StreamByter vs ShowMIDI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
StreamByter
Create custom MIDI effects with or without a graphical interface. This plugin extends MIDI processing for AU hosts or can be used standalone with CoreMIDI. It offers advanced programming concepts for complex MIDI manipulation.
- Custom MIDI effect creation
- AU effect or standalone CoreMIDI use
- Remap, filter, clone, and delay MIDI events
- Conditional logic and loops for complex effects
- Bi-directional linking with graphical sliders
- Textual rules language for configuration
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StreamByter is a plugin for creating custom MIDI effects with or without a GUI. It can be used as an Apple Audio Unit (AU) effect or as a standalone app connected via CoreMIDI virtual ports. StreamByter is ported from our acclaimed MidiFire MIDI processing environment. An iOS device (minimum iOS 11) and a suitable AU host app such as AUM, apeMatrix, Cubasis or Sequencism is required to use the AU variant. To use with CoreMIDI, a routing app like MidiFire is recommended and an iOS device with at least iOS 8 is required. Use StreamByter to: - Extend the MIDI processing functionality of any AU host. - Remap channels, notes, controllers (anything MIDI) - Filter MIDI events coarsely or finely - Clone or Delay any event - Send any event automatically when plugin is loaded - Create complex effects using programming concepts like conditionals, loops, variables (including array, timing and random), and math operators. - Link effect logic bi-directionally with graphical sliders (remote controllable via AU parameters) StreamByter is configured using a textual rules 'language' that defines how the effect should operate. Please see the support link to go to our website for full details. StreamByter is built using the MidiBus library - http://midib.us
ShowMIDI
This application provides a real-time, glanceable view of all MIDI activity on your computer. It visualizes various MIDI messages and allows you to pause the flow for a data snapshot. It can be used as a standalone tool or an AUv3 plugin within your DAW.
- Real-time MIDI visualization
- Auto-hides irrelevant messages
- Pause and snapshot data
- Standalone application
- AUv3 plugin support
- Supports MPE configuration
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ShowMIDI is an open-source multi-platform GUI application to effortlessly visualize MIDI activity. Instead of wading through logs of MIDI messages to correlate relevant ones and identify what is happening, ShowMIDI visualizes the current activity and auto-hides what you don't care about anymore. It provides you with a real-time glanceable view of all MIDI activity on your computer. ShowMIDI is designed to be always on, using the spacebar or play/pause button you can pause the flow and focus on a data snapshot with the latest state of any MIDI entity. ShowMIDI can be ran as a standalone application that automatically detects all your MIDI devices, or as an AUv3 plugin in your DAW or host to visualize MIDI data in your sessions. ShowMIDI visualizes: * MIDI ports * channels * program change * note on/off * channel pressure * polyphonic pressure * continuous control change * pitchbend * RPN and NRPN * MPE configuration and channel modes ShowMIDI supports: * themes * standalone operation * AUv3 operation
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ShowMIDI at every 2 months against StreamByter's every 3 months. ShowMIDI also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.5). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for StreamByter against 4.8 for ShowMIDI. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 27 and 18 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of StreamByter's written reviews are positive against 88% of ShowMIDI's.
StreamByter ships an update every 3 months, ShowMIDI every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | StreamByter | ShowMIDI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (27 ratings) — better | 4.8 (18 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better | 87.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 27 — better | 18 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.5 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Audeonic Apps | Uwyn, LLC |
Customer experience
StreamByter
ShowMIDI
In-app purchases
StreamByter
No in-app purchases
ShowMIDI
No in-app purchases
