Comparison

MCXi Basic vs Dechant Music Academy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MCXi Basic

This application provides a development environment for a dialect of the BASIC programming language, designed to be flexible and expandable. It features a command-line interface similar to Dartmouth BASIC, where program lines require numbering.

Highlights
  • BASIC programming language dialect
  • GW-BASIC compatibility
  • Flexible and expandable design
  • Command-line IDE
  • Numbered program lines
  • Direct mode commands
Features
Read full description

MCX Basic is a BASIC interpreter for iPhone and iPad in the style of the home computers of the 1980s. Type numbered program lines, type RUN, and your program prints, draws, moves sprites and plays music. WRITE AND RUN • A console like a home computer's: direct commands, numbered lines, LIST in colour, AUTO and RENUM. • A key bar above the keyboard gives Esc, the arrow keys, Space, Return and F1–F10, so programs and games can be played by touch. Hardware keyboards work too. • The whole language: IF … THEN … ELSE, FOR … NEXT, GOSUB, ON … GOTO, DATA and READ, DEF FN, PRINT USING, arrays, strings, integer and floating-point numbers, error handling and files. • Programs are plain text files (.bas): open them from the Files app, save, share and print them. GRAPHICS AND SOUND • Graphics screens with up to 256 colours: LINE, CIRCLE, PAINT, DRAW, PSET and POINT. • Sprites with collision detection, a colour palette, pages, and COPY to move parts of the picture. • Music with PLAY on three voices, plus SOUND and BEEP. LEARN FROM EXAMPLES • 47 sample programs that load with one tap: first steps, loops, arrays, strings, files, drawings, and games such as Snake, Bricks, Road race and Lander. Play them, then read how they work. • A help page for each of the 122 commands and functions, with an example and what it shows. • A 69-page user manual (PDF) that introduces programming in BASIC. GOOD TO KNOW • Commands for the hardware of the original machines (memory and ports, joysticks, the printer, machine code) are not included. • MCX Basic is also available for Mac.

About

Dechant Music Academy

Features
Read full description

Dechant Music Academy (DMA) is an international music academy committed to making high-quality music education affordable and accessible for everyone. Designed for students of all ages and skill levels, DMA provides structured music lessons that build confidence, creativity, and strong musical foundations. NEW project: Group piano lessons at schools , once a week, live and in person with a qualified teacher. At DMA, our mission is simple: to make quality music education available in every city and accessible to every student.

Screenshots

MCXi Basic4 screens
Dechant Music Academy3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dechant Music Academy at Free against MCXi Basic's $0.99. Dechant Music Academy also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). MCXi Basic's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Dechant Music Academy is free to download; MCXi Basic costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MCXi Basic ships an update every 9 days, Dechant Music Academy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
MCXi Basic versus Dechant Music Academy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMCXi BasicDechant Music Academy
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating2.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB98 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAleksei NeronovDechant Irina

In-app purchases

None

MCXi Basic

No in-app purchases

None

Dechant Music Academy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MCXi Basic free?
MCXi Basic costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dechant Music Academy free?
Dechant Music Academy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MCXi Basic or Dechant Music Academy have ads?
Neither MCXi Basic nor Dechant Music Academy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MCXi Basic or Dechant Music Academy?
MCXi Basic ships an update every 9 days, and Dechant Music Academy every 2 months. Most recently, MCXi Basic was updated on October 15, 2026 and Dechant Music Academy on October 10, 2026.

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