Comparison

mfxMonitor vs ShowMIDI

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

Head to head
About

mfxMonitor

This utility displays incoming MIDI events in both text and hex format with timestamps. It offers a clear button to reset the event log and is part of a series of powerful MIDI plugins for music production.

Highlights
  • MIDI event display
  • Textual and hex format
  • Timestamped events
  • Clear event log
  • AUv3 compatible
  • CoreMIDI compatible
Features
Read full description

* MIDI MONITOR * (AUv3 or CoreMIDI Effect) Does the World need another MIDI Monitor? We thought so, and it's free, so you have nothing to lose to add this handy little utility to your app collection. Any MIDI events received by the plugin are displayed in a scrolling window in both textual form and also the lower level hex bytes with timestamps. Once you get sick of the events you can press the 'clear' button to wipe them out of your life forever. * ABOUT mfxSeries * mfxSeries is a set of compact but powerful plugins for CoreMIDI or AUv3 hosts. Covering a range of use cases from common everyday MIDI manipulation tasks to creatively ambitious effects. Each plugin in the mfxSeries can be controlled and automated from the host as all controls are exposed as AUv3 parameters. mfxSeries plugins are built using the MidiBus library - http://midib.us

About

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.

Highlights
  • Real-time MIDI visualization
  • Auto-hides irrelevant messages
  • Pause and snapshot data
  • Standalone application
  • AUv3 plugin support
  • Supports MPE configuration
Features
Read full description

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

mfxMonitor1 screens
ShowMIDI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ShowMIDI at 4.8 against mfxMonitor's 4.0. ShowMIDI also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 50%) and ratings volume (18 vs 4). mfxMonitor's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ShowMIDI holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 18 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of mfxMonitor's written reviews are positive against 88% of ShowMIDI's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
mfxMonitor versus ShowMIDI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermfxMonitorShowMIDI
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.8 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings418 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAudeonic AppsUwyn, LLC

Customer experience

mfxMonitor

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

ShowMIDI

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral5.6%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

mfxMonitor

No in-app purchases

None

ShowMIDI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is mfxMonitor free?
mfxMonitor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ShowMIDI free?
ShowMIDI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, mfxMonitor or ShowMIDI?
ShowMIDI is rated higher. mfxMonitor averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while ShowMIDI averages 4.8 from 18 ratings.
Do mfxMonitor or ShowMIDI have ads?
Neither mfxMonitor nor ShowMIDI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, mfxMonitor or ShowMIDI?
mfxMonitor ships an update every 2 months, and ShowMIDI every 2 months. Most recently, mfxMonitor was updated on October 9, 2026 and ShowMIDI on October 17, 2026.

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