Native instruments is one the leading companies in music software and hardware,
I’ve been using a lot of their software for the past decade.
Kontakt and Komplete are some of the best software to ever hit the market
as far as music production goes; one of the frequent questions that people
ask is basically surrounding the differences between the two.
This post will answer this specifically in accordance with my experience of using both over time.
So what is the difference between Kontakt and Komplete?
Kontakt is a host for various sample libraries, while Komplete is a huge collection of instruments, effects and samples. Komplete is one of the sample libraries that can be hosted and run in Kontakt.
Kontakt

Kontakt is one of the biggest hosts of a variety of samples and instruments,
and it is one of those highly regarded VSTs in the music production world.
Being the universal host to literally hundreds of realistic sample libraries
from a variety of manufacturers, Kontakt is almost every producer’s entry point into the world of virtual instruments.
Kontakt comes equipped with six playback modes that are able to process
audio differently within the source module, the very first playback mode is
one that plays audio directly from memory,
The second playback mode worth mentioning is the time machine mode
because it is useful for time stretching purposes and will allow for pitch
change without affecting the overall speed of the sample.
Furthermore the wave editor may seem simple to the eye but trust that it is a
complex, in a good way that can allow you to edit samples with the utmost
level of flexibility.
When you combine what you can do with the playback modes and the wave
editor you can basically make for a greater level of sample manipulation and
unlimited creativity.
Kontakt is the ideal go to software for any level in music production and is
one I recommend, because it will cover almost all your needs with its variety
of instruments.
A key element about kontakt is the availability of something called custom
scripting which can allow you to create your own sound engines and be able
to take your level of sound and sample manipulation to a whole new top-tier
level.
This is basically a simple overview of Kontakt and it is not a full immersion
into this powerful tool, it is quite overwhelming with all its features,
Being the host of many sample libraries makes kontakt different from
complete because there are a lot of manufacturers that use kontakt for their
hosting of sample libraries.
In my opinion this is the main notable difference between the two.
Be reminded that these are both powerful tools that can change your music
production level, therefore I’d recommend getting both these VSTs.
With that said, let’s get into Komplete and see what it’s all about.
Komplete

Komplete is one of the most comprehensive virtual instruments available on the market today,
it is fully packed and great for a variety of music genres.
Komplete is one of the most comprehensive virtual instruments available on
the market today, it is fully packed and great for a variety of music genres.
It has some of the best sounding samples that have been created with a great level of depth and precision.
The Session Guitarist instruments are the ones that caught my attention at
first with their level of intricacy and diversity, especially when you play
around with what is called “melody mode”.
With any virtual instrument, flexibility is quite important and Komplete offers
the best that you could ever demand for.
The interface allows you to customize any sound and tweak it to your liking,
this can be very helpful to anyone that has a knack for sound design.
Komplete is known for its high quality orchestra sounds, but it is also one of
the best synthesizers that delivers high quality sounds, with over a 100
different instruments and 50 expansion libraries.
Conclusion
In conclusion It can be noted that Kontakt is a host for various sound
libraries while Komplete is a virtual instrument.
They are both high quality resources.
Native Instruments is the manufacturer behind these two VSTs and it is well
known in the music production space because of its quality.
It is high recommendation of mine that purchase both these awesome tools
because they will make a significant improvement to your sample library.
I hope you found this article helpful
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Sources
Kontakt 5 vs komplete 11 – Gearspace.com