SmashCut Visual Synth vs VS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SmashCut Visual Synth
Control video playback and transformations using MIDI messages, similar to how musicians control audio samplers. Set cue points, trigger playback, and manipulate video in real-time for presentations, live streaming, or creative video art.
- Load and cue video from camera roll
- Control playback with MIDI notes
- Transform video with MIDI CC messages
- Built-in MIDI controller for second device
- Wi-Fi based device connection
- Universal app for iOS and Mac
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Musicians have used audio samplers for decades, triggering drum sounds, pianos, and hundreds of other instruments using MIDI keyboards and sequencers. SmashCut brings the same sort of functionality to video content. Load in any video from your camera roll, easily set cue points in the video, and you're ready to play with video in a new way. The app responds to MIDI note messages to seek to cue points, and start or stop playback. With MIDI CC messages, you can scale, rotate, and transform the video in a live and interactive way. And if you don't have a MIDI keyboard, you can still use all of the features of the app -- there's a built-in MIDI controller that you can use on a second iOS device. What can you do with SmashCut? If you're making a presentation using video, you can trigger play and stop using the remote, and move to different cue points easily. If you stream video or podcast, you can use SmashCut to cue to a video clip with no hassle or headache. The iPad version of the app runs on a Silicon Mac, and works well with streaming software such as OBS. If you have a band, and are putting on a show, you can sequence video to keep in time with the music. SmashCut is a great way to put together a music video, or to just cut, splice, and glitch video for fun. Instead of trimming video clips in a conventional editor, you can play with video like you would a musical instrument. There's full support of MIDI, and also an easy Wi-Fi based connection system; if you have two devices on the same Wi-Fi network, they'll connect in seconds. You can use the iOS built in screen recorder to capture video and audio from the app. The app is universal, running on iPad, iPhone, and Silicon Macs. There's a watermark on-screen that can be removed with an in-app purchase.
VS
Generate dynamic, audio-reactive visuals for your music projects. This app offers extensive customization with layers, shaders, images, and video, allowing you to perform visuals live or record them for your tracks. Integrate seamlessly with DAWs and external displays.
- 8 polyphonic visual layers
- Shader, image, and video materials
- Modulation matrix
- AUv3 plugin support
- Live performance output
- Built-in video recorder
- Custom shader editor
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VS provides a creative way to generate beautiful graphical representations of your music projects. Driven by both audio and MIDI data, VS is the visual equivalent of a traditional synthesizer. VS takes the concept of music visualisation to a whole new level of customisation and expression, putting you in control and giving you the power to perform however you want. VS is powered by 8 flexible layers which can use shaders, images or videos, allowing you to create generative graphics that you can interact with and layer on top of each other to create complex evolving visuals. With customizable parameters, a modulation matrix and an array of blend modes, use your audio and/or MIDI to trigger and manipulate your layers accordingly with your music. You can even import and create your own shaders to give your visuals a more personal feeling. As the name suggests, VS - Visual Synthesizer can be played live like an audio synthesizer; use your MIDI keyboard to make each layer come alive with the concept of ‘polyphonic visual voices’. As well as a standalone app, VS includes an AUv3 plugin version, so you can run it directly inside your favourite iOS DAW programs like AUM, Drambo, BAM, Cubasis, Loopy Pro, Groove Rider 2, Logic Pro etc. You can now give your existing projects a visual touch of creativity. Simply route the MIDI and audio of your tracks and watch the magic happen. You can connect your mobile device to an external screen or projector for a live visual performance. If you prefer to create a video for your music, the built-in recorder lets you capture both visuals and audio. Record in landscape or portrait mode, with multiple output resolutions available. We partnered with new media artist ‘Perplex On’ to bring you a factory preset bank full of amazing interactive visuals you can start using right away to create dazzling animations and make your music move in a whole new medium. With an ever growing collection of expansions, you can further augment your visual arsenal with preset packs created by handpicked new media art talents. Features: - 8 Polyphonic visual layers (with blend modes) - 4 voices per layer - 32 built-in material effects - Layer material can be a shader, image or a video - Background layer with solid color/image/video - 4 LFO’s with SIN, SQR, TRI, SAW, S&H and filtered S&H - 2 EG’s with ADSR controls - 4 Dual-mode Audio Modulators (envelope and frequency band detection) - Modulation matrix - Full Screen mode - HDMI output for external screen/projector - NDI output - Built-in audio player with MIDI support - Built-in video recorder - Built-in material code editor for custom material creation - Exclusive factory presets by Perplex On
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: SmashCut Visual Synth at Free against VS's $24.99. SmashCut Visual Synth also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). VS's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 40 months) and ratings volume (125 vs 14). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
SmashCut Visual Synth is free to download; VS costs $24.99 up front. SmashCut Visual Synth sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and VS sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SmashCut Visual Synth holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VS has 125 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of SmashCut Visual Synth's written reviews are positive against 80% of VS's.
SmashCut Visual Synth ships an update every 40 months, VS every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SmashCut Visual Synth | VS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $24.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (14 ratings) — better | 4.6 (125 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 80.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 14 | 125 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 40 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 787 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Secret Base Design | Imaginando Lda |
Customer experience
SmashCut Visual Synth
VS
Bugs and requests
SmashCut Visual Synth
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
VS
Reported bugs
15 issues- No elegant way to get live synchronized video out
- Popout to external displays only in standalone app, which can’t run in background
- Video record export issue: videos are 30+ minutes when recorded for shorter duration
- NDI stream not working
- App crashes frequently
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- Cannot cope with 'large' MP3 files (around 10MB)
- No way to seek to anywhere but the beginning of audio files
- Does not support .aiff files (only .aif)
- Missing Bluetooth MIDI support
- App is not smooth and freezes
- No MP3 support
- Jaggy and slow performance with video file background and one material layer
- Unresponsive interface and frame rate drops with HD video
- In-app help does not work
- AUv3 mode displays AUM stuff and app menus, destroying aesthetics
Requested features
20 requests- Integrate an audio tool for Spotify/other audio sources
- Allow using any graphic or photo content as a layer
- Hope for Metal rendering for super performance shaders
- More ways to interact between layers (displacement, feedback)
- Post-processing effects (luma key, feedback, kaleidoscope, mirror)
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- Option to load videos and images in layers other than B layer
- More flexible/bigger choice of MIDI controllable artifacts
- Use MIDI to trigger pre-programmed words
- Ability to change font size in materials code editor
- Pause and resume feature for audio playback
- Ability to set play cursor anywhere in the middle of the file
- iCloud file sharing
- HDMI output for live use
- Save audio file with the patch in standalone mode
- Deeper mutating possibilities for items
- Other textural possibilities with imported images
- More mod sources for audio reactivity, device tilt, camera brightness, gestures
- Option to create own materials from scratch (shader coding)
- Cover the whole display in AUv3 mode (e.g., two-finger double tap)
- Add shaders to the library
In-app purchases
SmashCut Visual Synth
- Watermark RemovalFree
VS
- Retina Refill Preset Pack$17.99
- Textural Memories Preset Pack$17.99
- Cyber Spells Preset Pack$17.99
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- Retro Riot Preset Pack$17.99
- Raw Reflections Preset Pack$17.99
- Noir Cuts Preset Packs$17.99









