Comparison

STAELLA vs Beatsy

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

Head to head
About

STAELLA

Create dynamic, real-time music visualizations with customizable effects. Import audio from various sources, record your creations, and share them on social media. Offers advanced control with MIDI integration and keyboard shortcuts.

Highlights
  • Real-time audio-reactive visuals
  • Customizable effects and colors
  • Import music from playlists, mic, or simulation
  • One-touch video recording
  • MIDI device integration
  • Keyboard shortcuts for control
  • Gesture controls
Features
Read full description

Real-time music visualization. 30 Visuals × 78 Shapes — every play, a different piece. ■ Design the visuals from a free combination 4 categories with 30 Visuals and 78 Shapes, Knobs, Text, backgrounds, 10 Screen Effects and 10 Wallpaper Blends. Layer them into anything from a club-style spectrum to an ambient nebula. Visuals and Shapes switch on the beat of the song. On HDR displays, glows and gradients render with brightness beyond SDR. ■ Preset sharing Save the look you made as a preset and share it with a code or a link. ■ Two recording modes for different intents Recording keeps every knob move and Visual switch you make. Export locks the UI so a stable, hands-off render finishes on its own. Before exporting, you can also edit the show along the flow of the song, like in a video editor. Both hide the UI, support up to 4K with HDR export, and can auto-record a full song in Playlist mode. ■ Four audio sources Files (music on device; iOS also imports from the iTunes library) Microphone (low-latency input) Simulation (visuals keep moving with no source) AUv3 (visualize plugin audio) ▸ Time-synced lyrics Songs available in a supported lyric database can display lyrics in time with the music. Song title and artist name too. You can also show lyrics you typed yourself. ▸ External display output (AirPlay / HDMI adapters) Connect a TV or projector via iOS Screen Mirroring (AirPlay) or an HDMI adapter. The visuals go full screen while the UI stays on your device. ■ Play with whatever's in your hand Touch and flick iPad + Magic Keyboard shortcuts MIDI controllers (long-press any knob to assign, BLE MIDI supported) Gamepad (D-pad, buttons, sticks) ■ Where to use it · VJ sets at clubs, live shows and streams · Music videos and lyric videos for social · Screen visuals for a room or a party ■ Notes · DRM-protected tracks (e.g. Apple Music) can't be played. · For issues or requests, reach out via in-app feedback or support. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Beatsy

Experience music like never before by transforming your surroundings into dynamic visualizers. This app uses your device's microphone or music library to distort the world around you with ten unique, customizable effects. Capture and share your augmented reality creations.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality music visualizer
  • Distort world with microphone or music library
  • Ten customizable visualizers
  • Scale visualizers to epic sizes
  • Immersive 3D distortion with LiDAR
  • Capture and share photos/videos
Read full description

Turn your wall into a giant speaker or transform a road into a rolling wave of notes with Beatsy, a groundbreaking augmented reality music visualizer. Distort the world around you to your music or voice! Highlights: • Distort the world around you using microphone input or music from your library. • Ten unique and customizable visualizers. • Scale visualizers up to epic sizes. • On devices with a LiDAR sensor, try the immersive visualizers which let you distort the world in three dimensions. • Capture and share photos and videos of the effects in action. So get Beatsy and start experiencing sound in a whole new way!

Screenshots

STAELLA4 screens
Beatsy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Beatsy at 100% against STAELLA's 45%. Beatsy also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and in-app purchases (none vs 7). STAELLA's advantage is ratings volume (1.7K vs 23). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. STAELLA sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Beatsy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Beatsy holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: STAELLA has 1.7K ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of STAELLA's written reviews are positive against 100% of Beatsy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

STAELLA ships an update every 2 months, Beatsy fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
STAELLA versus Beatsy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSTAELLABeatsy
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (1.7K ratings)4.9 (23 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.7K — better23
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size256 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopermonocroRare Realities, LLC

Customer experience

STAELLA

All ratings1,689 ratings
Positive71.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative22.4%
Written reviews607 reviews
Positive44.8%
Neutral14.5%
Negative40.7%

Beatsy

All ratings23 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

STAELLA

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Music playback issues and controls not working
  • Inability to import user's own music files
  • Exported videos have poor quality and audio sync issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for streaming services
  • Improve export and download options
  • Expand customization and control over visuals
  • Implement portrait mode and different aspect ratios
  • Add ability to layer and blend multiple visuals

Beatsy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

STAELLA

Subscriptions2
  • STAELLA Premium3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • STAELLA Premium$49.991 Year
One-time5
  • Toolkit pro$9.99
  • STELLA$9.99
  • TERRA$9.99
Show 2 more
  • MACHINA$9.99
  • NEX$9.99
None

Beatsy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is STAELLA free?
STAELLA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Beatsy free?
Beatsy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, STAELLA or Beatsy?
Beatsy is rated higher. STAELLA averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Beatsy averages 4.9 from 23 ratings.
Do STAELLA or Beatsy have ads?
STAELLA shows ads; Beatsy does not.
Which is updated more often, STAELLA or Beatsy?
STAELLA ships an update every 2 months, and Beatsy fortnightly. Most recently, STAELLA was updated on October 12, 2026 and Beatsy on September 26, 2026.

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