Music By Numbers vs plugdata
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Music By Numbers
This application simplifies complex post-tonal music calculations. It allows users to instantly compute matrices and pitch set collections, with options to view detailed set information, rotate, invert, and flip sets. Users can also save and edit their work for future reference.
- Instant matrix and pitch set calculations
- View pitch set information on matrix
- Rotate, invert, and flip sets
- Save and edit matrices and sets
- Customizable display for 10 and 11
- Customizable colors for PC selection and axis
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Music By Numbers is a modern toolkit for post-tonal and twelve-tone analysis. Build rows and pitch-class sets quickly with a dedicated pitch-class keypad, or generate a random row or set at the cardinality you choose. Create matrices from your rows, select pitch classes to explore their related sets, and view collections on the pitch-class circle. Set Explorer calculates normal form, prime form, Forte number, and interval vector, and provides tools to rotate, invert, complement, or flip a set across an axis you select. Save rows and sets to your Library with optional piece information and notes, then revisit or edit them whenever you need them. Music By Numbers accepts T or A for pitch class 10 and E or B for pitch class 11. Customize how those values are displayed, along with pitch-class selection, set-shape, and axis colors, in Settings.
plugdata
This app provides a visual programming environment for audio experimentation, prototyping, and education. It allows users to create and run audio patches on their mobile devices, enabling creative sound design on the go.
- Visual programming environment
- Audio experimentation
- Prototyping
- Educational tool
- Standalone application
- Audio plugins
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plugdata is visual programming environment for audio experimentation, prototyping and education. With plugdata for iOS, you can bring your plugdata patches with you everywhere you go. This app ships with a standalone application and audio plugins.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Music By Numbers at 5.0 against plugdata's 4.4. Music By Numbers also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 63%) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months). plugdata's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Music By Numbers holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 17 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Music By Numbers's written reviews are positive against 63% of plugdata's.
Music By Numbers ships an update every 8 days, plugdata every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Music By Numbers | plugdata |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better | 4.4 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 63.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 17 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 147 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Timothy Bausch | Timothy Schoen |
Customer experience
Music By Numbers
plugdata
In-app purchases
Music By Numbers
No in-app purchases
plugdata
No in-app purchases
