Comparison

SquareSynth 2 vs Phosphor 3

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

Head to head
About

SquareSynth 2

Create 8-bit style music with this professional chiptune synthesizer. It offers versatile sound design inspired by classic consoles and integrates with modern music production tools.

Highlights
  • 8-bit style synthesizer
  • NES and Commodore 64 inspired
  • Audio Unit (AUv3) support
  • Audiobus support
  • 8 multitimbral channels
  • Looping sound recorder with .wav sharing
Features
Read full description

SquareSynth is an 8bit style synthesizer. It takes features from the NES console, and the Commodore 64 personal computer. It is a versatile, pro-quality chiptune music maker. Easily integrates with Audio Unit (AUv3) hosts to create a complete song writing solution. If you would like to experiment with lofi sounds and textures with modern features, look no farther. Features: ▷ Audiobus support. ▷ Audio Unit Version 3 support. ▷ 8 multitimbral channels (5 voices each), accessible via MIDI. ▷ Each voice contains 4 waveforms (Pulse, 4-bit Triangle, Short Noise, Long Noise). ▷ Classic 8bit arcade video game sounds (blorp). ▷ Multi-mode Filter. ▷ Looping sound recorder, with .wav file sharing.

About

Phosphor 3

This app recreates a vintage digital synthesizer, offering a faithful emulation of a classic sound engine. It includes modern features like MPE, extensive modulation, and a new UI for sonic exploration.

Highlights
  • Vintage digital synthesizer emulation
  • Additive synthesis engine
  • MPE support
  • Extensive modulation routing
  • Preset manager
  • Tuning tables
Read full description

Glow in the dark synthesis. Phosphor 3 is a dual-oscillator additive synthesizer that puts the raw building blocks of sound at your fingertips. Draw, randomize, or select up to 64 harmonics per oscillator, then shape them with envelopes, LFOs, cross-modulation, and a flexible mod matrix. Originally inspired by the alphaSyntauri, a rare digital additive synth from the early 1980s, Phosphor 3 takes that concept far beyond its origins with modern MPE expression, polyphonic modulation, and a full effects engine. --- Additive Oscillators Two identical additive oscillators, each with up to 64 individually editable harmonics. Start from classic shapes: sawtooth, triangle, square, or draw your own harmonic spectrum directly in the partial editor. The intelligent randomizer generates musically useful timbres with variable rolloff, density, and formant peaks, so every click produces something worth exploring. Choose 16, 32, or 64 partials per oscillator to balance complexity against CPU. Each oscillator has independent level, pan, transpose, fine tune, a noise generator with lo-fi downsampling, and cross-modulation (FM) for pushing timbres into harsher, more complex territory. Modulation Two ADSR envelopes with adjustable attack, decay, and release curves. Two LFOs with four waveforms (pulse, sine, saw, random), tempo sync, and the option to run polyphonically, a separate LFO per voice, or globally. An 8-source modulation matrix routes velocity, pressure, pitch bend, mod wheel, CC 74, triggered random, and both LFOs to destinations across the oscillators and effects. Effects Stereo delay with independent left/right time, feedback, and cross-channel feedback for ping-pong and rhythmic patterns. Tempo sync locks delay times to your DAW. Dual band-pass filters after the delay let you carve the wet signal into resonant, frequency-specific textures. Expression Full MPE support with per-note pitch bend, pressure, and slide across 16 polyphonic voices. Mono legato and mono retrigger modes with adjustable portamento. Unison mode for thick, detuned stacks. A scrollable 128-key on-screen keyboard with velocity from touch position, pitch bend from horizontal drag, and channel pressure from vertical drag, no hardware controller required. Tuning MTS-ESP client support for real-time microtuning from any MTS-ESP master. TUN file import for custom scales. Standard 12-TET with adjustable A4 reference. Supports AUv3 for use in GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, and other AUv3-compatible hosts.

Screenshots

SquareSynth 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Phosphor 3 at 4.7 against SquareSynth 2's 4.1. Phosphor 3 also leads on price ($5.99 vs $9.99) and review sentiment (79% vs 63%). SquareSynth 2's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (37 vs 9). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

SquareSynth 2 costs $9.99 and Phosphor 3 $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phosphor 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 37 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of SquareSynth 2's written reviews are positive against 79% of Phosphor 3's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SquareSynth 2 ships an update monthly, Phosphor 3 every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and July 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SquareSynth 2 versus Phosphor 3: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSquareSynth 2Phosphor 3
Price$9.99$5.99 — better
Rating4.1 (37 ratings)4.7 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews78.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings37 — better9
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJames NavarroAudio Damage, Inc.

Customer experience

SquareSynth 2

All ratings37 ratings
Positive75.7%
Neutral10.8%
Negative13.5%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%

Phosphor 3

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative7.1%

In-app purchases

None

SquareSynth 2

No in-app purchases

None

Phosphor 3

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SquareSynth 2 free?
SquareSynth 2 costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Phosphor 3 free?
Phosphor 3 costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SquareSynth 2 or Phosphor 3?
Phosphor 3 is rated higher. SquareSynth 2 averages 4.1 out of 5 from 37 ratings, while Phosphor 3 averages 4.7 from 9 ratings.
Do SquareSynth 2 or Phosphor 3 have ads?
Neither SquareSynth 2 nor Phosphor 3 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SquareSynth 2 or Phosphor 3?
SquareSynth 2 ships an update monthly, and Phosphor 3 every 11 months. Most recently, SquareSynth 2 was updated on September 22, 2026 and Phosphor 3 on July 6, 2026.

Other comparisons