Comparison

Skratcher vs Vinyl Layer

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

Head to head
About

Skratcher

Transform your device into a professional DJ setup. Load music, scratch vinyl, apply effects, and mix beats with realistic physics and low-latency audio. Record your sets and even connect with another device for a synchronized dual-deck experience.

Highlights
  • Realistic virtual turntable with touch scratching
  • Real-time audio effects suite
  • Sound effects pad with custom import
  • Crossfader with adjustable curves
  • Beat loop import and playback
  • Tempo and pitch control with Key Lock
  • Mix recording to WAV
Features
Read full description

Skratcher turns your iPhone or iPad into a full-featured DJ turntable. Load songs from your music library, scratch vinyl, mix beats, and perform live -- all with realistic turntable physics and low-latency audio. TURNTABLE & SCRATCHING Spin a realistic virtual platter with accurate 33-1/3 RPM rotation and touch-based scratching. Choose from three platter feel presets -- Snap, Medium, or Heavy (Technics 1200-style momentum) -- and switch between Smooth or Raw scratch texture to dial in your sound. A circular waveform display at the center of the jog wheel shows your position in the track in real time. EFFECTS & EQ Shape your sound with a suite of real-time audio effects: - Digital Delay with adjustable time, feedback, and mix - Bandpass Filter with an interactive 4-point curve editor - 10-Band Graphic EQ with LED-lit vertical faders - 3-Band EQ (Bass, Mid, Treble) - Reverb with 13 factory presets from Small Room to Epic Cathedral - Decimator (Bitcrusher) with 16 lo-fi presets including 8-Bit, AM Radio, and Broken Glitch SOUND EFFECTS PAD Trigger 12 built-in retro sound effects -- Horn, Stinger, Scratch, Backspin, Siren, Laser, Explosion, Alarm, Phone, Pew, Phaser, and Warp -- all generated by a procedural audio synthesis engine. Import your own sounds into custom SFX slots. CROSSFADER & TRANSFORMER Mix between your track and scratch samples using four crossfader curves: Scratch, Cut, Linear, and Constant Power. Enable Hamster Switch for reversed fader direction. The Transformer (XFRM) button provides instant audio cuts for advanced scratch techniques with sub-millisecond response. BEAT LOOPS Five built-in beat loops span Hip Hop (90 BPM), Boom Bap (85 BPM), Trap (140 BPM), House (120 BPM), and Breakbeat (100 BPM). Import your own loops from your music library or the Files app. SCRATCH SAMPLES Two built-in scratch samples (subject to change) plus the ability to import your own. Toggle between scratching the built-in/custom scratch samples or the main deck's audio. TEMPO & PITCH Automatic BPM detection analyzes every track on load. Key Lock lets you adjust tempo up to +/-50% while preserving pitch. Fine-tune pitch independently for beatmatching. RECORDING Record your DJ mixes to WAV using the built-in REC button. Load and replay your recordings directly in the app. MICROPHONE Connect a microphone for live DJ announcements and voice mixing with adjustable volume control. APPLE MUSIC Apple Music subscribers can browse, search, and load songs from the full Apple Music catalog. Non-subscribers can load 30-second preview clips for mixing. SHAZAM Identify the currently playing song with one tap. Shazam fetches the track title, artist, and album artwork automatically. LYRICS View time-synced lyrics as your track plays, powered by LRCLIB. Supports synced scrolling, plain text fallback, and instrumental track detection. P2P DUAL DECK MIXER Connect two iPhones on the same Wi-Fi network and turn them into a synchronized dual-deck DJ setup. Each device runs an independent turntable while sharing live audio, playback position, crossfader state, and cue points in real time. Hand one phone to a friend and mix back to back. CARPLAY Full CarPlay support lets you browse your library, select tracks, and control playback from your car's display. IMPORT & FILE SUPPORT Load audio from your music library or import files from Downloads, iCloud Drive, or other locations. Supports MP3, WAV, AIFF, M4A, FLAC, CAF, AC3, and more. DESIGNED FOR IPHONE & IPAD Landscape-optimized layout on iPhone with a center jog wheel and side control panels. Expanded iPad layout with a full mixer panel, larger touch targets, and dedicated effects controls. 46 LANGUAGES Fully localized in 46 languages. SCRATCH. MIX. CREATE.

About

Vinyl Layer

Enhance your music playback with the cozy texture of a spinning record. Choose from four distinct vinyl-inspired moods and adjust crackle and texture levels to create a unique listening experience. Designed to work with other audio apps, it offers a simple, beautiful interface.

Highlights
  • Four vinyl-inspired sound layers
  • Adjustable crackle and texture controls
  • Sleep timer
  • Background audio support
  • CarPlay support
  • No account or ads required
Features
Read full description

Vinyl Layer: Record Ambience adds a warm vinyl sound layer over the music you already play. Put on your favorite album, playlist, or late-night mix, then open Vinyl Layer and add the cozy texture of a record spinning nearby. It is simple, charming, and made for people who love the little imperfections that make music feel alive. Choose from four record-inspired moods: - Warm Lo-Fi: Soft haze and gentle wobble for mellow listening. - Clean LP: A subtle layer of warmth for crisp, polished tracks. - Dusty Thrift-Store: Found-bin crackle, age, and character. - Old Jazz: Smoky, low-lit record ambience for slower nights. Vinyl Layer is designed to mix with other audio apps, so you can play your music elsewhere and layer in just the right amount of record texture. Adjust the crackle level, shape the sound with texture controls, and set a sleep timer when the night starts getting soft around the edges. Features: - Four vinyl-inspired sound layers - Crackle control - Texture controls for dust, rumble, warp, and stereo feel - Timer - Background audio support - Simple, beautiful iPhone-first design - No account required - No ads - No tracking - CarPlay support for vinyl record sounds on the road For record lovers, playlist obsessives, lo-fi people, jazz-at-midnight people, and anyone who thinks music sounds better with a little dust on the needle.

Screenshots

Skratcher4 screens
Vinyl Layer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Vinyl Layer at Free against Skratcher's $4.99. Vinyl Layer also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 92 months). Skratcher's advantage is ratings volume (9 vs 1). On rating, 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

Vinyl Layer is free to download; Skratcher costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Skratcher against 5.0 for Vinyl Layer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Skratcher has 9 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Skratcher ships an update every 92 months, Vinyl Layer fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Skratcher versus Vinyl Layer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkratcherVinyl Layer
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (9 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews64.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 92 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMindArray Labs LLCIsaac Rose

In-app purchases

None

Skratcher

No in-app purchases

None

Vinyl Layer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Skratcher free?
Skratcher costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Vinyl Layer free?
Vinyl Layer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Skratcher or Vinyl Layer?
Skratcher and Vinyl Layer are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 9 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Skratcher or Vinyl Layer have ads?
Neither Skratcher nor Vinyl Layer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Skratcher or Vinyl Layer?
Skratcher ships an update every 92 months, and Vinyl Layer fortnightly. Most recently, Skratcher was updated on November 6, 2026 and Vinyl Layer on October 31, 2026.

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