Comparison

Rutabaga vs Tonic Synth

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

Head to head
About

Rutabaga

This app helps musicians practice music theory consistently across all keys. Create custom exercises for scales, chords, and improvisation, with timers and playlists for structured practice sessions. Internalize music fundamentals efficiently.

Highlights
  • Customizable exercises for keys
  • Random root, circle of fourths/fifths
  • Timed practice blocks
  • Save exercises to playlists
  • Practice scales, intervals, chords
  • Improvisation drills
Features
Read full description

Rutabaga was designed to help musicians practice consistently and evenly in every key. Create exercises that loop through random roots, follow the circle of fourths and fifths, or drill a single root. Each root is an exercise prompt for a configurable period of time, measured in beats, seconds or minutes. Schedule the countdown timer to divide your practice into focused blocks. Try Rutabaga with scales, intervals, chords, inversions, progressions, lines, riffs, runs and improvisation. Save exercises to playlists to create a structured practice routine. Use Rutabaga as part of your regular practice routine to make efficient use of your time while internalizing the fundamentals of music theory, language and technique evenly in every key. The following is an example playlist to demonstrate the diversity of exercises Rutabaga is capable of guiding: Scale Mastery F# at 112 bpm for 10 minutes Triad Inversions 12 beats per random root at 72 bpm for 5 minutes ii-V-I Progressions 4 beats per root around the Circle of Fifths at 60 bpm for 10 minutes Bach BWV 999 80 bpm for 10 minutes Improvisations 2 minutes per random root at 80 bpm for 20 minutes We're continuously working to make Rutabaga the ideal practice tool for musicians. If you have feedback or suggestions, please contact us at the support link.

About

Tonic Synth

Create complex sounds with multiple synthesis engines, including analog, wavetable, and FM. Share and discover sounds with a built-in community. Play standalone or as a plugin on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Highlights
  • Eight sound engines (physical modeling, virtual analog, wavetable, FM, SoundFont)
  • Stack up to three engines per sound
  • Community sound sharing and publishing
  • Arpeggiator and sequencer with advanced features
  • Effects rack with chorus, delay, reverb, EQ, compressor, and flanger/phaser
  • Live scene switching for stage performance
  • Standalone and AUv3 plugin support
Features
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Eight sound engines in one instrument — and a whole preset community living inside it. Physical modeling, virtual analog, 3D wavetable, 6-operator FM and a full SoundFont player: stack up to three engines per sound, each with its own filter, envelope and modulation. Play it standalone on iPhone, iPad and Mac, or load it as an AUv3 plug-in — instrument and effect — in your favorite host. One purchase. No subscription, no ads, nothing locked behind a paywall. • TONICA — THE SOUND COMMUNITY Your next signature sound might come from a player on the other side of the world. Browse what the community publishes without ever leaving the app: one tap auditions it under your fingers, two taps keep it. Love an author? Take their whole collection at once, into a bank named after them. And publish yours with a single tap — no account, no sign-up, no cost. • THREE OSCILLATORS Up to three independent layers — each with its own source, filter, envelope and modulation, plus mute/solo and keyboard split. From a simple patch to a fat, detuned stack on one spread knob. The Vector pad morphs across all three layers in real time: draw a path and the sound travels it on its own. • SOUND ENGINES Per layer: physical modeling (string, modal, wind, bowed), virtual analog (sine, saw, square, triangle, pulse and super-saw, with sub-oscillator and noise), wavetables up to 128 frames, SoundFont (.sf2 and compressed .sf3) and 6-operator FM that opens .syx cartridges. Record anything through the mic and turn it into a wavetable — or draw the waveform with your finger and hear it instantly, on a 3D landscape you can drag, rotate and resize. • FILTERS Ten analog-modeled voicings — LP/HP/BP/Notch, 12 or 24 dB per octave, resonance into self-oscillation, drive and 4× oversampling. From warm ladder to creamy SVF, from acid squelch to screaming resonance. • ARPEGGIATOR & SEQUENCER A step editor with a live playhead: ties, ratchets, accents and per-step probability, polymetric rhythm masks, capture of what you just played, swing, gate mode, key range and per-layer arping. Imports .mid patterns, follows MIDI Clock, and with Hold the pattern runs by itself. • EFFECTS RACK Chorus, tempo-synced ping-pong delay, 6-type FDN reverb, 5-band EQ, compressor and a Flanger/Phaser module — each one switchable and routable per layer. • BUILT FOR THE STAGE Six scenes (A–F) swap the entire patch live without cutting the sound: the note ringing out finishes naturally while the next one already speaks with the new tone. Switched apps mid-set? A sustain pedal left down or a mod wheel parked halfway no longer hijacks your sound — every control starts working again the moment you move it. The MIDI filter decides what each pedal, wheel or controller is allowed to do, and can target one specific device when there's more than one keyboard in the rack. Program Change and Bank Select switch sounds from your controller. MIDI Learn on any control, over USB or Bluetooth. • YOUR LIBRARY 280+ factory sounds in banks, and your own collection beside them: favorites, renaming, saving, tagging and search by name, tag or bank. Two file formats of its own — one to share sounds (.tpr) and one for a full library backup (.tbk). Double-click a file, or receive one by AirDrop, and it merges straight in without duplicating anything. • WHERE IT RUNS iPhone, iPad and Mac, from a single purchase. As an AUv3 it runs in the major recording apps on iOS and macOS. Using software that doesn't load AUv3 yet? See rsjb.com.br/support for the route other users have already proven. Thank you for playing with RSJB - made by musicians for musicians! Follow the news at www.rsjb.com.br/en

Screenshots

Rutabaga4 screens
Tonic Synth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Rutabaga at Free against Tonic Synth's $19.99. Rutabaga also leads on ratings volume (7 vs 1) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.0). Tonic Synth's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). 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

Rutabaga is free to download; Tonic Synth costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tonic Synth holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rutabaga has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rutabaga ships an update every 2 weeks, Tonic Synth every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Rutabaga versus Tonic Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRutabagaTonic Synth
PriceFree — better$19.99
Rating4.6 (7 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS10.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZachary ProffittRubens Felicio

Customer experience

Rutabaga

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Tonic Synth

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Rutabaga

No in-app purchases

None

Tonic Synth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rutabaga free?
Rutabaga is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tonic Synth free?
Tonic Synth costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Rutabaga or Tonic Synth?
Tonic Synth is rated higher. Rutabaga averages 4.6 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Tonic Synth averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Rutabaga or Tonic Synth have ads?
Neither Rutabaga nor Tonic Synth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rutabaga or Tonic Synth?
Rutabaga ships an update every 2 weeks, and Tonic Synth every 4 days. Most recently, Rutabaga was updated on November 2, 2026 and Tonic Synth on November 5, 2026.

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