Comparison

NYCompressor vs NinjamZap

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

Head to head
About

NYCompressor

A professional audio compressor plugin for iOS devices, offering versatile dynamics management for music production. It supports various hosts and provides features like sidechaining and parallel compression for achieving desired mix effects.

Highlights
  • Compression ratio up to 1:10
  • Optional key signal filtering
  • True sidechaining
  • Hard/soft knee
  • Parallel (New York) compression
  • Independent L/R or Mid/Side compression
Features
Read full description

A professional compressor plugin for iOS. Compatible with Garageband, Cubasis, AuriaPro and other AUv3 or Inter App Audio compatible hosts. The NYCompressor is the ideal workhorse when it comes to dynamics management in a mix. From gentle compression for glueing your mix together to heavy drum compression for the ultimate punch: NYCompressor can do it all. Features: – Compression ratio up to 1:10. – Optional key signal filtering. – True sidechaining (4 inputs, needs to be supported by host) – Hard/soft knee. – Parallel (New York) compression. – Independent L/R or Mid/Side compression. Planned, designed and lovingly handcrafted by DDMF, a renowned audio software company from Southern Germany.

About

NinjamZap

Features
Read full description

NinjamZap brings real-time online jamming to your iPhone and iPad — now with live video. Connect to any NINJAM server, pick a username, and play music with people around the world. Free, no ads, no studio required. NINJAM is a proven protocol for internet music collaboration, used by musicians for over 15 years. Instead of fighting network latency, NINJAM embraces it: everyone plays along to a shared metronome, and you hear what others played in the previous interval. The result is a surprisingly natural and creative way to make music together. NinjamZap is the first native iOS NINJAM client, and the first NINJAM client of any kind to support live video. KEY FEATURES LIVE VIDEO (NinjamZap rooms only) - See every musician you're jamming with, frame-locked to the jam interval - HD support up to 1280x720 per tile - Auto-adapt quality follows room BPM/BPI - HDMI output and one-tap full-screen JAMMING & AUDIO - Connect to any public or private NINJAM room and start playing - Multi-channel local — up to 4 separate input channels per session (guitar + bass + voice + drums) instead of a single stereo pair - Vorbis quality presets: Quick (64 kbps), Standard (128), High (192), Studio (256) - Session recording at 256 kbps AAC, optional metronome-free for DAW-ready files - USB audio interface support — iRig, MOTU, Focusrite, and other Lightning/USB-C interfaces - Per-channel mixing — volume, mute, solo for every musician - Audio FX per local channel — Reverb (Room / Hall / Plate) + Compressor (Light / Medium / Heavy) - Configurable latency profiles — Ultra Low (3 ms), Low (5 ms), Safe (10 ms) - Audio routing — Apple's native picker for AirPods, HDMI, USB, Bluetooth - Echo cancellation — play through your speaker without headphones - Transmit control — decide exactly when your audio goes live MIDI & SYNC (iOS) - MIDI Clock Out — sync external drum machines, synths, and DAWs to the room tempo - Tap tempo — tap to detect BPM before proposing a change - BPM/BPI voting — propose tempo and interval changes during the session SESSIONS & SOCIAL - Free, no ads, no in-app purchases — fully featured forever - Guest mode — no account needed, pick a username and you're in - Profile avatars — image or animated GIF - Sign in with email + password, or SSO (Google, Apple) - Browse public rooms — see active NINJAM servers and who's playing - Built-in metronome — visual beat indicator + click track - Live chat — text chat, country flags, tappable links - Now Playing artwork on the lock screen during a session - Live stream shortcut — open the room's web stream from anywhere HOW IT WORKS 1. Open NinjamZap and choose a username (or sign in for a full profile) 2. Browse public rooms or enter a server address 3. Connect, enable your metronome, and listen to what others are playing 4. When you're ready, enable Transmit on your channel to join the jam 5. On NinjamZap rooms, tap the video icon to send your camera and see others 6. Adjust the mix — volume, mute, and solo individual channels to taste WHO IS THIS FOR - Musicians who want to jam online without being in the same room - Guitarists, bassists, drummers, keyboardists, vocalists, and producers - Hardware musicians whose drum machines and synths need to follow the room tempo - Existing NINJAM users looking for a polished mobile client - Anyone curious about collaborative music-making over the internet ABOUT NINJAM NINJAM (Network Jam) was created by Cockos Inc. NinjamZap is an independent client — not affiliated with Cockos or the official NINJAM project. Live video is a NinjamZap extension, only available on NinjamZap-hosted rooms (video.ninjamzap.com). Other NINJAM clients ignore video channels and audio still works for everyone. The core audio engine is open source under GPL v3 at github.com/jacinside/ninjamzap-core. Works with any standard NINJAM server. Free, no ads. Requires iOS 13 or later. iPhone and iPad.

Screenshots

NYCompressor1 screens
NinjamZap4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NinjamZap at Free against NYCompressor's $9.99. NinjamZap also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 months). NYCompressor's advantage is iOS requirement (9.3 vs 15.6). 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

NinjamZap is free to download; NYCompressor costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NYCompressor ships an update every 6 months, NinjamZap every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
NYCompressor versus NinjamZap: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNYCompressorNinjamZap
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating3.8 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.3 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB32 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperChristian SiedschlagJavier Cordero

In-app purchases

None

NYCompressor

No in-app purchases

None

NinjamZap

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NYCompressor free?
NYCompressor costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NinjamZap free?
NinjamZap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do NYCompressor or NinjamZap have ads?
Neither NYCompressor nor NinjamZap shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NYCompressor or NinjamZap?
NYCompressor ships an update every 6 months, and NinjamZap every 10 days. Most recently, NYCompressor was updated on September 21, 2026 and NinjamZap on September 16, 2026.

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