Comparison

Spike Recorder vs MU Safe

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

Head to head
About

Spike Recorder

Explore neuroscience with this app, allowing you to view, hear, record, and analyze neural signals from neurons and muscles. It provides tools for students of all ages to conduct hands-on electrophysiology experiments and understand brain communication.

Highlights
  • View neural signals
  • Hear neural signals
  • Record neural data
  • Analyze neural spike trains
  • Measure reaction times
  • Calculate neuroscience statistics
Read full description

Let’s face it. The brain is complex, but it is extremely fascinating. To study the brain, you typically have to be a graduate student at a major university. But not any more! Backyard Brains enables everyone to be a neuroscientist! Coupled with our SpikerBox you can order at: http://backyardbrains.com this app allows you to view, hear, record and analyze actual neural signals. Both from individual neurons and muscles. Backyard Brains provides affordable neuroscience experiment kits for students of all ages to learn (hands-on) about electrophysiology. Now everyone from schoolchildren to grad students and every grade in between can experiment with similar tools used by real neuroscientists worldwide! By following a few simple steps, everyone can experience first-hand how the brain communicates with our senses, memories, hopes, and desires. Our iOS application includes both long continuous and threshold views, and once you have recorded your data, you can analyze the neural spike trains, measure reaction times, and calculate statistics just like professional neuroscientists! Do let us know us know about your experiments. Note: The application normally picks up input through the the iPhone's built-in microphone. If you want to plug directly into your SpikerBox, or any audio device, you need a custom male-to-male headphone cable (a normal one won't work), available from our website. It has to do with routing and filtering an output channel to an input channel.

About

MU Safe

Features
Read full description

MU Safe was designed by three Mercer Engineering students (Taiyah Lockett, Jacob Just-Buddy, and Corbin Jones), as their senior design project. The app was designed to better enable students to stay safe on campus and to report dangerous/suspicious incidents more easily. Programming was done by Taiyah Lockett, Jacob Just-Buddy, Corbin Jones, and Dr. Ekong. This app is maintained by Dr. Ekong and students in his Mobile Application Development course.

Screenshots

Spike Recorder3 screens
MU Safe3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: MU Safe at every 3 days against Spike Recorder's every 4 months. Spike Recorder's advantage is iOS requirement (9.2 vs 13.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spike Recorder ships an update every 4 months, MU Safe every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on July 29, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Spike Recorder versus MU Safe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpike RecorderMU Safe
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (17 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews61.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings17 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.2 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBackyard BrainsDonald Ekong

In-app purchases

None

Spike Recorder

No in-app purchases

None

MU Safe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spike Recorder free?
Spike Recorder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MU Safe free?
MU Safe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Spike Recorder or MU Safe have ads?
Neither Spike Recorder nor MU Safe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spike Recorder or MU Safe?
Spike Recorder ships an update every 4 months, and MU Safe every 3 days. Most recently, Spike Recorder was updated on July 29, 2026 and MU Safe on September 7, 2026.

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