You can download a fully functional version of Vocal Rider for a 7-day evaluation period through Waves Creative Access.
Waves often provides opportunities to acquire their plugins without a direct purchase: Download Vocal Rider Plugin Free
Unlike a compressor, which changes the tone or "squashes" the peaks of a signal, a vocal rider simply moves a virtual fader up and down in real-time. You can download a fully functional version of
If you want a "forever free" tool that mimics the automatic fader-riding behavior of Vocal Rider, these are the top community-recommended options: It features a similar interface and is available
A highly popular free alternative developed to rival the Waves version. It features a similar interface and is available as a free download on Gumroad.
While the original Waves plugin is a paid product, there are several legitimate ways to get it at no cost or use highly effective free "clones." Official Ways to Get Vocal Rider for Free
The Waves version can side-chain the instrumental track to automatically keep the vocals above the music at all times.