Comparison

Bloom vs Fractal Bits

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

Head to head
About

Bloom

Create unique melodies and elaborate patterns by simply tapping the screen. This generative music player offers an infinite selection of compositions and accompanying visualizations, even when left idle. It's a musical instrument, composition, and artwork all in one.

Highlights
  • Create melodies by tapping
  • Generative music player
  • Visualizations
  • 12 mood settings
  • Adjustable delay
  • Shake to clear
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Developed by ambient pioneer Brian Eno and musician / software designer Peter Chilvers, Bloom explores uncharted territory in the realm of applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. Part instrument, part composition and part artwork, Bloom's innovative controls allow anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen. A generative music player takes over when Bloom is left idle, creating an infinite selection of compositions and their accompanying visualisations. "Bloom is an endless music machine, a music box for the 21st century. You can play it, and you can watch it play itself." - Brian Eno Features - 12 different mood settings - Random mood shuffle - Adjustable delay - Shake to clear - Evolve when idle - Sleep Timer Recommended for headphones or external speakers. “Bloom Raises the Bar for Musical iPhone Apps… if you're a fan of ambient music or music in general, you'll be wanting to get it right now” - Gizmodo “A relaxing alternative to just about anything else you can do with an iPhone” Wired “Hypnotic and ludicrously addictive” - Guardian

About

Fractal Bits

Generate an infinite variety of drum sounds using fractal algorithms. Save and share your unique sound sets via text codes. Perform live with multiple keyboard options and record your creations in real-time.

Highlights
  • Infinite unique drum sounds
  • Save/share sound sets via text codes
  • Multiple live drumming keyboards
  • MIDI control and mapping
  • Real-time WAV audio recording
  • Wi-Fi export/import
Features
Read full description

Fractal Bits is a drum synth with over four billion unique sounds created by fractal algorithms. Each set of 12 drums corresponds to a code of 8 characters (you can save/copy/paste it as plain text). Features: * Audio Unit Extension (AUv3), Audiobus; * search for new sounds with three buttons: next random set, edit code, previous set; * three types of keyboards for live drumming: on-screen buttons, PC keyboard, MIDI input; * several processing parameters + control via MIDI; * real-time audio recording to WAV (32-bit); * export to: WAV (one file or a set), SunVox (samples + effects in one file), text clipboard; * the LCK button freezes individual drums - they will not change during the search for new sets; * Wi-Fi export/import. Double clicking on a parameter opens a window for setting the exact value. If you enable the Hold option, the notes will play endlessly, without reacting to key release (noteOff) events; turning the note on again works like turning it off; there are two ways to enable this option: 1) using the Hold parameter in the "MIDI Mapping" window; 2) by pressing the HOLD button, which appears in place of LCK while playing the musical keyboard: press HOLD, release the desired notes - then the released notes will continue to play.

Screenshots

Bloom4 screens
Fractal Bits2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Bloom at #60 against Fractal Bits's unranked. Fractal Bits's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 11 months) and price ($1.99 vs $3.99). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

Bloom costs $3.99 and Fractal Bits $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Bloom against 4.9 for Fractal Bits. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 99 and 82 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Bloom's written reviews are positive against 91% of Fractal Bits's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bloom ships an update every 11 months, Fractal Bits every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Bloom versus Fractal Bits: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBloomFractal Bits
Price$3.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.8 (99 ratings)4.9 (82 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.5% of reviews90.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings99 — better82
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#60 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOpal LimitedAlexander Zolotov

Customer experience

Bloom

All ratings99 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral3.0%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews618 reviews
Positive84.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative10.5%

Fractal Bits

All ratings80 ratings
Positive96.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive90.7%
Neutral7.0%
Negative2.3%

Bugs and requests

Bloom

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on iOS 8/11 updates
  • Stops working in background
  • High notes cause issues for some users

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add more sound options/instruments
  • Implement recording and export capabilities
  • Add sleep timer and background playback
  • Improve low-end sound quality
  • Introduce MIDI support
Show 2 more
  • Expand sound manipulation options (pitch bending, sustain, etc.)
  • Add visual customization (blurred edges, etc.)

Fractal Bits

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Bloom

No in-app purchases

None

Fractal Bits

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bloom free?
Bloom costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fractal Bits free?
Fractal Bits costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bloom or Fractal Bits?
Fractal Bits is rated higher. Bloom averages 4.8 out of 5 from 99 ratings, while Fractal Bits averages 4.9 from 82 ratings.
Do Bloom or Fractal Bits have ads?
Neither Bloom nor Fractal Bits shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bloom or Fractal Bits?
Bloom ships an update every 11 months, and Fractal Bits every 5 months. Most recently, Bloom was updated on October 31, 2026 and Fractal Bits on November 3, 2026.

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