Comparison

PowerPlay5 vs Just Pedals

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

Head to head
About

PowerPlay5

This app functions as a MIDI controller, allowing users to play musical power chords by moving their iPhone and tapping the screen. It requires a separate synthesizer app to produce sound, offering a unique, choreography-like approach to music creation.

Highlights
  • MIDI controller functionality
  • Power chord playing
  • Motion-based input
  • Requires external synthesizer app
  • Interactive choreography-like gameplay
Read full description

This app is a unique MIDI controller, and fun to play, but there are three concepts to understand first. Concept 1 - POWER CHORDS - There is a musical chord, called a power chord, usually associated with guitar playing. Think of yourself as a guitar player on stage, but instead of holding a guitar you're moving around while holding an iPhone. Concept 2 - MIDI CONTROLLER - PowerPlay5 is a midi controller app. It doesn't create any sound on its own. Instead it tells another app which notes to play. The other app (a synthesizer app) then creates the sound of the chord being played. Concept 3 - THE SETUP - Usually you will open the synthesizer app first, choose a sound, and then make sure "Background Audio" is on. After that, open PowerPlay5 and start playing. (Note that some synthesizer apps also require a MIDI bridge app. See the instructions at the support website for more information.) This app is interesting because you play chords by aiming the iPhone in different directions while tapping with your thumb on the screen. It's almost like a form of choreography. Learning what direction to aim the phone to get the chord you want next is part of the fun of playing. The best way to understand where all the chords are is to look at the instructions pdf found at the support website.

About

Just Pedals

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a powerful multi-effect processor for guitar and bass. Experience high-quality, zero-latency sound processing with an intuitive interface that mimics real-world pedals. Ideal for both traditional setups and amp-less configurations.

Highlights
  • Multi-effect processor for guitar/bass
  • Zero-latency sound processing
  • Intuitive, uncluttered user interface
  • 16 virtual effect pedals included
  • Cab simulator
  • High-resolution, responsive layout
Read full description

Did you know that you can use your iPhone or iPad as a multi-effect processor for your electric guitar and bass? You only need an iOS-compatible audio interface and Just Pedals! Just Pedals can sculpt your tone as part of a traditional effect chain, or otherwise spare you from bulky hardware and patching nightmares in fully amp-less setups with DI/headphone output, and anything in beetween. It delivers tremendous sound quality that easily rivals the best known and most expensive products on the market, both analog and digital. Furthermore, the sound processing engine is absolutely zero-latency and designed for a fully glitch-free experience, with interaction smoothing and fade in/out algorithms applied everywhere. We promise you'll be jamming immediately. The user interface is as uncluttered, focused, straightforward, intuitive and pleasant as it could possibly be. You'll just be faced with a bunch of pedals as you would in the real world. No settings or configurations, no distracting graphics and features, but rather a fully-repsonsive high-resolution layout that adapts to any screen and orientation. At the same time, you'll always have visual indications and instantaneous control over input and output volumes, bypass and mute, output mode, as well as an emergency reset button. Just Pedals comes with 16 essential virtual effect pedals, namely: - Noise Suppressor - Ring Modulator - Overdrive - Distortion - Fuzz - Bitcrusher - Compressor - 10-Band Equalizer - Chorus - Phaser - Flanger - Tremolo - Vibrato - Delay - Reverb - Cab simulator Learn more at https://clack.digital/just-pedals

Screenshots

PowerPlay53 screens
Just Pedals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Just Pedals at weekly against PowerPlay5's every 23 months. Just Pedals also leads on ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, rating, 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

PowerPlay5 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Just Pedals has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PowerPlay5 ships an update every 23 months, Just Pedals weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
PowerPlay5 versus Just Pedals: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPowerPlay5Just Pedals
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.8 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings16 — better
Update frequencyEvery 23 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB2 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMalcolm MugglinOrastron Srl

Customer experience

PowerPlay5

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

Just Pedals

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PowerPlay5

No in-app purchases

None

Just Pedals

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PowerPlay5 free?
PowerPlay5 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Just Pedals free?
Just Pedals is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PowerPlay5 or Just Pedals?
PowerPlay5 is rated higher. PowerPlay5 averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Just Pedals averages 4.8 from 6 ratings.
Do PowerPlay5 or Just Pedals have ads?
Neither PowerPlay5 nor Just Pedals shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PowerPlay5 or Just Pedals?
PowerPlay5 ships an update every 23 months, and Just Pedals weekly. Most recently, PowerPlay5 was updated on November 3, 2026 and Just Pedals on October 30, 2026.

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