# tardigrain vs Virtual ANS 3

The clearest difference is rating: Virtual ANS 3 at 4.8 against tardigrain's 4.6. Virtual ANS 3 also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 76%). tardigrain's advantage is chart position (#178 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

tardigrain costs $5.99 and Virtual ANS 3 $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Virtual ANS 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 98 and 59 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of tardigrain's written reviews are positive against 88% of Virtual ANS 3's.

tardigrain ships an update every 2 months, Virtual ANS 3 every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | tardigrain | Virtual ANS 3 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $5.99 | $5.99 |
| Rating | [4.6 (98 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tardigrain/id1344470087/reviews) | **[4.8 (59 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-ans-3/id1465860248/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **98** | 59 |
| Positive reviews | 75.9% of reviews | **87.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#178** | — |
| Size | 60 MB | 31 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 12.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Erik Sigth](https://appshunter.io/developer/385275335) | [Alexander Zolotov](https://appshunter.io/developer/324462547) |

## What reviewers say

### tardigrain

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tardigrain/id1344470087)

**Currently charting:** #178 Top Paid · Music (US App Store)

Create unique sounds by breaking down samples into small fragments and playing them back non-linearly. Explore granular synthesis with adjustable grain size, direction, and step size. Enhance your audio with built-in effects, filters, and modulation options.

**Highlights:** Granular synthesis engine, Adjustable grain parameters, Built-in effects (reverb, wave shaper, crush), Resonant filter, MIDI and MPE modulation, Sequencer/arpeggiator, LFO modulation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Virtual ANS 3

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-ans-3/id1465860248)

This app simulates a unique photoelectronic musical instrument, allowing users to draw music as spectrograms. It functions as a graphics editor to convert sound to images and vice versa, enabling the creation of atmospheric sounds and microtonal music.

**Highlights:** Unlimited pure tone generators, Sonogram editor for drawing and playing spectra, Convert sound to image and vice versa, MIDI device support, Polyphonic synth mode with MIDI mapping, Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) and Audiobus support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is tardigrain free?

tardigrain costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Virtual ANS 3 free?

Virtual ANS 3 costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, tardigrain or Virtual ANS 3?

Virtual ANS 3 is rated higher. tardigrain averages 4.6 out of 5 from 98 ratings, while Virtual ANS 3 averages 4.8 from 59 ratings.

### Do tardigrain or Virtual ANS 3 have ads?

Neither tardigrain nor Virtual ANS 3 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, tardigrain or Virtual ANS 3?

tardigrain ships an update every 2 months, and Virtual ANS 3 every 3 months. Most recently, tardigrain was updated on October 24, 2026 and Virtual ANS 3 on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*