Comparison

SD vs Portacapture Control

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

Head to head
About

SD

Control your Sound Devices 8-Series mixer-recorder remotely from your iPad or iPhone. Manage transport, edit metadata, take notes, monitor outputs, and adjust channel settings like faders, trims, and pan. View large-scale meters and timecode on all screens.

Highlights
  • Remote transport controls
  • Metadata editing
  • Take notes
  • Monitor outputs
  • Adjust faders, trims, and pan
  • Channel arming, disarming, solo, and mute
  • Large-scale channel meters
  • Timecode display
Features
Read full description

Control your Sound Devices 8-Series mixer-recorder from your iPad or iPhone with SD-Remote. Quickly access transport controls, edit metadata, write Take Notes, monitor outputs, and adjust faders, trims, and pan controls. Arm, disarm, solo, and mute channels with ease. Large-scale meters are available for all channels, and the current timecode is displayed on every screen.

About

Portacapture Control

Control your Portacapture device remotely with this app. Adjust settings, monitor recording status, and manage parameters like gain and effects from your smartphone or tablet. Requires a Bluetooth adapter for connectivity.

Highlights
  • Remote REC start/stop
  • Gain adjustment
  • Mixer control
  • Mark registration
  • Input level monitoring
  • Recording progress/remaining time
  • Parameter settings (low-cut, limiter)
Features
Read full description

■Portacapture’s operability at the palm of your hands The Portacapture Control is an app that provides operability with the same user interface as the touch panel on Portacapture. In addition to the basic REC start/stop, gain adjustment, mixer control, mark registration, and all the other controls that can be performed on the main unit are available on this app. Moreover, you can always check information about the input level, recording progress/remaining time, battery level, as well as set various parameters including low-cut, limiter, and many more effects. ※The AK-BT1 Bluetooth adapter (separately sold) is needed to be able to control the main unit via the Portacapture Control app. For more information on how to connect Portacapture and AK-BT1 or how to use Portacapture Control, please refer to the instruction manual. ※This app does not support monitoring of the main unit’s input sound. To monitor this, please use the headphones output or the speaker function on Portacapture. Please carefully read the license agreement below before using this application. http://tascam.jp/content/downloads/products/862/license_e_app_license.pdf

Screenshots

SD4 screens
Portacapture Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

SD and Portacapture Control both sit at 3.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 40% of Portacapture Control's written reviews are positive against 22% of SD's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.7 for SD against 3.6 for Portacapture Control. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 9 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 22% of SD's written reviews are positive against 40% of Portacapture Control's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SD ships an update every 2 months, Portacapture Control every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 1, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
SD versus Portacapture Control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSDPortacapture Control
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (9 ratings) — better3.6 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews22.2% of reviews40.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings99
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSound Devices, LLCTEAC CORP.

Customer experience

SD

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral22.2%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral22.2%
Negative55.6%

Portacapture Control

All ratings9 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

SD

No in-app purchases

None

Portacapture Control

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SD free?
SD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Portacapture Control free?
Portacapture Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SD or Portacapture Control?
SD is rated higher. SD averages 3.7 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Portacapture Control averages 3.6 from 9 ratings.
Do SD or Portacapture Control have ads?
Neither SD nor Portacapture Control shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SD or Portacapture Control?
SD ships an update every 2 months, and Portacapture Control every 4 months. Most recently, SD was updated on September 1, 2026 and Portacapture Control on September 16, 2026.

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