MIDIKeys vs midimittr
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MIDIKeys
This app acts as a virtual MIDI keyboard controller, allowing you to send MIDI messages to synthesizer apps and hardware. It offers customizable velocity, octave transposition, and tilt controls for expression.
- Virtual MIDI keyboard
- Send MIDI messages
- Octave transposition
- Adjustable velocity
- Tilt expression control
- Customizable MIDI channel
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MIDIKeys is a MIDI keyboard controller that can be used to send MIDI messages to synthesizer apps and hardware MIDI synthesizers. MIDIKeys doesn't produce any sound on its own, it is for playing hardware or software VST-style MIDI synthesizers via MIDI hardware interfaces connected to the iPhone dock connector or virtual MIDI instruments like IK Multimedia SampleTank® for iOS or ThumbJam running in the background on your iPhone. The entire range may be transposed up or down (up to a three octave limit) by touching the 8va -/+ buttons on the main screen. Touching the display for the transpose value between the octave shift buttons resets the transpose to C3 (60). Both fixed or variable note MIDI Note On event velocity based on touch position within the key are available as options on the settings page. While playing, you may also optionally send real-time volume, expression, modulation, or wind controller MIDI messages by tilting the iPhone/iPod Touch to the right or left. Set the transmit channel using the MIDI Channel slider. Any channel from 1-16 may be selected. Channel 1 is the default. Choose between "Omni" sending MIDI data to all CoreMIDI apps or "Virtual Port" sending to a named CoreMIDI virtual output port. When the "Virtual Port option is selected, MIDIKeys will show up as an input option labeled "MIDIKeys" in apps that support virtual ports like Sonosaurus ThumbJam and MIDIBridge. "Omni" mode is selected by default. Note-on events may be sent with either a fixed or variable velocity based on where you touch on the key. Set the maximum velocity using the Velocity slider. Any value from 0-127 may be selected. Default value is 100. Select between fixed or variable velocity mapped to the touch position using the selector. When the velocity is mapped to touch, the minimum velocity is approximately 10% of the value set on the Velocity slider and the max is 100% of the value. Touching lower or higher on the key (area below the black keys only for the white keys) results in lower or higher velocity values sent in the MIDI Note On event for the key. Black key highest velocity starts at the bottom of the key and gets lower as you touch higher. MIDIKeys can send Volume, Expression, Modulation, or Breath Control message by tilting the device to the right or left. Select a controller on the Tilt Controller selector. Default is no controller messages. When a controller is enabled, tilting the device to the right or left will send the selected controller messages to the external device. Values increase as the device is tilted farther to the right. You may set the tilt sensitivity using the Tilt Sensitivity slider. The range is from 1 to 4, with higher values being more sensitive. Default value is 1.5. If you ever have "stuck" notes, you may touch the "Shhh" icon on the main screen to send a MIDI "All Notes Off" message and stop the sounds. All settings are saved when exiting MIDIKeys and restored the next time it is run.
midimittr
This app enables low-latency MIDI connections to iOS music applications via Bluetooth LE or USB. It routes virtual MIDI ports to external devices, allowing seamless wireless or wired integration with compatible software.
- Low-latency MIDI over Bluetooth LE
- MIDI over USB connection
- Routes virtual MIDI ports
- Connects to other MIDI devices wirelessly
- Remembers routing settings
- Works in background
- MIDI over Lightning cable support
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midimittr is a simple utility to deliver the experience of low-latency MIDI over Bluetooth LE/USB to iOS Music apps that support MIDI. To achieve this, midimittr is routing the virtual ports of supported applications to Bluetooth and/or the USB Ports. If your favourite application is supporting MIDI, it will most likely work with midimittr. Bluetooth over MIDI is supported in iOS 8+ and a feature of OS X Yosemite 10.10+. For more information please check out the support page. ---- - Connect to other Bluetooth MIDI Hardware, iOS or macOS devices wirelessly - Remembers previous routing settings for an uninterrupted workflow - Works in background - Get even lower latency with MIDI over Lightning cable* - Support for both iPad and iPhone ---- *For MIDI over Lightning cable please download the tool from the support page.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: midimittr at 4.5 against MIDIKeys's 3.4. midimittr also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 70%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). MIDIKeys's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
midimittr holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 50 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of MIDIKeys's written reviews are positive against 91% of midimittr's.
MIDIKeys ships an update every 6 weeks, midimittr every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MIDIKeys | midimittr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (16 ratings) | 4.5 (50 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | 91.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 50 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Eskin | Matthias Frick |
Customer experience
MIDIKeys
midimittr
Bugs and requests
MIDIKeys
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
midimittr
Reported bugs
6 issues- 'IOS Audio' crashes app on M1 Mac
- Disables iPad as audio input on M1 Mac
- Connection problem with older iOS and Yamaha MD-BT01
- Toggles not visible on iPad mini
- App keeps giving pop-ups asking to turn on Bluetooth
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- Only one device gets MIDI back when two are connected
Requested features
5 requests- Auto-reconnect for Bluetooth
- Logging function with freeze/save and filter
- Dark mode
- Audio transmitting as in-app purchase
- Option for client BT connections to auto-connect
In-app purchases
MIDIKeys
No in-app purchases
midimittr
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MIDIKeys free?
Is midimittr free?
Which has better reviews, MIDIKeys or midimittr?
Do MIDIKeys or midimittr have ads?
Which is updated more often, MIDIKeys or midimittr?
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