Midi Poly Grid vs Circa Looper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Midi Poly Grid
This app functions solely as a MIDI controller, requiring a host application or DAW to produce sound. It offers intuitive pad controls for melodies and finger drumming, with advanced modulation options like MPE and polyphonic aftertouch. Connect virtually or via USB/Bluetooth to other devices and DAWs.
- Size-adjustable grid of pads
- MPE and polyphonic aftertouch modulation
- Custom grid creation
- Virtual MIDI connection
- Preset saving
- Multiple layouts and colors
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# Midi Poly Grid This App is Open Source. Access the code here: https://github.com/anzbert/beat_pads ## Important Disclaimer This App is **ONLY** usable as a Midi Controller. It does **NOT** produce any sound on its own and requires a host application or a second device with a DAW or other sound production app. ## Information Midi Poly Grid is a lightweight Midi Controller app for mobile phones and tablets for melodies and finger drumming at home and on the go. Connections can be made virtually to other apps via platform midi channels, or via USB or Bluetooth Midi to other devices. This app aims to be an easy-to-use pad input device featuring a variety of layouts, intuitive playability and modern modulation options, such as MPE and Polyphonic Aftertouch. It was designed for people that prefer pads to pianos! The focus of this app is not to be a jack-of-all-trades Midi swiss army knife, but instead to be a great at one thing: Intuitive and versatile pad controls. ## Features - A size-adjustable grid of pads for finger drumming and melody input - Various layouts and colors, inspired by the Ableton Push - Presets can be saved with different pad setups - Innovative MPE and polyphonic Aftertouch modulation with graphical feedback - Push Style MPE pitchbend and slide - Send Velocity by Y position on pad, randomly or with a fixed value - Usable as a standard MIDI device with any PC, Mac or other USB or Bluetooth device - Optional controls, such as Pitch Bend, Mod Wheel and Sustain - Highligh a large number of musical scales - Receives Midi Notes, making the pads usable like a Launchpad - Custom grid creation based on the note intervals on the X and Y Axis to create Grids inspired by the Harmonic Table, Wicki Hayden, MidiMech and others - Supports virtual Midi connection to other apps on your device - Built-In support for the popular finger drumming courses from XpressPads.com - And more... ## Feedback and Contributions Anyone is most welcome to contribute, report an issue or start a discussion in the Github repository. Thanks! ## Licence Licenced under GPL3. The code in this project is freely usable in any other open source project. Enjoy! ## iOS Specific Information Can be used with any Mac via USB, Bluetooth Midi or WiFi. Usage with PC is limited to WiFi with free third-party software (rtpMidi), and USB with third-party USB midi connectors, due to Apple's limited implementation of USB Midi on iOS. AUv3 is unfortunately not supported at this time, as it is currently impossible with Flutter. More info about that here: https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/16092
Circa Looper
A powerful multi-channel looping instrument for iPad, designed for musicians and producers. It offers six independent stereo loop layers, deep modulation, precision syncing, and built-in effects for creating complex patterns and evolving soundscapes. Its touch-friendly interface allows for hands-on creative control and seamless DAW integration.
- Six independent stereo loop layers
- Deep modulation control
- Precision syncing
- Built-in reverb and delay
- Touch-friendly interface
- Full MIDI mapping
- Drag-and-drop audio export
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Circa runs as a standalone app, or as an AUv3 plugin in hosts such as GarageBand, Logic, AUM and Cubase. Equal parts workhorse and abstract creative tool, Circa is a six track multi-layer looping environment that can do most of the things your popular floor pedal looper can while also paying homage to the serendipitous world of ambient looping. Each layer can sync to the host, a master loop, or free run, and can be triggered in sync, with an audio signal, or freely. Circa has seven stereo outputs (including a dedicated cue output for monitoring) and built-in reverb and delay. Add in a complete MIDI control and LFO modulation system and Circa is a full looping workstation. Features -- Multi-Layered Looping Circa has six layers that can operate independently or in sync with each other and/or the host. Circa can record from the stereo input, or self-record via an internal buss for interesting feedback possibilities. -- Standalone Or Plugin As a standalone app, Circa has its own audio and MIDI settings: choose your audio interface, sample rate and buffer size, pick the input pair, send each of Circa's seven outputs to any output pair on your interface, and select a MIDI input. Sync to incoming MIDI clock, or let Circa set the tempo from your first loop. As an AUv3 plugin, it lives inside your host and syncs to its transport. -- Designed To Be Touched And Played Circa's user interface is made for tactile manipulation, with touch strips for speed and position (including dedicated pages). The position strip can be further subdivided with slices. All this works together to turn a looping effect into a playable instrument. -- Easy To Get Along With Circa's layers each have an undo for destructive edits like recording, overdubbing, and erasing. -- Controllability And Modulation Circa has 30 modulation slots. Each one can map a MIDI controller to any of Circa's looping functions, or run an LFO: seven shapes, free-running or tempo-synced, with rate, phase and level, modulating speed, start and end position, level, panning, delay and reverb sends, filter frequency and resonance, or the slice the play head is on. LFOs swing around wherever each control is set, so the knobs stay in charge. -- Self-Contained Circa has a full internal mixer, filtering on each layer, and studio-quality send reverb, send delay, parametric EQ and compressor taken directly from Audio Damage's extensive effect library. -- Expandable And Performance-Ready Circa has 7 outputs in all: six assignable stereo outputs and a cue output for monitoring. Send any layer to any of the six stereo outputs, while keeping the cue for soloing, recording, and editing, unheard by the audience. In the standalone app, each output can go to its own pair of outputs on your audio interface. -- Ecosystem-Aware Circa's user presets are cross-platform compatible, and work on any instance of Circa, whether on macOS, Windows, Linux, or iOS. In addition, sessions created in GarageBand or Logic on iOS will open in the desktop version on macOS if you have purchased a license to that version.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Midi Poly Grid at 100% against Circa Looper's 33%. Midi Poly Grid also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and price ($3.99 vs $7.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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
Midi Poly Grid costs $3.99 and Circa Looper $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Midi Poly Grid holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Midi Poly Grid's written reviews are positive against 33% of Circa Looper's.
Midi Poly Grid ships an update every 11 days, Circa Looper every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Midi Poly Grid | Circa Looper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better | 4.6 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 10 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andreas Mueller | Audio Damage, Inc. |
Customer experience
Midi Poly Grid
Circa Looper
In-app purchases
Midi Poly Grid
No in-app purchases
Circa Looper
No in-app purchases







