Comparison

Spectrojam vs ThunderBars

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

Head to head
About

Spectrojam

This app transforms sounds from your microphone into dynamic colors and shapes on your screen. It visualizes the frequency composition of everyday noises and musical tunes, allowing you to see sound signatures and even translate them into musical notes.

Highlights
  • Real-time sound to color/shape visualization
  • Musical note display for pitch accuracy
  • Chord and harmony analysis
  • Adjustable gain for volume control
  • High-resolution premium visualizer
  • Color modulation effects
Features
Read full description

Spectrojam® listens to your microphone and turns the sound it hears into colors and shapes on your screen. If you speak, for example, you will see the individual frequencies emitted by your voice. If you whistle, you will see shapes and colors move and change on the screen in perfect sync with your tune. You will be amazed to see the frequency composition of the sounds in your everyday life. Each noise has a unique signature, and now you can see it all! The Musical Note Display can translate the sounds you make into musical notes. This allows anyone to sing a perfect "A" without even hearing a reference note. Spectrojam® can display up to 3 musical notes at the same time, allowing you to pick apart chords and harmonies. It works great with the human voice and musical instruments. Unlock Premium mode to access a high-resolution sound visualizer which displays up to 12.3 million samples simultaneously (8,192 frequencies * 1500 time slices) for extremely high precision and maximum clarity. The Color Modulator smoothly cycles through your color selections, producing stunning visuals. If your environment is loud, simply use the Gain slider to reduce the overall input volume, or boost it if you want to detect whispers, breathing, and quiet background music. Explore your world in a whole new way. Download Spectrojam® today!

About

ThunderBars

Features
Read full description

ThunderBars turns the sound around you into a living, real-time light show. Point your iPhone at music, your voice, or any ambient sound, and watch it come alive as vivid bars and waveforms pulse to every beat. WHAT YOU GET Three visualizations — Radial Bars, Waveform, and Matrix Bars — each with its own character Color themes — Aurora, Ember, Ice, and Mono palettes to match your mood Real-time analysis — beat detection and a sensitivity dial to tune the reaction Clean, dark interface that puts the visual front and center Optional synced lyrics overlay while music plays Privacy: https://romaherman.github.io/thunderbars/privacy.html

Screenshots

Spectrojam4 screens
ThunderBars1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ThunderBars at every 9 days against Spectrojam's every 3 months. Spectrojam's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Spectrojam sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ThunderBars sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spectrojam ships an update every 3 months, ThunderBars every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Spectrojam versus ThunderBars: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpectrojamThunderBars
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (25 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews69.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings25 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNonsequential Time LabsRoma Herman

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Spectrojam

One-time1
  • Premium$2.99
1 purchases

ThunderBars

One-time1
  • Thunder Bars Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Spectrojam free?
Spectrojam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ThunderBars free?
ThunderBars is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Spectrojam or ThunderBars have ads?
Neither Spectrojam nor ThunderBars shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spectrojam or ThunderBars?
Spectrojam ships an update every 3 months, and ThunderBars every 9 days. Most recently, Spectrojam was updated on October 20, 2026 and ThunderBars on October 13, 2026.

Other comparisons