Comparison

Sound Byte Cart Machine App vs Go Button

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

Head to head
About

Sound Byte Cart Machine App

This app provides a digital cart machine for playing sound clips on mobile devices. It's ideal for live events like theater, sports, or DJing, allowing easy management and playback of audio files without needing a computer.

Highlights
  • Digital cart machine for audio playback
  • Manage and control sound files
  • Ideal for live events and productions
  • Customizable cart appearance and behavior
  • Adjustable playback settings (fade, volume, rate)
  • Looping and sequential playback options
  • Logging of played carts
Features
Read full description

Looking for a way to play sound clips at a theater or sporting events, as a DJ, or at other events? Don’t want to lug a computer around with you? With Sound Byte, the so-called "cart machine" used at radio stations in the past is now available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Whether you're programming a radio show or amateur podcast, adding spice to the commentary at a local sporting event, controlling sound effects for a theater production, or simply organizing your personal playlist, Sound Byte lets you manage and control playback of your audio files. Sound Byte is perfect for: Radio, podcast and TV productions - have ads, announcements, songs and sound effects at your fingertips. Theater Productions - play any sound effect on cue. Sports Events - jazz up the commentary for your home team with sound effects each time they score. Sound Byte supports up to 20 racks of carts, or up to 1500 recordings total (420 on the iPhone/iPod). You can set the number of racks in use, so you don’t have to deal with empty, unused racks. Using Sound Byte is easy - just tap a cart, and playback of the audio file begins. You can set the title of each cart, as well as the background color. Optionally, you can have the app automatically change cart colors based on their state: empty, loaded, playing, and already played. Carts can also be numbered if you wish, and you can mark carts with a bright red border to make them easier to find, to play next. Fade in and out times can be set, as well as the cut in and cut out times, the playback volume, stereo pan, and rate. The volume of carts can be set while they are playing, and you can set the volume up to 200%, in case you have some recordings that are at too low of a level for normal playback. Carts can be set to loop a specified number of times - great for sound effects! Carts can be set to flash a user configured number of seconds before they finish playing, so you can get ready to play the next one. Interactions between carts can also be controlled - touching a cart to start it can optionally cause currently playing carts to stop playback or fade out. You can even set carts up to play sequentially, so once one ends, the next one starts playing. Carts that have been played can be marked as such, as well as disabled, if you only want to play a cart once. You can also log the name and time of played carts to a text file that you can copy back to your computer to view. This log can also be viewed from within the app. Several sizes of carts are supported, so you can display fewer larger carts to make playback control even easier. Sound Byte plays sound files from your Music Library. Note that sound files stored on iCloud cannot be played, they must be stored on your device. Sound Byte also plays sound files that you have installed in the Documents folder, which you can access via the iTunes app. Note that the screenshots are for illustration only, so you can see how the app works. Sound Byte does not come with any sound files, you'll need to supply your own. Please see http://www.blackcatsystems.com/ipad/iPad_SoundByte_FAQ.html for a full description of how to use the app. Buy your copy of Sound Byte now, and get complete control over playback of your sound effects and other files.

About

Go Button

This app provides professional audio playback for live events. Easily trigger music and sound effects simultaneously or in sequence. It offers advanced controls for volume, pan, speed, and pitch, with remote control options and robust file import capabilities.

Highlights
  • Play multiple sounds simultaneously
  • Sequence sounds with a GO button
  • Ad-libbed sound triggers
  • Auto-stop, fade, loop, duck
  • Independent cue controls
  • Import audio files
  • Remote control via Bluetooth/MIDI/OSC
Features
Read full description

Easy sound playback for your live show! From the makers of QLab™. SIMPLE AND CONSISTENT - Incredibly easy to run your show - just press GO. - Play your music and sound effects at the same time. - Take your show anywhere! Runs on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. - Free to build 1 show. Unlock unlimited shows with a one-time In-App Purchase. USE IT FOR - Theater - Dance Recitals - Weddings - Church Services - Puppetry - Magic Shows SUPPORT - Friendly help when you need it! - Contact Support from the in-app sidebar, or email support@figure53.com. - Complete documentation online at gobutton.app/docs. NEWS AND UPDATES - groups.google.com/g/gobutton - twitter.com/gobuttonapp FEATURES • Play multiple sounds at the same time. • Play a list of sounds in sequence by tapping the "GO" button. • Play ad-libbed sounds with always-ready "Hit" buttons. • Auto-stop, fade in, fade out, loop, duck, and more. • Adjust volume, pan, speed, and pitch independently for every cue. • Import your audio files and share shows via AirDrop or the iOS Files app. • Remote control with Bluetooth and MIDI. • OSC control API for remote triggering from QLab or other OSC sources. • Passcode lock your shows to prevent unauthorized edits. • Ultra-efficient & low latency playback built on core iOS technologies. • Supports DRM-free WAV, AIFF, M4A, AAC, MP3, MOV, 3GP, CAF, and FLAC. • Requires iOS 15 or later. Produced by Figure 53.

Screenshots

Sound Byte Cart Machine App4 screens
Go Button4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Go Button at Free against Sound Byte Cart Machine App's $5.99. Go Button also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (89% vs 64%). Sound Byte Cart Machine App's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, 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

Go Button is free to download; Sound Byte Cart Machine App costs $5.99 up front. Go Button sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sound Byte Cart Machine App asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Go Button holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 158 and 174 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Sound Byte Cart Machine App's written reviews are positive against 89% of Go Button's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sound Byte Cart Machine App ships an update every 3 months, Go Button every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Sound Byte Cart Machine App versus Go Button: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSound Byte Cart Machine AppGo Button
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (158 ratings)4.6 (174 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.4% of reviews89.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings158174 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlack Cat SystemsFigure 53

Customer experience

Sound Byte Cart Machine App

All ratings158 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative17.7%
Written reviews149 reviews
Positive64.4%
Neutral6.0%
Negative29.5%

Go Button

All ratings174 ratings
Positive89.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews113 reviews
Positive89.4%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.3%

Bugs and requests

Sound Byte Cart Machine App

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes when accessing music library (iOS 13+)
  • Crashes when tapping Setup or Music Library on iPhone 13
  • Blank screen display on iOS 26.1
  • Cart setup crashes after recent updates
  • Crashes when loading song list
Show 13 more
  • Sound files not displaying in alphabetical order
  • App hangs and becomes unresponsive
  • Crashes on iPad when importing tracks
  • Sound distortion with cart rate feature
  • Music not playing on iPad despite files being present
  • App crashes when adding new music
  • Crashes on iOS 13.6.1 and later versions
  • Sound fades in and out unexpectedly
  • App freezes during live use
  • Performance lag after linking multiple buttons
  • Cart colors not persisting after selection
  • Files disappearing from cart buttons
  • Incompatibility with Catalina macOS update

Requested features

22 requests
  • Mac OS version
  • Exportable rack setups for multiple devices
  • Alphabetical sorting of music library
  • Backup and restore functionality
  • Cloud sync across devices (iCloud)
Show 17 more
  • Dropbox and Google Drive integration
  • Split-screen iPad support
  • Interapp Audio (IAA) and Audiobus support
  • Larger stop button to prevent accidental triggers
  • Volume slider control
  • Pause, rewind, and fast-forward controls
  • Ability to duplicate entire carts
  • Default cart color settings
  • Improved color picker (grid instead of wheel)
  • Direct iPad file importing without PC/Mac
  • Support for .wav files
  • Ability to load ringtones
  • Sequential track triggering (one track starts next)
  • Improved cart rate feature quality
  • Adaptive resolution for modern iPhones
  • Larger buttons for iPhone version
  • Better documentation and updated FAQ

Go Button

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Sound Byte Cart Machine App

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Go Button

One-time1
  • Pro License$99.99

Questions

Is Sound Byte Cart Machine App free?
Sound Byte Cart Machine App costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Go Button free?
Go Button is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sound Byte Cart Machine App or Go Button?
Go Button is rated higher. Sound Byte Cart Machine App averages 4.1 out of 5 from 158 ratings, while Go Button averages 4.6 from 174 ratings.
Do Sound Byte Cart Machine App or Go Button have ads?
Neither Sound Byte Cart Machine App nor Go Button shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sound Byte Cart Machine App or Go Button?
Sound Byte Cart Machine App ships an update every 3 months, and Go Button every 6 weeks. Most recently, Sound Byte Cart Machine App was updated on September 21, 2026 and Go Button on September 17, 2026.

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