Alien Box vs StepLoom
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Alien Box
This audio effect plugin creates a unique sound with increased sustain and gentle, LFO-modulated vibes. It functions as an AUv3 effect for hosts like GarageBand or as a standalone app for real-time audio input processing.
- Unique sound enrichment
- LFO modulated vibes
- Complex resonator system
- AUv3 plugin for hosts
- Standalone app mode
- Gain, Vibe, Depth, Reverb controls
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Alien Box is a completely new kind of audio effect that you have never heard before. It makes the sound big and slightly increases the sustain while adding gentle vibes to it. The vibes are LFO modulated and the effect is using very complex resonator system inside. It is modulation effect and you can compare it to flanger, phaser or chorus but it is not like any of them… The app is an Audio Unit Effect AUV3 and can be used inside GarageBand or other AU host apps as an effect plug-in. Alien Box can also run as a stand alone app adding effect to the audio input so you can play your guitar, bass or synth directly three the app if you have the connector to do so. Alien Box controls: - Gain - you can use it increase the gain and sustain - Vibe - main tone and background vibes balance - Depth - controls the modulations depth - Reverb - adds reverb to the background vibes
StepLoom
Create electronic music with a touch-friendly groovebox. Quickly sketch beats, basslines, and melodies using a step sequencer, piano-roll editing, and arrangement views. Supports AUv3 plugins for expanded sound design.
- Touch-friendly beat and melody workflow
- Step sequencer and piano-roll editing
- Timeline, Session, and Flow arrangement views
- AUv3 instrument and effect plugin support
- Mixer controls for sound shaping
- MIDI input and external clock sync
- Export audio, stems, or MIDI
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StepLoom is a fast, touch-first electronic music sketchpad for making beats, loops, basslines, and melody ideas on iPhone and iPad. It gives you the focus of a compact groovebox without the weight of a full DAW, so you can start a rhythm, shape a synth line, try an AUv3 instrument, arrange patterns, and keep moving while the idea is fresh. Create drum patterns with a step sequencer, write melodic parts with piano-roll style editing, stack chords, add legato, adjust BPM, mix tracks, and switch sounds. Add Sample tracks by importing audio or recording directly in the Tracks view, then use the waveform editor to trim, reverse, normalize, tune, and shape One-shot or Loop playback. The project Media Library keeps custom audio available for reuse and arrangement. Turn loops into songs with three complementary arrangement views: shape Patterns and audio clips on the Timeline, launch quantized Patterns and Scenes in Session, or build visual paths and probability rules in Flow. Draw or record automation for mixer controls and supported AUv3 parameters. When you want to go beyond the built-in sounds, add AUv3 instrument or effect plugins, choose exposed plugin presets, open compatible plugin interfaces, and activate Plugin Sound directly from the sound picker. Optional iCloud sync keeps compatible projects and project media available across your Apple devices. StepLoom continues to work locally when sync is disabled. StepLoom is built for quick electronic music drafts: open the app, tap a grid, hear the result, and turn a loop into a structured idea. Main features: - Touch-friendly beat and melody workflow - Drum, melody, and custom Sample tracks - Step sequencer with playback highlight and loop control - Piano-roll style melody editing with chords and legato - Audio import and microphone sample recording - Waveform sample editor with trim, reverse, normalize, gain, tuning, One-shot, and Loop controls - Project Media Library for reusable custom audio - Timeline editing with drag, resize, layers, sections, loop ranges, and multi-selection - Quantized Pattern and Scene launching with Session performance recording - Blueprint-style Flow rules with Next, Jump, Random, Stop, and probability - AUv3 instrument and effect plugin slots - Plugin preset reading for AUv3s that expose factory presets - Plugin Sound option for playing tracks through AUv3 instruments - Mixer and AUv3 parameter automation - Mixer controls for volume, pan, EQ, filter, drive, meters, master gain, and limiter - MIDI input and external clock sync options - Optional iCloud project and media synchronization - Export full songs or the current pattern as audio, stems, or MIDI - Adaptive iPhone and iPad layouts StepLoom is for producers, beatmakers, songwriters, and electronic music learners who want a focused place to capture musical ideas before moving into a larger DAW.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: StepLoom at 100% against Alien Box's 0%. StepLoom also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.3) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 38 months). Alien Box's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Alien Box costs $2.99 and StepLoom $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
StepLoom holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Alien Box's written reviews are positive against 100% of StepLoom's.
Alien Box ships an update every 38 months, StepLoom every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Alien Box | StepLoom |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 1.3 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 38 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aleksandar Mlazev | 宁 徐 |
Customer experience
Alien Box
StepLoom
In-app purchases
Alien Box
No in-app purchases
StepLoom
No in-app purchases









