Comparison

Pensato vs ThunderBeast

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

Head to head
About

Pensato

Explore over 1400 musical scales and modes with this app. Visualize chords and notes for any root, find scales via keyboard input or circle of fifths, and discover shared chords between multiple scales to build complex progressions.

Highlights
  • Over 1400 scales and modes
  • Smart-Finder for note input
  • Circle of fifths integration
  • Chord and note visualization
  • Scale progression builder
  • Built-in synthesizer
Features
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Pensato allows you to explore over 1400 musical scales and modes. You can view the chords and notes of each scale for any root note. You can find scales by inputting notes on a piano keyboard, by picking from the circle of fifths or by choosing one of the auto-generated related scales. When you add multiple scales to your list you will be able to see what chords are shared between them. This is a great way to build up complex chord progressions and key modulations in your songs. You can use Pensato simply as a learning tool or to build up scale progressions while composing music. The main idea was to make an app that focused on scale progressions instead of chord progressions, allowing you to evolve your music with more richness and interest than if you were to stay in one key. Open up Pensato in front of you while composing music and easily visualize chords in various scales to help you write interesting progressions. *** FEATURES *** • Library with over 1400 different scales and modes. • Includes standard 7-note scales as well as scales ranging from 3 to 12 tones. • Explore simple minor/major scales or more advanced blues, diminished, bebop and exotic scales. • A Smart-Finder allows you to plug in notes on a piano and find all the scales that contain those notes. This is a great way to find scales that match a melody. • A Smart-Suggestion page shows you all closely-related scales to the previous scale in your list. • Use the circle of fifths to easily add closely related scales. • See all chords contained in a given scale (either simple triads or full 4-note chords). • View the notes of the scale on a piano keyboard. Great for learning new scales or easily referencing familiar scales. • Easily transpose all scales and notes. • Built in synthesizer lets you audition chords and scales. • Press and hold a chord to view its notes. • Add scales to your list so you can see what notes and chords they share. This is a great way to transition from scale to scale. • Your scale progression and settings are saved when you restart the app. • Customizable UI allows you to hide the piano notes, scale names or chords. • A "focus" mode allows you to remove all the UI so you can focus on the chords and notes. • Ability to add a random scale to your list. Great for inspiration or for starting out a new song. • Beautiful modern minimal UI design. Focus on the content, not the interface. • Universal iPhone/iPad app.

About

ThunderBeast

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Rain, wind and thunder, all synthesized in real time. No samples, no loops. Every storm ThunderBeast makes is a storm happening for the first time. EIGHT CITIES, EIGHT SKIES A New York night storm. London drizzle. A Miami squall. Seattle mist. The Bangkok monsoon. A Reykjavik gale. An evening shower in Kyoto. A Cape Town storm front. Choose a preset and the scenery, the weather and the colour of the panel change together, so the city you are listening to is the city in front of you. TEN WEATHER CONTROLS Precipitation and drop size shape the rain; wind speed, gust and turbulence move the air. Storm rate decides how often lightning happens and storm energy decides how heavy each strike lands, while cell distance walks the storm from directly overhead out to the horizon. Humidity and pressure change the whole feel of the sky, and width and gain finish it. FOUR KINDS OF LIGHTNING A crack at close range, thunder that rolls, strikes that repeat, a sheet of light across the whole sky - each one carrying the swell that comes back off the landscape. The bolt is drawn on screen as it happens and changes colour as the storm moves away. No two strikes are ever the same. PLAYABLE WEATHER Play from C2 up and the rain rings at that pitch. Chords and melodies come out of the falling rain. Play below C2 and lightning strikes instead: pitch sets the distance, velocity sets the weight. Twelve hardware controller presets are built in; the mod wheel is storm energy and the sustain pedal is lightning. STANDALONE AND AUv3 Use it on its own, or as an AUv3 plug-in in GarageBand, Logic Pro and others. START FREE Three cities are free from the first launch. ThunderBeast Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: it opens the remaining cities (eight in all) and adds recording and export to WAV, AIFF and FLAC.

Screenshots

Pensato4 screens
ThunderBeast4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ThunderBeast at Free against Pensato's $3.99. Pensato's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On 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

ThunderBeast is free to download; Pensato costs $3.99 up front. ThunderBeast sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pensato asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pensato ships an update every 5 days, ThunderBeast every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pensato versus ThunderBeast: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPensatoThunderBeast
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews88.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNebojsa PetrovicTomocreate, Inc.

In-app purchases

None

Pensato

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

ThunderBeast

One-time1
  • ThunderBeast Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Pensato free?
Pensato costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ThunderBeast free?
ThunderBeast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pensato or ThunderBeast have ads?
Neither Pensato nor ThunderBeast shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pensato or ThunderBeast?
Pensato ships an update every 5 days, and ThunderBeast every 2 weeks. Most recently, Pensato was updated on October 16, 2026 and ThunderBeast on September 28, 2026.

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