover

Use Moises or LALAL.AI. Vocal quality is priority, and both excel there.

You're extracting drum loops for a beat sample pack

Use UVR (if you're willing to download) or LALAL.AI (if you prefer browser).

You're sampling a song for a flip

Use UVR (best option for vocals) or LALAL.AI (fastest with the best overall separation).

You produce in FL Studio already

Use FL Studio 21's built-in splitter. It's professional and saves the cloud roundtrip.

The legal reality: sourcing samples

After you split a song, you have isolated stems (vocals, drums, etc.). Can you use them in a beat to sell?

Short answer: Usually not. The original song's copyright holder (label, publisher, songwriter) owns those stems. Chopping them into a new beat doesn't clear that ownership.

Exception: If you're sampling a drum break and it's unrecognizable in your beat's context, or if you're building a remix pack (which explicitly credits the original), copyright gets murkier. But to be safe: use stems as reference (study the drum sound, the vocal tone) and then recreate the idea with your own drums, layers, and production.

The producers on beatsheaven who thrive are the ones using stems to learn the arrangement and sound design, then building original beats inspired by that education.

Splitting your own music

If you've made a beat and need stems for mixing, mastering, or artist remix packs:

1. Export stems from your DAW during production, not after. Easier and cleaner.
2. If you forgot: re-open the project file, mute tracks selectively, and export each stem separately.
3. Stem splitters aren't for your own music — use your DAW's native export instead.

The workflow: from sample to beat

1. Find a song with a drum break or vocal chop you like.
2. Split it with Moises or LALAL.AI (1-2 minutes online) or UVR (if installed locally).
3. Isolate the part you want (the drums, the vocal line, the bass).
4. Study it: listen to the sound design, the arrangement, the processing.
5. Recreate with your own layers in your DAW, inspired but original.
6. Upload your beat to beatsheaven.

This is legal, respectful, and how every producer learns. You're not stealing a sample; you're getting reference points for your own creation.

Bottom line

If you're serious about beat production and need to extract samples regularly, download UVR. It's free, powerful, and the best professional option.

If you're casual and just want to test stem splitting, start with Moises — the 10 MB monthly free tier is genuinely useful and has zero pressure to upgrade.