Beatonal vs SquareBeat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Beatonal
Easily create and share music with built-in synthesizers and a drum machine. Sketch melodies, bass lines, and chord progressions using intuitive pattern pads. Unlock advanced features and project saving with an in-app purchase.
- Create drum loops with pattern pads
- Sketch bass lines, chords, and melodies
- 4 audio channels (drum, bass, chords, lead)
- Analog synth with modulation and effects
- User-friendly track sharing via URL
- Export tracks as MIDI or WAV
- Load custom drum samples
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!!! ON SALE !!! NOW 20% OFF !!! Beatonal is an accessible music making app, enabling you to easily create and share your musical ideas using the built-in synthesizers and drum machine. Create drum loops using pattern pads, and effortlessly sketch bass lines, chord progressions and melodies. This app is free to try, but requires an in-app purchase to unlock all advanced features and project saving. other features include: - 4 audio channels: drum machine, bass, chords and lead - Input is automatically fixed to a user selectable scale - Contains demo tracks to get you started - Analog synth with two oscillators, FM, AM and pitch modulation, lowpass filter, and various effects - Contains 60 built-in synth presets, but you can also create and store your own presets - Store tracks on your device - User friendly track sharing via track-url's - Export track as MIDI so you can continue your work inside other apps or a DAW - Export track as wav - Output realtime midi to other apps on multiple channels, or to an external device such as your DAW - Small app size - Load your own drumsamples through iTunes on your mac - Synchronize with other music apps using Ableton Link
SquareBeat
Create music by building patterns with samples and AUv3 plugins. Arrange these patterns into songs, import your own sounds, and mix tracks. Features a text-based tracker GUI for rapid development, with all core functionality free except for WAV file export.
- Sequence and manipulate audio samples
- Mix tracks
- Use AUv3 audio unit instruments
- Use AUv3 effects on effect busses
- Connect with other apps via Audiobus
- Export and share songs
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SquareBeat is a music sequencer. Build patterns out of samples and AUv3 plugins, and build songs out of patterns. Import your own samples to make new sounds. Develop songs rapidly with the text based tracker GUI. All functionality is free except wav file export. • Sequence and manipulate audio samples. • Mix tracks. • Use AUv3 audio unit instruments. • Use AUv3 effects on effect busses. • Connect with other apps with Audiobus. • Export and share your song.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SquareBeat at 4.9 against Beatonal's 4.6. SquareBeat also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). Beatonal's advantage is ratings volume (37 vs 8) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Beatonal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SquareBeat sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SquareBeat holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 37 and 8 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Beatonal's written reviews are positive against 80% of SquareBeat's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Beatonal ships an update weekly, SquareBeat every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Beatonal | SquareBeat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (37 ratings) | 4.9 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.8% of reviews — better | 80.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 37 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 114 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Luuk van der Graaff | James Navarro |
Customer experience
Beatonal
SquareBeat
In-app purchases
Beatonal
- Pro License$2.99
SquareBeat
- SquareBeat Full Version$12.99









