Comparison

421Grid vs MIDI FX PRO

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

Head to head
About

421Grid

Features
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Turn Practice into Progress. Inspiration into Execution. Whether you’re a drumline veteran, music educator, or aspiring percussionist, this app is your personal drumming lab—designed to help you experiment, customize, and level up your chops with precision. Built for Rudimental Drummers Who Want More Forget flipping through old notebooks or searching YouTube for exercises you can’t customize. With this app, you can build your own practice grids, apply the legendary 4-2-1 structure, and modify exercises using accents, subdivisions (triplets, fivelets, sixteenths), or even alternate stickings—all with just a few taps. Customize Everything Shift the beat. Change the direction. Reverse your sticking. Or layer complexity to push your brain and hands to the limit. Every exercise becomes your own. Designed for Students and Educators Music teachers: Quickly generate custom warmups or technique builders for your drumline. Students: Practice smarter, not just harder—with structured routines and unlimited variations. Why Drummers Are Calling This a Game-Changer: • Reinforces fundamentals through creative repetition • Encourages daily practice through customization and challenge • Perfect for drumline auditions, solo prep, or just sharpening your hands • No internet? No problem. Train anywhere you take your sticks. Ready to Break Through Your Plateaus? This isn’t just another drumming app. It’s your creative practice engine, your daily workout, and your edge over the competition. Download now and redefine your rudimental journey.

About

MIDI FX PRO

This app is a powerful MIDI workstation for iOS and Mac, allowing users to control and process MIDI signals. It offers features like harmonization, transposition, arpeggiation, and sequencing for external or virtual synths. It also includes internal instruments and effects for mobile music creation.

Highlights
  • MIDI signal processing
  • Harmonize, Transpose, Arpeggiate
  • Sequencer for synths
  • Delay/looper
  • Internal instruments (drums, piano, synth)
  • Filter notes by velocity
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Buy once and get the iOS and Mac apps (with Family Sharing) This is the Unlocked Version of MIDI FX. You can buy this version instead of unlocking the free one through IAP Control your MIDI signals and process them in any combination of ways: Harmonize, Transpose, Arpeggiate, etc... Or use the Sequencer to play any external or virtual synth. Use a MIDI interface to unlock the power of the app to control multiple synths with one keyboard, play one note and generate chords, basslines, etc... Use the delay/looper or filter notes based on velocity or other parameters to send to different synths/effects. A MIDI workstation in your pocket (or your iPad/Mac) You can also use some internal instruments (drums sampler, piano or synth) if you are away from your MIDI gear, and sequence whole songs inside the app, or use other synth apps as input/output for MIDI FX. Your imagination is the limit!

Screenshots

421Grid4 screens
MIDI FX PRO1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 421Grid at $1.99 against MIDI FX PRO's $9.99. MIDI FX PRO's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and device support (4 vs 2). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

421Grid costs $1.99 and MIDI FX PRO $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

421Grid ships an update every 3 months, MIDI FX PRO monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
421Grid versus MIDI FX PRO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter421GridMIDI FX PRO
Price$1.99 — better$9.99
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.014.7 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB263 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperN. WheelerJorge Arroyo

In-app purchases

None

421Grid

No in-app purchases

None

MIDI FX PRO

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 421Grid free?
421Grid costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MIDI FX PRO free?
MIDI FX PRO costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do 421Grid or MIDI FX PRO have ads?
Neither 421Grid nor MIDI FX PRO shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 421Grid or MIDI FX PRO?
421Grid ships an update every 3 months, and MIDI FX PRO monthly. Most recently, 421Grid was updated on October 30, 2026 and MIDI FX PRO on October 24, 2026.

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