Pianist Pro vs WiDI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pianist Pro
This virtual piano app for iPad offers photo-realistic graphics and professional sound. It includes full recording, MIDI control, and a variety of built-in instruments and effects to help musicians create and perform.
- Full recording and overdub facility
- Live MIDI control
- Standard MIDI File import/export
- 16 professionally recorded instruments
- Built-in effects, arpeggiator, and drum machine
- 88 key configurable keyboard layout
- Scale Piano interface
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As featured in the Apple 'Your Verse' and 'iPad is Musical' TV Ads, recommended by The New York Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, Rolling Stone Magazine, and played live by legendary band Squeeze on the Jimmy Fallon show (NBC). --To take your compositions to the next level, be sure to check out our amazing new Digital Audio Workstation app for iPad: Looptical Music Studio-- Pianist, the ORIGINAL iPhone piano, turns Professional for the iPad with photo-realistic graphics and an unbelievable sound. Pianist Pro was the number one music app for the iPad at release. MAIN FEATURES ============= - Full recording and overdub facility. - Live MIDI control of external synths via CoreMidi, USB, Network MIDI, OSC or DSMI. - Standard MIDI File import and export. - Audio (WAV) file export. - 16 professionally recorded instruments (pianos, organs, guitars, synths). - Built-in effects, arpeggiator and drum machine. - Soft and Sustain pedals, and velocity based on key strike position. - A full 88 key Single or dual keyboard layout with configurable key size. - Onscreen pitch bend, modulation and swell pedal controls. - Vibrato and Low-Pass Filter. Pianist Pro is a virtual piano designed specifically for the iPad, with the same great interface and style that has made Pianist the best known piano on the iPhone, and a whole host of new features too. It features full MIDI import and export capability, allowing you to record song ideas while on the road and export them via MIDI to your Digital Audio Workstation back at the studio. You can also use Pianist Pro as a great master MIDI keyboard, either with USB, CoreMIDI, or via Wi-Fi. Drive your soft or hard synths wirelessly from the sofa, or from another room. Pianist Pro can even be used as a MIDI sound source, driven by an external hardware keyboard. A built-in arpeggiator allows the user to create perfectly timed runs just by holding down a few keys, and complex patterns of notes and chords can be programmed into the arpeggiator and played back live. Pianist Pro makes it easy to play shuffle-beat blues piano, complete with walking bassline and overlayed jazz chords - all by simply holding down a single chord. Changing the chord changes the melody but maintains the tight rhythm provided by the arpeggiator. A drum machine offers an elegantly simple interface for adding rhythm, with a choice of drum kits to suit a range of musical styles. While a delay effect can be used to bring energy and interest to a synth bassline, or guitar or piano riff. The 'Scale Piano' interface allows the user to select a musical scale from a large choice of presets (eg. Natural Minor or Pentatonic Blues) or define their own scales from scratch. Notes and runs on that scale can then be played back in any key, simply by sliding a finger up and down a virtual touch-pad on-screen. Musicians at all levels have raved about Pianist Pro. Visit our website (moocowmusic.com) for demonstration videos, a full description of functionality including the user manual, and more screenshots. If you require assistance, please click on the support link. We aim to answer all emails within 24 hours.
WiDI
Create custom MIDI control surfaces and an integrated step sequencer to send MIDI events and play sequences. Connect to MIDI instruments and DAWs via network sessions or class-compliant interfaces. Automate control values with advanced modulation options.
- Customizable control surface (buttons, pads, knobs, faders)
- Integrated step sequencer with multiple tracks
- MIDI Network Session support for DAWs
- Auto-discover MIDI CC numbers
- Automate CC values with step modulator
- Support for class-compliant MIDI interfaces
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WiDI is a control surface with an integrated step sequencer in which you create controls such as buttons, pads, knobs and faders to send MIDI events and play sequences. • CONTROL SURFACE AND SEQUENCER: A control is bound to a channel and a specific MIDI Control Change. You can either specify the CC number if you know it, or let the app learn it. Once placed on the surface, use this control to interact with your MIDI device. Alternatively, any CC event sent by your device will be shown live by the control(s) bound to this CC. Pads are special controls: they can either produce MIDI CC events, Notes or Program changes. If bound to a CC, the pad can act as an on/off switch (you specify the values for each state.) If bound to a note, each tap produces the specified MIDI note. This is especially useful to operate MIDI instruments without keyboards such as synthesizer modules or drum machines. A sequence can hold as many tracks as you wish, and send notes to different MIDI channels. Sequences can play in sync or running freely. You may also group sequences together to start or pause them at the same time. • MIDI: To interface WiDI with any MIDI instruments/devices connected to your Mac or PC, connect to a MIDI Network Session on your Mac or your PC. On a Mac, this is natively supported by macOS, and you do not need to install third party software (use Audio MIDI Setup.) On a PC running Windows, you might want to install rtpMIDI. As an alternative to MIDI Network Sessions, you may use the WiDI Desktop Application. It acts as a MIDI bridge between the network and your MIDI hardware. You can install the desktop application on as many computers as you want (it's free!). It's a very lightweight package that doesn't need to perform any installation procedure whatsoever. You may download the WiDI Desktop Application for macOS on the Mac App Store, or go to : https://www.hypertide.com/widi/ for both macOS and Windows archives. Additionally, any class-compliant MIDI interface natively supported by iOS can also be used directly by WiDI without the need of a network connection. • FEATURES: ○ Use any CoreMIDI-supported MIDI interface connected to your device ○ MIDI network session: use WiDI as an external control surface for any DAW such as Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Cubase, ... ○ Multiple iPhone and iPad can connect to your computer, allowing different control surfaces simultaneously ○ Integrated step sequencer: create sequences, each one holding as many tracks as needed ○ Sequences can run freely or in sync and start simultaneously if grouped together in fire groups ○ Auto discover MIDI CC : you don't need to know each one to add controls, WiDI learns CC numbers sent by your devices ○ Automate CC : sweep ranges or use the step modulator to design patterns to modulate controls values, supporting various advanced options like step-by-step or smooth variations, bouncing, repeating, changing speed ○ Add as many pads as you want to generate MIDI Notes, Control Changes or Program Changes ○ Flexible control surface : set layout and grid size for both portrait and landscape orientations ○ Re-arranging controls is as simple as drag & drop ○ Fully customizable user interface : themes, colors, display of values and labels, aspect ratios, grid spacing, grid coloring, background, ... ○ Integrated File Manager to load and save your surfaces, which are also accessible in the iOS Files app and your computer's iTunes connection ○ Exchange surfaces between devices with the integrated QR code generator and scanner ○ Or use the share feature, so you may import them on any device. We'd love to hear from you! Should you be in need of support or eager to request a new feature, please contact us at support+widi@hypertide.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: WiDI at 4.4 against Pianist Pro's 3.7. WiDI also leads on price ($1.99 vs $4.99) and device support (3 vs 1). Pianist Pro's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 10.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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
Pianist Pro costs $4.99 and WiDI $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
WiDI holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Pianist Pro's written reviews are positive against 80% of WiDI's.
Pianist Pro ships an update every 2 weeks, WiDI every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pianist Pro | WiDI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) | 4.4 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.8% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 8 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 10.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 116 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MooCowMusic Ltd. | HYPERTIDE SAS |
Customer experience
Pianist Pro
WiDI
In-app purchases
Pianist Pro
No in-app purchases
WiDI
No in-app purchases









