Comparison

WiDI MIDI Studio vs CC PAL

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

Head to head
About

WiDI MIDI Studio

Create custom MIDI control surfaces and sequences for your music production. Map buttons, pads, knobs, and faders to send MIDI events and control instruments or DAWs. Features an integrated step sequencer for composing musical ideas.

Highlights
  • Customizable MIDI control surface
  • Integrated step sequencer
  • MIDI CC and Note generation
  • MIDI network session support
  • Automate CC values
  • Group sequences for synchronized playback
Features
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WiDI is a control surface with an integrated step sequencer in which you create controls such as buttons, pads, knobs and faders to send MIDI events and play sequences. • CONTROL SURFACE AND SEQUENCER: A control is bound to a channel and a specific MIDI Control Change. You can either specify the CC number if you know it, or let the app learn it. Once placed on the surface, use this control to interact with your MIDI device. Alternatively, any CC event sent by your device will be shown live by the control(s) bound to this CC. Pads are special controls: they can either produce MIDI CC events, Notes or Program changes. If bound to a CC, the pad can act as an on/off switch (you specify the values for each state.) If bound to a note, each tap produces the specified MIDI note. This is especially useful to operate MIDI instruments without keyboards such as synthesizer modules or drum machines. A sequence can hold as many tracks as you wish, and send notes to different MIDI channels. Sequences can play in sync or running freely. You may also group sequences together to start or pause them at the same time. • MIDI: To interface WiDI with any MIDI instruments/devices connected to your Mac or PC, connect to a MIDI Network Session on your Mac or your PC. On a Mac, this is natively supported by macOS, and you do not need to install third party software (use Audio MIDI Setup.) On a PC running Windows, you might want to install rtpMIDI. As an alternative to MIDI Network Sessions, you may use the WiDI Desktop Application. It acts as a MIDI bridge between the network and your MIDI hardware. You can install the desktop application on as many computers as you want (it's free!). It's a very lightweight package that doesn't need to perform any installation procedure whatsoever. You may download the WiDI Desktop Application for macOS on the Mac App Store, or go to : https://www.hypertide.com/widi/ for both macOS and Windows archives. Additionally, any class-compliant MIDI interface natively supported by iOS can also be used directly by WiDI without the need of a network connection. • FEATURES: ○ Use any CoreMIDI-supported MIDI interface connected to your device ○ MIDI network session: use WiDI as an external control surface for any DAW such as Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Cubase, ... ○ Multiple iPhone and iPad can connect to your computer, allowing different control surfaces simultaneously ○ Integrated step sequencer: create sequences, each one holding as many tracks as needed ○ Sequences can run freely or in sync and start simultaneously if grouped together in fire groups ○ Auto discover MIDI CC : you don't need to know each one to add controls, WiDI learns CC numbers sent by your devices ○ Automate CC : sweep ranges or use the step modulator to design patterns to modulate controls values, supporting various advanced options like step-by-step or smooth variations, bouncing, repeating, changing speed ○ Add as many pads as you want to generate MIDI Notes, Control Changes or Program Changes ○ Flexible control surface : set layout and grid size for both portrait and landscape orientations ○ Re-arranging controls is as simple as drag & drop ○ Fully customizable user interface : themes, colors, display of values and labels, aspect ratios, grid spacing, grid coloring, background, ... ○ Integrated File Manager to load and save your surfaces, which are also accessible in the iOS Files app and your computer's iTunes connection ○ Exchange surfaces between devices with the integrated QR code generator and scanner ○ Or use the share feature, so you may import them on any device. We'd love to hear from you! Should you be in need of support or eager to request a new feature, please contact us at support+widi@hypertide.com

About

CC PAL

This app allows users to create and control up to 16 customizable MIDI CC sliders. Record and loop slider movements or manually adjust CC values. It's designed to send MIDI messages to external hardware or software synthesizers.

Highlights
  • Create up to 16 customizable CC sliders
  • Record and loop slider movements
  • Customize MIDI channel, CC number, color, and name per slider
  • Store configurations/presets
  • Visualize recorded movements with a chart
  • Connect via Bluetooth MIDI
Features
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CC PAL is a MIDI CC controller which allows you to create up to 16 CC sliders. You can record movements for each slider and replay this in a loop. You can also just change the CC value by moving the slider. Each slider can be customized with a MIDI channel, CC number, color and name. You can create unlimited numbers of configurations. CC PAL comes with a couple of predefined configurations for some hardware devices like the KORG Volca FM, KORG Volca Beats, KORG minilogue XD, DSI Prophet Rev2. >> FEATURES - Create up to 16 customizable CC sliders - Store your sliders in configurations/presets/programs -- you name it - Set the MIDI channel and the CC number per slider - A little chart shows your recorded movements so you can easily see what kinds of movements are stored in a slider >> WHAT YOU CAN DO AND WHAT YOU CANNOT - You can send CC messages in a smart way to MIDI devices - For example you can control the resonance of a KORG Volca device with a unique recorded movement - You can control a MIDI-able iOS app like a software synthesizer - You cannot generate sound directly from this app. It just generates MIDI messages - Connect via Bluetooth MIDI to your DAW (e.g. Ableton) and map the sliders to specific parameters in devices

Screenshots

WiDI MIDI Studio4 screens
CC PAL3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: WiDI MIDI Studio at Free against CC PAL's $1.99. WiDI MIDI Studio also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 21 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.0). CC PAL's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (11 vs 2). On rating, ads 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

WiDI MIDI Studio is free to download; CC PAL costs $1.99 up front. WiDI MIDI Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CC PAL asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for WiDI MIDI Studio against 4.9 for CC PAL. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CC PAL has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WiDI MIDI Studio ships an update every 3 months, CC PAL every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
WiDI MIDI Studio versus CC PAL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWiDI MIDI StudioCC PAL
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.9 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews—83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings211 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 21 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHYPERTIDE SASDANIEL BRUEGGE

Customer experience

WiDI MIDI Studio

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

CC PAL

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

WiDI MIDI Studio

One-time1
  • WiDI Fully Unlocked Version$1.99
None

CC PAL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WiDI MIDI Studio free?
WiDI MIDI Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CC PAL free?
CC PAL costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, WiDI MIDI Studio or CC PAL?
WiDI MIDI Studio is rated higher. WiDI MIDI Studio averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while CC PAL averages 4.9 from 11 ratings.
Do WiDI MIDI Studio or CC PAL have ads?
Neither WiDI MIDI Studio nor CC PAL shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WiDI MIDI Studio or CC PAL?
WiDI MIDI Studio ships an update every 3 months, and CC PAL every 21 months. Most recently, WiDI MIDI Studio was updated on October 12, 2026 and CC PAL on October 24, 2026.

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