Comparison

SoundSaw vs Things

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

Head to head
About

SoundSaw

This app offers advanced sound processing for musical instruments and voice, enabling users to create noise, lo-fi, chiptune, and experimental audio aesthetics. It features a variety of distortion, bitcrushing, and filtering effects with a user-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • Simulates electronic circuit signal processing
  • Maximizer with feedback and hold modes
  • Overload effect for harmonic saturation
  • Decimator and Bitcrusher for digital artifacts
  • Controllable Feedback effect
  • 4-pole filter with envelope generator
  • Output filter and signal mixing
Features
Read full description

SoundSaw is a complex sound processing app with easy-to-use controls designed to distort the sound of musical instruments or voice, and give the sound the aesthetics and atmosphere of noise, lo-fi, chiptune and experimental music scene. Depending on the settings, it can add light distortion and saturation to the sound for a more natural and lively sound, or drastically change the sound and make it as loud and harsh as possible, full of all kinds of harmonics, crackles and rattles. The settings of this app provide great opportunities for experiments with sound destruction. All controls are located on a single screen, grouped by function into six sections with a plain way of signal path from the first section "Input" to the last section "Output". The chain of individual effects in this app is designed in such a way as to get the most interesting result for any parameter values in the widest possible range. App features: - Simulates different types of signal processing electronic circuits and their typical harmonic saturation and noise (static and dynamic). - The Maximizer keeps the maximum signal level for more noticeable distortions and feedback effects, and has a mode for hold the maximum volume when the input signal decays. - The Overload effect works like an electronic circuit when the signal is much higher than the maximum allowable level and oversaturated the signal various kinds of harmonics. - The Decimator and Bitcrusher effects produce very noticeable digital artifacts typical of cheap devices with simple DACs / ADCs, and add various kinds of crackles and rattles. - The Feedback effect is similar to acoustic feedback, but more controllable, with the resonant frequency varying in accordance with the harmonics of the input signal. - The 4-pole filter controlled by the envelope generator can be used after distortion effects. Filter types: Low pass, High pass, Band pass and Notch. - The envelope generator is controlled by the input signal and can generate a single cycle of envelope, repeat cycles or work continuously. - At the output there is a filter that can cut the high or low range of the original signal and mix it with the processed signal. Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGtCRrqSqwk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr12DJTWRmI SoundSaw is a universal application for iOS and macOS. It can work on iPhone and iPad as well as Mac / MacBook with M1 chip (and later). SoundSaw works on iPhone and iPad standalone, as an Audio Unit or Inter-App Audio module, and supports Audiobus and Ableton Link. On macOS, SoundSaw can works both as a standalone application and as an Audio unit (AUv3) with DAWs and audio unit hosts like Ableton Live, Logic Pro, GarageBand, MainStage, Cockos Reaper, Plogue Bidule, Hosting AU, and other hosts that support AUv3 plugins. All application features are available on iOS and macOS, including MIDI support (with a MIDI learn option) and audio unit parameters. SoundSaw has a built-in detailed description of all parameters also available as PDF file on application site. You can find more information on SoundSaw and other experimental and audio processing apps at: https://motion-soundscape.blogspot.com

About

Things

This app provides a versatile audio effect plugin featuring a multimode filter and a bit crusher. It can be used as a standalone application or as an AUv3 plugin for further audio manipulation.

Highlights
  • Multimode filter (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch)
  • 2 or 4-pole filter options
  • Crisp bit crusher
  • Downsampling and bit reduction
  • Harshness control
  • Output gain control
  • Standalone and AUv3 plugin support
Features
Read full description

Crusher is an easy-to-use Filter and Bit Crusher effect available as an AUv3 plugin and standalone. This plugin is inspired by the effect section of our instrument plugin Noises. Crusher features a multimode filter (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch) with 2 or 4-pole and an output gain, along with a crisp bit crusher (bits, downsample, mix) paired with a harshness control taken from our plugin Reels.

Screenshots

SoundSaw3 screens
Things1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SoundSaw at every 2 months against Things's every 17 months. SoundSaw also leads on price ($5.99 vs $6.99). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

SoundSaw costs $5.99 and Things $6.99 up front. 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 — 4.9 for SoundSaw against 5.0 for Things. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SoundSaw ships an update every 2 months, Things every 17 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SoundSaw versus Things: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoundSawThings
Price$5.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.9 (14 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 17 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.4 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIgor VasilievAudioThing Ltd.

Customer experience

SoundSaw

All ratings14 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Things

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SoundSaw

No in-app purchases

None

Things

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SoundSaw free?
SoundSaw costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Things free?
Things costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SoundSaw or Things?
Things is rated higher. SoundSaw averages 4.9 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Things averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do SoundSaw or Things have ads?
Neither SoundSaw nor Things shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SoundSaw or Things?
SoundSaw ships an update every 2 months, and Things every 17 months. Most recently, SoundSaw was updated on October 9, 2026 and Things on October 16, 2026.

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