Comparison

MIDISpy vs ChannelStrip

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

Head to head
About

MIDISpy

This utility helps monitor MIDI connections across various platforms. It offers basic filtering for different MIDI message types and supports multiple connectivity options.

Highlights
  • Standalone and AUv3 support
  • Basic message filtering
  • Inter-App MIDI
  • USB MIDI
  • Bluetooth MIDI
  • Network MIDI
Features
Read full description

MIDISpy - MIDI Monitor A handy little utility for monitoring MIDI connectivity. Overview: - Standalone and AUv3 support - Basic Filters for Note, Control Change, Clock and SysEx messages Connectivity: - Inter-App MIDI - USB MIDI - Bluetooth MIDI - Network MIDI - AUv3 Requirements: - iOS9+

About

ChannelStrip

This app provides essential audio processing tools for music production, including a noise gate, equalizer, and compressor. It offers smooth control for mixing and tonal shaping, with a characterful output stage for adding warmth.

Highlights
  • Noise gate with adjustable envelope
  • PEV-modeled equalizer for tone shaping
  • Rough Rider-based compressor
  • Input/output gain control
  • Mute and bypass functions
  • AUv3 plugin support
Features
Read full description

ChannelStrip is, as its name implies, a channel strip app and AUv3 plugin. With a gate, equalizer, and compressor, ChannelStrip can provide a solid and easy-to-use channel control for your iOS mixing needs. GATE: The gate is of our own design, and very smooth. With envelope that vary from nearly instantaneous to ludicrously long, you can use it for both basic noise control and more extreme tonal shaping. EQUALIZER: Modeled on the PEV, a famous German "cartridge" equalizer, the EQ in ChannelStrip is super useful for basic tone shaping. A very smooth and forgiving general-purpose EQ. COMPRESSOR: The compressor in ChannelStrip is, at its heart, our Rough Rider model. We removed all the filtering from Rough Rider to make it cleaner, and changed the times to be more appropriate to general mixing duties. I/O: ChannelStrip has positive gain on both the input and output, to get your levels right. It also has a bit of a personality on the output stage if you drive it hard (with either or both the input and output gains). Nominally very clean, it picks up a bit of dirt with high levels just like a hardware console. Along with that, both mute (which mutes the input entirely) and bypass (which sends the inputs right to the outputs without passing the DSP stages) are available as automatable parameters. In short, ChannelStrip is a general utility mixing tool, with a bit of character and a lot of usefulness. We _strongly_ recommend you use the AUv3 version. The standalone is provided as a courtesy, but ChannelStrip is designed as an AUv3 plugin, and prefers to be hosted in a DAW or modular host like GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, nanoStudio, etc.

Screenshots

ChannelStrip2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MIDISpy at Free against ChannelStrip's $0.99. MIDISpy also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 39%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 66 months). ChannelStrip's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.8) and device support (3 vs 1). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

MIDISpy is free to download; ChannelStrip costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ChannelStrip holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of MIDISpy's written reviews are positive against 39% of ChannelStrip's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIDISpy ships an update every 3 weeks, ChannelStrip every 66 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
MIDISpy versus ChannelStrip: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDISpyChannelStrip
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating3.8 (5 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews — better38.9% of reviews
Number of ratings5 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 66 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKai ArasAudio Damage, Inc.

Customer experience

MIDISpy

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

ChannelStrip

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive38.9%
Neutral16.7%
Negative44.4%

In-app purchases

None

MIDISpy

No in-app purchases

None

ChannelStrip

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIDISpy free?
MIDISpy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ChannelStrip free?
ChannelStrip costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MIDISpy or ChannelStrip?
ChannelStrip is rated higher. MIDISpy averages 3.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while ChannelStrip averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do MIDISpy or ChannelStrip have ads?
Neither MIDISpy nor ChannelStrip shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIDISpy or ChannelStrip?
MIDISpy ships an update every 3 weeks, and ChannelStrip every 66 months. Most recently, MIDISpy was updated on November 2, 2026 and ChannelStrip on November 13, 2026.

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