Comparison

Koala Sampler vs Freestyles

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

Head to head
About

Koala Sampler

This app allows you to record sounds with your phone's microphone, transform them with effects, and create beats and tracks. Its intuitive interface focuses on a fast and fun music-making process.

Highlights
  • Record up to 64 samples with mic
  • Apply 16 built-in effects
  • Load and use own samples
  • Create beats with high-resolution sequencer
  • Export loops and tracks as WAV
  • AI sample separation
  • AUv3 and MIDI compatibility
Features
Read full description

Koala is the ultimate pocket-sized sampler. Record anything with your phone's mic or load your own sounds. Use Koala to create beats with those samples, add effects and create a track! Koala's super intuitive interface helps you make a track in a flash - there is no brake pedal. You can also resample the output of the app back into the input, through the effects, so the sonic possibilities are endless. Koala's design focuses totally on making the music-making process instant, keeping you in the flow and keeping it fun, not getting bogged down by pages of parameters and micro-editing. "Been putting that $4 koala sampler to good use lately. Undeniably great tool that puts some of these expensive beat boxes to shame. A must cop." -- flying lotus, twitter * Record up to 64 different samples with your mic * Transform your voice or any other sound with 16 superb built-in fx * Load your own samples * Choose from one of 250 built-in sounds * Resample the output of the app back into a new sample * Export loops or entire tracks as professional quality WAV files * Direct export to Ableton Live Set * Copy/paste or merge sequences just by dragging them * Create beats with the high-resolution sequencer * Import samples from the Files app or even from videos * Keyboard mode lets you play chromatically or one of 9 scales * Quantize, add swing to get the right feel * Normal/One-shot/Loop/Reverse playback of samples * 6 Choke groups * Attack, release and tone adjustable on each sample * Mute/Solo controls and note repeat * Add any (or all) of the 16 effects to the entire mix * AUv3 compatible - use in GarageBand, Logic, Cubasis etc etc * MIDI controllable - play your samples on a keyboard, map the effects to knobs * Jam with others over WiFi with Ableton Link * Free copy of Ableton Live Lite included * AudioShare compatible * Use AI to separate samples into individual instruments (drums, bass, vocals and other) * Set your own background image and choose from a growing list of background visual FX 8 Built-in Microphone FX: * More Bass * More Treble * Fuzz * Robot * Reverb * Octave up * Octave down * Synthesizer 16 Built-in DJ Mix FX: * Bit-crusher * Pitch-shift * Comb filter * Ring modulator * Reverb * Stutter * Gate * Resonant High/Low Pass Filters * Cutter * Reverse * Dub * Tempo Delay * Talkbox * VibroFlange * Dirty * Compressor Features included in SAMURAI In-App Purchase * Pro-quality Timestretch (5 modes: Modern, Retro, Beats, Re-pitch and Cyclic) * Piano roll editor * Auto-chop (auto, equal, and lazy chop) * 3 Band EQ * Pocket operator sync out * Quokka Synth - powerhouse polyphonic synthesizer * MIDI Out - control external MIDI hardware with Koala's sequencer * Chopper - multimodal sample chopping instrument Features included in MIXER In-App Purchase * Mix your beats professionally with a 4 channel mixer + main bus * Route any sample to any channel * Mute/solo, faders and accurate metering on every channel * 5 effect slots per channel * 29 high-quality effects - compressors, filters, phasers and more, with new effects to come * Host AUv3 plugins - both audio effects and instruments

About

Freestyles

Record and share freestyle rap performances over a variety of beats. Features on-device speech recognition to transcribe lyrics and provides scoring based on rhyme density and timing. Includes daily challenges and a community feed for sharing and discovering new rap.

Highlights
  • Rap over a beat library
  • On-device lyric transcription
  • Performance scoring (rhyme, timing)
  • Daily rap challenges
  • Community feed for sharing
  • Customizable notifications
Features
Read full description

Freestyle rap, for everyone. Record it. Share it. Get better at it. Pick a beat, hit record, and go off the top. Or record a cappella and choose a tempo. No studio required. RAP OVER BEATS Find a beat and jump on. Watch the waveform build as you record. SEE YOUR BARS Automatic transcription turns your freestyle into lyrics you can follow during playback. GET SCORED See feedback on rhyme, timing and word usage. Every result shows what the score is based on. WORD PACKS Challenge yourself with words to weave into your freestyle. Try a new pack or pass the mic with friends. THE DROP One beat, one word pack. Same challenge for everyone. Hear how other people took it on. PRACTICE, THEN POST Find private and unfinished takes in your Practice tab. Edit a take, give it a title and post it publicly when you're ready. Public posts appear on your profile; your Practice tab is only visible to you. MAKE TIME FOR THE NEXT TAKE Choose a time for a one-time practice reminder. Edit or cancel it in Settings. Notifications are optional. HEAR THE COMMUNITY Listen to fresh bars, leave a reaction or comment, and save the takes you want to hear again. Share public takes with a link. You don't need to call yourself a rapper. Pick a beat and see what comes out. Hop on.

Screenshots

Koala Sampler4 screens
Freestyles4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Freestyles at Free against Koala Sampler's $4.99. Freestyles also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 8). Koala Sampler's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 3). On update cadence and ads 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

Freestyles is free to download; Koala Sampler costs $4.99 up front. Koala Sampler sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Freestyles asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Koala Sampler holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Koala Sampler has 1.5K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Koala Sampler ships an update fortnightly, Freestyles every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Koala Sampler versus Freestyles: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKoala SamplerFreestyles
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews88.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better3
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMazbox LimitedBHAVISH YALAMANCHI

Customer experience

Koala Sampler

All ratings1,438 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews618 reviews
Positive88.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative7.4%

Freestyles

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Koala Sampler

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Samples not loading or disappearing after app updates
  • Sequencer timing and quantization issues
  • Crashes when using certain features or with large projects

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to record and edit MIDI sequences
  • More comprehensive effects and sound processing tools
  • Improved sample management and organization features
  • Support for external MIDI controllers and hardware integration
  • Customizable color schemes and UI themes

Freestyles

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Koala Sampler

One-time8
  • Koala AUv3 Plugin$1.99
  • Ese-O's Sample Pack$2.99
  • Solar Studies Samplepack$2.99
Show 5 more
  • Soon Come Dub Sample Pack$2.99
  • Analog Astronaut Samplepack$2.99
  • Cirrus Cuts Sample Pack$2.99
  • Samurai Edition$3.99
  • Mixer$4.99
None

Freestyles

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Koala Sampler free?
Koala Sampler costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Freestyles free?
Freestyles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Koala Sampler or Freestyles?
Koala Sampler is rated higher. Koala Sampler averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Freestyles averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Koala Sampler or Freestyles have ads?
Neither Koala Sampler nor Freestyles shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Koala Sampler or Freestyles?
Koala Sampler ships an update fortnightly, and Freestyles every 3 weeks. Most recently, Koala Sampler was updated on October 26, 2026 and Freestyles on October 28, 2026.

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