Comparison

CrushStation vs Music Pulse

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

Head to head
About

CrushStation

This audio effect plugin offers a wide range of overdrive and distortion, from subtle saturation to extreme fuzz. Experiment with octaves, sag, and EQ to shape your sound for guitars, vocals, drums, or synths. It functions as both a standalone app and an Audio Units AUv3 plugin.

Highlights
  • Wide drive range (saturation to fuzz)
  • Unique sag control for broken sounds
  • Mixable pitch-shifted octaves
  • Grit control for low-end distortion
  • Three-band EQ for tone shaping
  • Performance ribbon for real-time control
  • HotSwitch for instant setting changes
Read full description

CrushStation is an overdrive/distortion effects plug-in with controls that drive your tone anywhere from a creamy saturation to a brutal sonic assault, with everything in between. Originally from the Eventide H9 Harmonizer pedal, CrushStation has been refined for experimentation on numerous sound sources from your iPhone or iPad. Crush some octaves into the mix, or turn up the Sag to bring the whole sound to its knees. An added bonus, CrushStation is a true stereo distortion. CrushStation is an extremely versatile plugin, capable of adding spice and flair to a variety of production styles. Perfect for drum dirt, the Grit control adds preamp-style distortion that can help bring out kicks in the mix. Vocals benefit from the subtle distortion along with lower octaves for unique pitch blending effects. Further fine tune your sound using the three-band EQ which can help tame cymbals and vocal sibilance. Sure it rips for guitars and basses, but when you need a little warmth and saturation, add gusto to any synth. Features: - DRIVE ranges from subtle boost/overdrive to full on distortion with GRIT and SUSTAIN controls to push it into fuzz territory. - Unique SAG control - inspired by the result of power rail sag of dying analog gear - produces sputtering, crushed, and broken sounds. - Mix in lower and higher pitch-shifted OCTAVES, pre-distortion and compression. - GRIT creates low-end, gritty, chugging sounds. - Individual EQ controls to perfectly craft your tone, emphasize harmonics, or punch through the mix. - GATE your signal for taming the output of the distortion OR combine high threshold gating with MIX for parallel gated crunch. - The performance RIBBON provides real time, dynamic and fluid control to morph back and forth between the settings of your choice. - HOTSWITCH allows you to switch between two different distinct settings within the same preset at the push of a button. - Mixlock keeps the MIX constant so you can easily audition presets. - Available as an Audio Units AUv3 plug-in and Standalone App.

About

Music Pulse

Transform ambient sound into dynamic visual displays like VU meters and light shows. Customize themes, colors, and text for a personalized audio-visual experience. Audio is processed locally for privacy.

Highlights
  • VU meters and LED displays
  • Frequency spectra and light effects
  • Customizable themes and colors
  • Adjustable sensitivity
  • Add custom text overlays
  • Offline audio processing
Features
Read full description

Give sound a visual form with Music Pulse. Place your phone or tablet near the music, enable the microphone, and explore VU meters, spectra and glowing scenes that react to sound. EXPLORE THREE COLLECTIONS Browse square previews in Initial, Halloween and Christmas packs. Discover 18 initial designs, five Halloween scenes and five Christmas visualizers with snow, glowing lights and warm fireplace effects. MAKE IT YOURS Adjust sensitivity, choose colors in supported themes, and add your own text. Double-tap to hide the controls and enjoy the visuals. ACCESS AND ADS Voluntarily watch a rewarded video to enter a pack. Use and switch its themes without another video until you leave the pack. Returning to the pack selector ends access; entering any pack again requires another rewarded video. Banners appear only in pack and theme selectors. No ads appear during visualization. No account or in-app purchases are required. AUDIO PROCESSED LOCALLY Microphone audio is processed on your device. It is not saved as a recording or uploaded to our servers. Advertising may process data as described in the privacy policy. Music Pulse uses the microphone. It is not a music player and does not directly capture internal audio from other apps. Its meters are visual effects, not calibrated measuring instruments. Some themes contain flashing lights and rapid changes in brightness.

Screenshots

CrushStation3 screens
Music Pulse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Music Pulse at Free against CrushStation's $14.99. Music Pulse also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). CrushStation's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (11 vs 2). On review sentiment, in-app purchases 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

Music Pulse is free to download; CrushStation costs $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Music Pulse holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CrushStation has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CrushStation ships an update every 3 months, Music Pulse fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
CrushStation versus Music Pulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrushStationMusic Pulse
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (11 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB118 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperEventideAdrian Fernandez

Customer experience

CrushStation

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Music Pulse

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

CrushStation

No in-app purchases

None

Music Pulse

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CrushStation free?
CrushStation costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Music Pulse free?
Music Pulse is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CrushStation or Music Pulse?
Music Pulse is rated higher. CrushStation averages 4.6 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Music Pulse averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do CrushStation or Music Pulse have ads?
Music Pulse shows ads; CrushStation does not.
Which is updated more often, CrushStation or Music Pulse?
CrushStation ships an update every 3 months, and Music Pulse fortnightly. Most recently, CrushStation was updated on November 3, 2026 and Music Pulse on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons