New Path vs ThunderBeast
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
New Path
Create unique rhythms and harmonies by guiding colored shapes with arrows on a 2D grid. Assign instruments, alter paths, and use special arrow types for surprising musical results. Control complex interactions with crossroads, teleports, and rule systems.
- 2D grid-based music creation
- Shape-based instrument playback
- Adjustable arrow paths and types
- Crossroads and teleports for complex paths
- MIDI out and Ableton Link support
- Delay and reverb effects
- Preset and generator systems
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Create surprising rhythms and harmonies by having colored shapes follow arrows on a two-dimensional grid. New Path is a unique and playful tool that drastically changes the way you make music. Pick an instrument for each square or triangle (shapes) and let them walk around. Rotate the arrows to alter their paths. Now choose from an exotic list of arrow types to spice things up. Shapes also have a mind of their own. By using crossroads and teleports they will have to decide for themselves which direction to take. This phenomenon will give you endless surprising results, but you’ll be able to keep full control by adjusting each crossroad/teleport bias. • Use the factory sets to play around and have lots of fun instantly! Or, • Create your own sets with the many features available! Each arrow contains adjustable values such as pitch, note duration, volume, etc, while shapes can interpret these values in their own way. For instance, a shape can add an octave to each pitch it comes across, so it will play all the notes one octave higher. Use delay and reverb to add flavor, use the advanced preset and generator systems to save and modify the grid, use the rules system to determine what should happen when two shapes meet, and much more. New Path is also able to communicate with other hard- & software. With the MIDI out feature, New Path can control for example your hardware synthesizers. Use the Ableton Link feature to sync Link-enabled devices and play together with your friends. And finally, the Audiobus integration lets you send both audio and MIDI to other apps on your device (You will need the Audiobus app). Key Features • A well thought out interface designed for both fast editing and playing live on-stage • Have surprising results with exotic arrow types such as crossroads and teleports • 70+ instruments such as Drums, Bass, Plucked, Synths, Acoustic, and Fx • Midi editor with a scales system • Many useful shape settings such as: Attack, Release, Note Value Multiplier to make non-western rhythms, etc • A preset system to instantly save and recall grid and shape settings • An advanced grid generator/modulator • A system of “If-Then” rules to trigger actions when shapes meet each other • A mixer with Delay and Reverb • 5x5 Arrow Cells with data such as: velocity, note duration, note value, repeat chance, crossroad chance, CC out, and much more… • 9 Tutorials with example sets to get you started New Path supports • Ableton Link • iCloud device sync • iCloud export/import • Audiobus support (midi and audio) • Midi out In-App Purchase • Arrow Skins • Instrument Expansion Pack • Audio Unit v3 (AUv3) About AUv3 • In case you bought New Path before 28th December 2022 (for $6.99), email a screenshot with proof of your purchasing date and we’ll email a promo code for the AUv3 feature (info@studiothezooo.com) Get New Path today to create a treasury of musical gems! * Runs on iPhone 5s with iOS 11.0 and above
ThunderBeast
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Rain, wind and thunder, all synthesized in real time. No samples, no loops. Every storm ThunderBeast makes is a storm happening for the first time. EIGHT CITIES, EIGHT SKIES A New York night storm. London drizzle. A Miami squall. Seattle mist. The Bangkok monsoon. A Reykjavik gale. An evening shower in Kyoto. A Cape Town storm front. Choose a preset and the scenery, the weather and the colour of the panel change together, so the city you are listening to is the city in front of you. TEN WEATHER CONTROLS Precipitation and drop size shape the rain; wind speed, gust and turbulence move the air. Storm rate decides how often lightning happens and storm energy decides how heavy each strike lands, while cell distance walks the storm from directly overhead out to the horizon. Humidity and pressure change the whole feel of the sky, and width and gain finish it. FOUR KINDS OF LIGHTNING A crack at close range, thunder that rolls, strikes that repeat, a sheet of light across the whole sky - each one carrying the swell that comes back off the landscape. The bolt is drawn on screen as it happens and changes colour as the storm moves away. No two strikes are ever the same. PLAYABLE WEATHER Play from C2 up and the rain rings at that pitch. Chords and melodies come out of the falling rain. Play below C2 and lightning strikes instead: pitch sets the distance, velocity sets the weight. Twelve hardware controller presets are built in; the mod wheel is storm energy and the sustain pedal is lightning. STANDALONE AND AUv3 Use it on its own, or as an AUv3 plug-in in GarageBand, Logic Pro and others. START FREE Three cities are free from the first launch. ThunderBeast Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: it opens the remaining cities (eight in all) and adds recording and export to WAV, AIFF and FLAC.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ThunderBeast at Free against New Path's $1.99. ThunderBeast also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and device support (4 vs 2). New Path's advantage is iOS requirement (12.3 vs 15.0). On 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
ThunderBeast is free to download; New Path costs $1.99 up front. New Path sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and ThunderBeast sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
New Path ships an update every 3 months, ThunderBeast every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | New Path | ThunderBeast |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (12 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.3 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 164 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jerk van den Braak | Tomocreate, Inc. |
In-app purchases
New Path
- ClassicFree
- Classic NeonFree
- Classic StoneFree
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- Classic Textile$0.99
- Classic White$0.99
- Pinky$0.99
- Chess$1.99
- Hands and Hats$1.99
- Instrument Pack 1$2.99
- Audio Unit v3$7.99
ThunderBeast
- ThunderBeast Pro$9.99







