Pulsar vs GateVerb
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pulsar
This music app provides a virtual drum machine with 8 pads for improvising and playing along to built-in rhythm presets. It features real-time rhythm switching, tempo control, and various effects. It also supports Ableton Link and MIDI for seamless integration with other music software and hardware.
- 8-pad drum machine
- Built-in rhythm presets
- Real-time rhythm switching
- Tempo and accent control
- Drive, reverb, and filter effects
- Ableton Link synchronization
- MIDI In/Out support
- AUv3 compatibility
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Pulsar-ES is a sample-based drum machine inspired by the Estradin Pulsar. Start with 128 factory rhythms, 64 in bank A and 64 in bank B, play the eight-pad kit, and edit MIDI notes and velocities. In version 1.0.8, Random rhythm generates a new pattern in the current slot. Swing adjusts the timing from 0 to 100%. Shape the sound with filter, reverb, overdrive, delay, chorus and compression. Save edited rhythms as separate user patterns; the factory patterns remain available. Open LINK for tempo-sync settings with compatible peers. Start/stop synchronization is a separate setting. With a MIDI output selected and a compatible route configured, send pattern notes to another instrument. In a plug-in host, routing depends on the host. For iPhone and iPad: standalone app and AUv3. Hosting, MIDI and Link features require the corresponding compatible setup.
GateVerb
This audio effect plugin offers a stereo reverb with a retro sound. It features pre and post-effect filters for tone shaping and a switchable gate for classic gated reverb or reverse reverb effects in real-time. Adjust size, damping, width, and wet/dry levels for customized audio.
- Stereo reverb with retro vibe
- Pre and post-effect filters
- Switchable gate processing
- Gated reverb emulation
- Reverse reverb emulation
- Adjustable reverb size, damping, width
- Adjustable wet/dry signal levels
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GateVerb Gated Reverb Plugin (AUv3) GateVerb is an audio effect plugin that can run standalone, or in any AU compatible host application such as Logic Pro or GarageBand. Overview GateVerb is a super-simple and CPU-friendly stereo reverb with a retro vibe. Pre and post-effect filters provide additional tone-shaping, and the switchable gate processing stage allows the recreation of the gated reverb sound made famous on many an 80's hit, as well as an emulation of a "reverse reverb" effect in realtime. And of course, you can simply switch off the gate, for those times when you just need a straightforward no-frills reverb. Controls Active - Toggles the effect On or Off. You can use this control to A/B your settings with the original signal and this will fade gradually between the two with no distracting pops or clicks! Reverb Controls Size - Varies the size of the emulated reverb from a small room to very large hall. Damping - Varies the amount of high frequency damping applied to the reverb tail. As damping is increased, the reverb effect becomes "softer". Width - Sets the stereo spread of the generated reverb from mono, to wide stereo. Wet - Sets the level of the generated reverb, including the filter processing. Dry - Sets the level of the dry / incoming audio signal. Filter Controls HPF - Sets the cutoff frequency of a high-pass filter, which is applied to the signal sent into the reverb processing. LPF - Sets the cutoff frequency of a low-pass filter, which is applied to the output of the reverb processing. Gate Controls Gate - Turns the gate processing stage On or Off. Like the Active control, this is a "soft" switch so you can A/B the effect. The gate processing is applied to the wet / reverb signal only. Smoothing - Sets how fast the gate processing responds to changes in the input signal. Lower settings correspond to a fast response time, whereas higher settings introduce a lag or damping effect to the responsiveness of the gate. Note that the smoothing time also affects the Attack and Release times, so if you need a really slow attack, try increasing the Smoothing too. Threshold - Sets the signal level required to "open" the gate. Note - If set too high, you might not hear any reverb at all, and if set too low, no gating effect will occur as the signal will be loud enough to keep the gate open all the time. Attack - Sets how quickly the gate opens once triggered. At the zero setting, the gate will open immediately, otherwise it opens up gradually, which can be used to create a swell / pseudo-reverse reverb effect. Sometimes, just having a little bit of a swell prevents the reverb from masking the attack of the dry signal which helps retain clarity. Alternatively, ramp-up the attack for spooky vocal effects! Release - Sets how quickly the gate closes after the attack stage. At zero, it will close very quickly, depending on the Response settings. Longer release times can be quite subtle and allows for some fine-tuning of the reverb tail. Somewhere in the middle is the classic 80's drum type gated reverb effect. For more info and support please visit: www.waverley-instruments.com/robjackson
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: GateVerb at 5.0 against Pulsar's 4.3. GateVerb also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and price ($1.99 vs $4.99). Pulsar's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Pulsar costs $4.99 and GateVerb $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
GateVerb holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Pulsar's written reviews are positive against 100% of GateVerb's.
Pulsar ships an update every 3 weeks, GateVerb every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pulsar | GateVerb |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #192 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dmytro Kiro | Rob Jackson |
Customer experience
Pulsar
GateVerb
In-app purchases
Pulsar
No in-app purchases
GateVerb
No in-app purchases









