Chrome extension

Extension vs Web Editor

Slow & Reverb for YouTube extension versus the web editor, side by side: listening versus producing, what each exports, where each runs, and which to pick.

Slowandreverb.com ships two tools that apply the same kind of effect and do completely different jobs. The Chrome extension applies slowed + reverb live to YouTube and YouTube Music while you listen. The web editor applies it to your own audio files and gives you an MP3. People regularly install one when they needed the other, so this page puts them side by side and then tells you which to use for a given need.

The one-sentence rule: if you want to hear it, use the extension; if you want to have it, use the editor. The extension never exports. The editor never streams YouTube. Everything else follows from that. For the extension's permissions, see extension permissions; for a full batch workflow in the editor, see bulk slowed reverb.

Side by side

Listening versus producing

The split between the two tools is the split between two activities.

Listening is what you do with music you do not own, on a platform that streams it to you. You want the slowed + reverb mood on top of whatever is playing, and you want it now, with no files involved. That is the extension. It changes playback and leaves nothing behind. Playlists, radio, albums, Shorts, a single video, all of it comes through the effect, and your settings persist. When you close the tab, there is nothing to tidy up.

Producing is what you do with files. You have a track, you want a slowed version that exists as a file you can upload to YouTube, post on TikTok, put on your phone, or send to someone. That is the editor. You load the audio, hear the exact chain that will be exported, adjust, and download. Because it runs in the browser, there is no install and nothing is uploaded, but it still produces a real output.

The two do not overlap. The extension has no download button, no record button and no export of any kind, by design. The editor has no way to pull audio from YouTube, by design. If you find yourself wanting the extension to save a file or the editor to open a YouTube link, you have the wrong tool for that step.

Which one for which need

Same controls, different weight

Both tools expose the same control names, so a sound you like in one carries to the other. The numbers that feel right do shift a little.

In the extension you are hearing the effect on compressed streaming audio, so reverb and bass can be a touch lower than you would use in the editor. A good listening preset is around 0.85x speed, 35 percent reverb, 2.8 seconds space, +4 dB bass, -3 dB tone.

In the editor you are usually working from a cleaner source and producing something that will be re-encoded by a platform, so the classic upload settings sit a little heavier: around 0.82x to 0.85x, 40 to 45 percent reverb, +5 to +7 dB bass, -3 to -5 dB tone. The complete guide to making a slowed and reverb song walks through those choices with reasons.

What each one will not do

The two tools share honest limits. Neither does independent pitch shift; pitch is tied to speed unless preserved. Neither chops or stutters. Neither has EQ beyond the bass and tone shelves. Neither exports video.

The editor's own limits: output is MP3 only, 96 kbps, 32 kHz. That is tuned for fast in-browser encoding and is fine for YouTube, TikTok and Shorts because those platforms re-encode everything. It is not a distribution master. For that, start from a WAV and finish in a DAW. There is no WAV or FLAC export and no trimming.

The extension's own limits: desktop only, YouTube domains only, one setting at a time for whatever is playing, and absolutely no export.

Using both together

Many people end up with both. A common pattern is to use the extension to audition. Play a track on YouTube Music through the extension, find the speed and reverb that suit it, save that as a preset. Then, if you own the audio and want a file, open the editor, recreate the preset, and export. The audition in the extension costs nothing and tells you whether a song is worth editing before you load a single file.

The reverse also works. If you have dialed in a sound in the editor that you love, save the same numbers in the extension and your everyday listening gets the same character.

Open the free editor: upload MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG or FLAC, adjust speed, reverb, bass, tone, width and space, then export MP3 or a ZIP of many tracks. Everything runs in your browser.