Comparison

Holon vs plugdata

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

Head to head
About

Holon

This app transforms your movement through cities into a dynamic, real-time musical score. It uses your physical location and activity to generate interactive synth music, encouraging outdoor exploration and turning listeners into performers.

Highlights
  • Human-powered music generation
  • Encourages outdoor activity
  • Zero UI for minimal distraction
  • Environmentally responsive music
  • Real-time synth music creation
  • Optional AirPods and Apple Watch integration
Features
Read full description

Holon makes the city your instrument. It turns your movement in the environment into a synthetic, interactive score that reflects your context, supports your activities and alerts you to changes in the surrounding area. Holon uses physical computing and a geospatial dataset to synthesize music on the iPhone in real time from your data - no streaming or AI involved, just pure DSP and logic. What Holon Does: * Human powered music. Every action generates dynamic, improvised synth music in real time. * Encourages outdoor activities. Holon doesn’t work in your apartment or by shaking your phone around. Move through streets, parks, and transit systems to make the music happen. * Stays out of your way. Zero UI means less screen time, no distractions. * Uses places and spaces to modify the music you make. The environment isn’t background - it’s the score. * The more and further you move, the more things happen in the music. Use your musical agency instead of skipping and swiping. Why Holon Exists:
 Music has been reduced to a commodity and a background activity for consumerism. Holon isn’t here to help you chill when you swipe, scroll and buy more stuff, or improve your focus when working for the Man. Holon is here to break away from the static, one-way relationship of streaming services and to put the human in the loop - yourself. Forget emoting celebrities with their false sincerity, throw overproduced passive soundscapes and statistical algorithms on the dung heap of history. Holon turns listeners into performers and unlocks the musical potential of places. How to Use: * Go outside - Holon needs space to function, just like you. Different districts, parks, bridges, shops, street furniture - all contribute to the musical output. Strolling around your apartment or shaking your phone won’t do. * Put the phone in your pocket or on your dashboard. * Walk, run, drive - the world is now the interface, space is the machine. * Use the big button in the middle to power Holon off when not in use - Auditory AR can be a battery-intensive process! * Optional Apple AirPods support for head-controlled musical interactions! * Optional Apple Watch support for heart rate-synced music (biofeedback) *the Watch app may take a moment to install* Requirements:
 * Available in over 1000 regions in more than 100 countries. * Check coverage or request a new area at holonic.systems/holon. * Best experienced with headphones. Ensure adequate battery level for extended use. * A data plan is required to access our geospatial engine but use of data is low. Holon: Become part of the circuit and… Become Sound™

About

plugdata

This app provides a visual programming environment for audio experimentation, prototyping, and education. It allows users to create and run audio patches on their mobile devices, enabling creative sound design on the go.

Highlights
  • Visual programming environment
  • Audio experimentation
  • Prototyping
  • Educational tool
  • Standalone application
  • Audio plugins
Features
Read full description

plugdata is visual programming environment for audio experimentation, prototyping and education. With plugdata for iOS, you can bring your plugdata patches with you everywhere you go. This app ships with a standalone application and audio plugins.

Screenshots

Holon4 screens
plugdata2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: plugdata at none against Holon's 2. Holon's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 67%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Holon sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. plugdata asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Holon against 4.4 for plugdata. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 17 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Holon's written reviews are positive against 67% of plugdata's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and July 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Holon versus plugdata: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHolonplugdata
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (14 ratings) — better4.4 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1417 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size144 MB147 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHolonic Systems OyTimothy Schoen

Customer experience

Holon

All ratings14 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral7.1%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative16.7%

plugdata

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Holon

One-time2
  • Apple Watch supportFree
  • Movesense SupportFree
None

plugdata

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Holon free?
Holon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is plugdata free?
plugdata is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Holon or plugdata?
Holon is rated higher. Holon averages 4.5 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while plugdata averages 4.4 from 17 ratings.
Do Holon or plugdata have ads?
Neither Holon nor plugdata shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Holon or plugdata?
Holon ships an update every 3 months, and plugdata every 3 months. Most recently, Holon was updated on August 5, 2026 and plugdata on July 20, 2026.

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