Comparison

RTA vs Octave RTA

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
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

Octave RTA

This real-time audio analysis app provides precision measurement and visualization for sound. It's designed for musicians and recording engineers, but useful for anyone interested in sound, especially for room or speaker tuning.

Highlights
  • Full, 1/3, and 1/6 Octave analysis
  • Adjustable FFT Size
  • Fast, Slow, and Infinite Averaging
  • Flat, A, and C weighted modes
  • Snapshot overlay for comparison
  • Lock mode for peak band tracking
Read full description

***** "I use this app when sound checking, does the job, nice & simple to use, can't fault it." - Colin Challinor Octave RTA is a powerful real-time audio analysis app. Designed with musicians and recording engineers in mind, it can also be used by anyone interested in the world of sound. Ideal for room tuning or speaker tuning, the app enables portable, precision audio measurement and visualization. Feature Highlights: ● Full, 1/3 and 1/6 Octave ● FFT Size (2048 to 16384 points) ● Fast, Slow (exponential) and Infinite Averaging ● Toggle between Flat, A and C weighted modes ● Snapshot overlay for quick comparison ● Lock mode to auto track peak band ● Pan to adjust visible dB range ● iPhone X ready Audio credits: "Basement Floor" and "Enchanted Journey" by Kevin MacLeod

Screenshots

RTA4 screens
Octave RTA2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Octave RTA at none against RTA's 2. Octave RTA also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (81% vs 61%). RTA's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 17 months) and price ($4.99 vs $9.99). On ads and device support 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

RTA costs $4.99 and Octave RTA $9.99 up front. RTA sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Octave RTA asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Octave RTA holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Octave RTA has 154 ratings behind it against 27, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of RTA's written reviews are positive against 81% of Octave RTA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RTA ships an update every 3 months, Octave RTA every 17 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
RTA versus Octave RTA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRTAOctave RTA
Price$4.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.0 (27 ratings)4.4 (154 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.0% of reviews80.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings27154 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 17 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrew SmithONYX Apps

Customer experience

RTA

All ratings26 ratings
Positive73.1%
Neutral11.5%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews118 reviews
Positive61.0%
Neutral11.0%
Negative28.0%

Octave RTA

All ratings152 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.3%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews145 reviews
Positive80.7%
Neutral9.7%
Negative9.7%

User reviews

RTA

From 27 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Good for quick analysis
  • 👍 Accurate for price
  • 👍 Useful for tuning
  • 👍 Professional tool

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Freezes often
  • 🐛 Incompatible with iOS updates
  • 🐛 Screen display issues
  • 🐛 Battery drain

Octave RTA

From 154 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate and precise measurements
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 💡 Great tool for sound engineers
  • 💰 Good value for money
  • ✅ Works well for feedback detection

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Screen flashing/blinking issue
  • 🐛 Gain adjustment not working
  • 🐛 Microphone permission issues
  • 🐛 Lack of advanced features
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance across devices

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

Octave RTA

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Screen flashing/blinking on iPads
  • Gain slider not working on some devices
  • Microphone permission not appearing in settings
  • App not working on iOS 14.2
  • Display unstable and flashes wildly
Show 2 more
  • Screen flashing when iPad is flipped 180 degrees
  • App flickering after updates

Requested features

22 requests
  • Increase graph resolution (e.g., to 3dB)
  • Alternative input sound sources (e.g., lightning audio)
  • Standalone Mac app
  • Alternative input sound sources (e.g., line in)
  • Ability to switch to line input
Show 17 more
  • Save and manage frequency graphs as snapshots
  • Add a simple sine wave tone generator
  • Screen grab feature for graphs
  • Ability to record or save data with descriptions
  • Option to change display colors
  • More advanced features
  • Signal generator function
  • 1/12th octave resolution
  • Ability to work with a higher range of dB
  • Zoom functionality for graphs
  • 12th and 24th Oct smoothing
  • Ability to choose between line and mic inputs on external sound cards
  • Gain parameter control
  • Normalization or sensitivity adjustment
  • Higher resolution (e.g., 1/12 octave)
  • Save and manage held frequency graphs
  • Text description for screenshots

In-app purchases

2 purchases

RTA

One-time2
  • STC -- Transmission Loss$9.99
  • Reference Curve Files$9.99
None

Octave RTA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RTA free?
RTA costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Octave RTA free?
Octave RTA costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RTA or Octave RTA?
Octave RTA is rated higher. RTA averages 4.0 out of 5 from 27 ratings, while Octave RTA averages 4.4 from 154 ratings.
Do RTA or Octave RTA have ads?
Neither RTA nor Octave RTA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RTA or Octave RTA?
RTA ships an update every 3 months, and Octave RTA every 17 months. Most recently, RTA was updated on October 24, 2026 and Octave RTA on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons