Mix Bus Compressor vs Pico Audio Editor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mix Bus Compressor
This audio plugin offers ultra-transparent compression with exceptionally low harmonic distortion. Its unique design provides immediate response without adding latency or phase distortion, making it ideal for real-time audio processing. The scalable interface ensures a clear visual experience on all iOS devices.
- Ultra-low harmonic distortion
- Unique envelope follower
- Immediate response time
- No added latency
- No phase distortion
- Scalable user interface
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This compressor has the lowest total harmonic distortion of any plugin we have seen, including desktop units. At the heart of it is a unique envelope follower design that makes it possible to compress the signal without creating distortion harmonics. On the spectrum of compressor tone that ranges from "vintage analog" to "pristine digital", this plugin sits at the extreme end of low-noise digital clarity, but it is different from other low-noise digital designs because it doesn't use digital look-ahead. Therefore its response time is immediate, it adds no extra delay to the signal chain, and it works great for processing real-time performance effects. It uses no oversampling so there is no phase distortion or loss of high-frequency energy from anti-aliasing filters. It also uses no digital-style filters (FIR filters) and no digital look-ahead, so it adds no additional latency to the signal chain. Although it is not a model of an existing piece analog hardware, every component of its signal path is realizable in the analog domain. We think of it as a digital model of our ideal analog compressor: it could exist as an analog circuit but would be very expensive to build with physical analog electronic parts. The user interface is 100% scalable, designed specifically for iOS, so it looks beautiful at any screen size or orientation, from tiny portrait views in AUM on iPhone to the largest full-screen views on iPad Pro.
Pico Audio Editor
Edit audio files in real-time as they play. Import music from your library or supported file types and export your creations as WAV files. This compact tool allows for immediate feedback on effect adjustments.
- Edit audio while playing
- Import from Music Library
- Import FLAC and WAV files
- Export as WAV
- Real-time effect parameter tweaking
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Pico Audio Editor like the name implies, is a very small Audio Editor. Its key feature is that you can edit your Audio while it's playing, so each time you tweak a effect parameter it doesn't have to process the whole track again. You can import audio from your Music Library or files however if you are importing from files, do keep in mind that right now only (FLAC, WAV) files are partially supported. After you are done editing, you can Export your audio into a WAV file and save it anywhere on your Device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pico Audio Editor at Free against Mix Bus Compressor's $5.99. Pico Audio Editor also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks). Mix Bus Compressor's advantage is rating (3.9 vs 1.0) and chart position (#194 vs unranked). On ads, 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
Pico Audio Editor is free to download; Mix Bus Compressor costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mix Bus Compressor holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mix Bus Compressor has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Mix Bus Compressor ships an update every 6 weeks, Pico Audio Editor every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mix Bus Compressor | Pico Audio Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.9 (8 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #194 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.2 — better | 12.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Mangoo Consulting Company Limited | Lion Wohlmacher |
In-app purchases
Mix Bus Compressor
No in-app purchases
Pico Audio Editor
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mix Bus Compressor free?
Is Pico Audio Editor free?
Which has better reviews, Mix Bus Compressor or Pico Audio Editor?
Do Mix Bus Compressor or Pico Audio Editor have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mix Bus Compressor or Pico Audio Editor?
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