Comparison

RTA vs SA60

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

Head to head
About

RTA

Analyze audio frequencies, test speakers, and tune rooms with this professional-grade acoustical analysis tool. It offers octave and 1/3 octave modes, peak hold, and averaging, with automatic microphone compensation for accurate results.

Highlights
  • Real-time acoustical analysis
  • Octave and 1/3 Octave modes
  • Peak Hold and Average modes
  • Automatic microphone compensation
  • Save, recall, and export graphs
  • Interactive touch GUI
  • Noise curve overlays
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

A Real Time Analyzer for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Test your speakers, tune your room, do acoustical analysis work or just have a better understanding of audio frequencies. RTA is a professional-grade acoustical analysis tool. All filters meet or exceed ANSI and IEC Class 1 specifications. Includes Octave and 1/3 Octave modes, with selectable decay times, as well as Peak Hold and true linear Average mode. *** iOS Microphones We have analyzied every iOS device, including all of the iPads, all iPhones, and iPod touches, and have created microphone compensation files that are applied automatically. You can trust the results you are getting, often within just a few dB of a far more expensive analyzer. Calibration is updated regularly, automatically, from our cloud-based calibration database. Upgrade to our iTestMic or iAudioInterface2 to bring your system up to full professional specs. *** Save and Recall Graphs You can save and recall graphs, marked with the GPS location, date & time, and your comment, as well as store the image to your photo roll. Export the data as an XLS formatted file to your computer for inclusion in reports or further analysis. *** Max and Min Bars You can also turn on resettable Max/Min bars (see image #4) to capture peaks. Double-tap to reset the bars. *** Specifications and Devices The internal iPhone mic has a noise floor near 30 dB, and if your are running iOS 6, clips around 120 dB. *** Touch GUI Fully interactive touch GUI features includes scroll up/down, pinch to zoom or compress the vertical dB scale, or swipe horizontally to get a cursor that reads out the exact dB level and frequency across the screen. To make the cursor disappear, swipe it off the graph to the left. The landscape-mode display flips 180 degrees so that you can face the internal mic in either direction. *** Overlay Curves Also included are optional noise curve overlays, in NCB, RC, PNC, NC, X-Curve and NR mode. See picture #2 for an example. Use this feature to get a quick reading on the noise levels in a room. Also includes the cinema large-room X-curve overlay. *** Calibration RTA can be fully calibrated, whether you are using it with the internal iOS microphone, or one of our professional test & measurement mic solutions. And, if you are using iTestMic, the mic calibration is transmitted directly to the app, so you are always calibrated. *** RTA or FFT? If you are wondering if you should download this app or our FFT app, check out our website, we have a page devoted to this topic. See our other acoustics and audio apps, including AudioTools.

About

SA60

This audio tool functions as a spectrum analyzer and graphic equalizer, offering real-time analysis and precise sound manipulation. It provides a demo version with limited play time, with an unlimited version available as an in-app purchase.

Highlights
  • Standalone and AUv3 plugin
  • Stereo, Mid, or Side EQ modes
  • Undo/Redo functionality
  • A/B comparison
  • Upsampling options
  • Macro controllers
  • Built-in Gain Match
Read full description

SA60 AUv3 plug-in — comes as time-limited Demo-version for you to try. It gives you 5 minutes of Free play time. (You can reload the SA60 AUv3 plug-in as many times as you want, thereby you get the Demo period again and again.) Unlimited version of SA60 AUv3 plug-in comes as In-App Purchase. Features: • Standalone and AUv3 plug-in; • Stereo (Mono), Mid or Side EQ modes; • Undo/Redo; • A/B comparison; • 2x/4x/8x Upsampling; • Macro controllers; • Built-in Gain Match; • Scalable GUI. Red Rock Sound SA60 real time 1/3 octave Spectrum Analyser combines ease of use, accuracy and versatility in one economical, reliable unit. Interface is modelled on classic DN60 spectrum analyser, originally developed in 1980. Control & Indicator Functions: • DISPLAY LEVELS — Relate to the Reference level, calibration of a display level is read from graticules on the left of the display window; • REFERENCE LEVEL — The absolute level to which display readings are relative, i.e. calibration, is given in dB; • OVERALL LEVEL — Calibration of the overall level is similary derived from graticule to the right of the display. Note: this graticule applies to the overall level only! • AVG/PK — Two leds indicate whether the display is Averaging or Peak-reading; • RESP. — Speed of display response is selectable: «1» — Fast, «2» — Medium, «3» — Slow (shown by three leds); • MODE — Controls the display mode: «L» — Left, «M» — Mid, «R» — Right. EQ302 is a 32 band equaliser offering 12 dB of cut or boost in 1/3 octave steps between the frequencies of 16 Hz and 20 kHz. The graphic equaliser is a vital component in any audio system. The entire signal passes through it and so any limitations imposed by the equaliser will compromise the performance of the whole system. For example, an indifferently designed equaliser may introduce severe phase distortion, noise and other anomalies related to centre frequency accuracy, filter shape and attenuation accuracy which may manifest themselves as an overall deterioration in the perceived sound quality of the system. Clearly, this is an unacceptable state of affairs, but fortunately your choice to utilise a Red Rock Sound EQ302 Graphic Equalizer will eliminate these problems, offering you unprecedented product performance coupled with the highest filter calibration and reliability standards in the industry. To use SA60 as a plug-in, you need an AUv3-compatible host app like GarageBand, Auria, AUM, Cubasis and more — SA60 will appear in the list of Audio Unit extensions for effect plug-ins in the host app.

Screenshots

RTA4 screens
SA604 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SA60 at Free against RTA's $4.99. SA60 also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (83% vs 61%). RTA's advantage is chart position (#117 vs unranked). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SA60 is free to download; RTA costs $4.99 up front. RTA sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and SA60 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SA60 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of RTA's written reviews are positive against 83% of SA60's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RTA ships an update every 3 months, SA60 every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
RTA versus SA60: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRTASA60
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (26 ratings)5.0 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.7% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings26 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#117 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrew SmithRRS, OOO

Customer experience

RTA

All ratings26 ratings
Positive69.2%
Neutral11.5%
Negative19.2%
Written reviews117 reviews
Positive60.7%
Neutral11.1%
Negative28.2%

SA60

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

RTA

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes after iOS updates (iOS 13, 15, 16, 17, 18)
  • App freezes or crashes on startup
  • App only displays half the screen
  • App does not save analysis readings to photo roll
  • App stops working on older iPads after updates
Show 13 more
  • Accessory found/removed loop with iTestMic 2
  • App continues to run in background, draining battery
  • Calibration not supported for specific iPad models
  • App not installing after purchase/update
  • App not opening on iPhone 4 after update
  • dB/input level is useless after update
  • Screen not expanding after updates
  • App not compatible with iOS 7
  • App crashes when saving screen
  • App not working with iMM-6 microphone
  • App overcompensates for low frequencies
  • App crashes on 3G S after update
  • Low frequency response cut due to voice recognition

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add German language support
  • Add NC and NR curves
  • Make background mode optional
  • Improve compatibility with newer iOS versions
  • Add option to overlay readings
Show 3 more
  • Add zoom functionality for frequencies
  • Improve calibration for external mics
  • Add pink noise output

SA60

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

RTA

One-time2
  • STC -- Transmission Loss$9.99
  • Reference Curve Files$9.99
1 purchases

SA60

One-time1
  • RRS SA60 Unlimited$4.99

Questions

Is RTA free?
RTA costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is SA60 free?
SA60 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RTA or SA60?
SA60 is rated higher. RTA averages 3.9 out of 5 from 26 ratings, while SA60 averages 5.0 from 11 ratings.
Do RTA or SA60 have ads?
Neither RTA nor SA60 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RTA or SA60?
RTA ships an update every 3 months, and SA60 every 5 months. Most recently, RTA was updated on September 24, 2026 and SA60 on August 20, 2026.

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