Spike Recorder vs DAC App
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spike Recorder
This app allows students, educators, and researchers to record and analyze electrical signals from nerves and muscles using compatible hardware. It offers various workspaces for examining data, measuring spike counts, and comparing frequency bands. Users can customize channel settings, create named events, and save recordings for later analysis.
- Record nerve and muscle electrical signals
- Save and analyze recordings
- Signal, Spike, Events, and Spectrum workspaces
- Measure spike counts and rates
- Create and mark named events
- Customize channel settings and filters
- Browse and share saved recordings
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Spike Recorder brings hands-on neuroscience recording and analysis to students, educators and researchers. Use compatible Backyard Brains hardware to explore electrical signals from nerves and muscles. Record signals from multiple channels, save recordings, and open them for playback and analysis. Use the Signal, Spike, Events and Spectrum workspaces to examine your data. Measure spike counts and rates for each selected spike train, or compare average power in frequency bands such as alpha. Create named events with colors and keyboard shortcuts. Mark events with on-screen buttons while recording, and keep their names visible on the signal. Adjust channel types, names, colors and filters to suit your experiment. Browse saved recordings with waveform previews, then open, rename or share a recording. New NWB recordings preserve supported channel settings, spike selections, event details and each screen’s scales. Hardware compatibility and connection options vary by device. Explore Backyard Brains experiment kits and learning resources at https://backyardbrains.com.
DAC App
This free application simplifies the recording of student audio responses for specific AP exams. It streamlines the process for both students and proctors, and automatically uploads audio files for school staff. Designed for use on school-issued iPads.
- Record audio responses for AP exams
- Simplify recording process
- Intuitive interface for students
- Streamline post-exam tasks
- Direct upload of audio files
- Designed for school-owned iPads
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The Digital Audio Capture (DAC) app is a free app developed by College Board and ETS to use for recording students’ audio responses for the AP Music Theory Exam and AP French, German, Italian, and Spanish Language and Culture Exams. This app has been developed to simplify the recording process for students and proctors, utilizing current technology that is intuitive to most students. It streamlines post-exam tasks for school staff by directly uploading student audio files after recording. School staff will follow the instructions in the 2025-26 AP Exam Instructions book to administer an exam using the DAC app. NOTE: The DAC app is limited for use on school-owned and -controlled iPad tablets (iOS 15.0 and above). Schools must update to the 2026 version of the DAC app; previous versions of the app will not work in 2026.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Spike Recorder at 3.4 against DAC App's 1.8. Spike Recorder also leads on review sentiment (62% vs 20%) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 12 months). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Spike Recorder holds the better App Store score, 3.4 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Spike Recorder's written reviews are positive against 20% of DAC App's.
Spike Recorder ships an update every 3 months, DAC App every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spike Recorder | DAC App |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (17 ratings) — better | 1.8 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 61.5% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Backyard Brains | Educational Testing Service |
Customer experience
Spike Recorder
DAC App
In-app purchases
Spike Recorder
No in-app purchases
DAC App
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Spike Recorder free?
Is DAC App free?
Which has better reviews, Spike Recorder or DAC App?
Do Spike Recorder or DAC App have ads?
Which is updated more often, Spike Recorder or DAC App?
Other comparisons
