Comparison

RISCy vs Retro Synth

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

Head to head
About

RISCy

Create unique electronic music and generative patterns with a visual synthesizer. Drag and drop tokens to build sound graphs, exploring sonic possibilities and hidden relationships. Ideal for experimental sound design.

Highlights
  • Drag and drop synthesizer interface
  • Live coding with limited instruction set
  • Build and manipulate synth graphs
  • Create noisy sounds and generative patterns
  • Discover hidden graph relationships
  • Reset and random start options
Features
Read full description

RISCy is a drag and drop synthesizer puzzle full of sonic perturbation. You live code via the limited instruction set in the lower part of the interface; drag out tokens to the top area to build your synth graph, drag a token back off the top area to remove it. Each token has an aural consequence, and some special tokens also change the nature of the hidden graph connecting active tokens; puzzling out these relationships is part of the fun. You'll be able to make lots of noisy sounds as well as generative sequenced patterns. Press ! to clear the graph and reset; press ? to get a random starting point. Download RISCy if you are open to stranger computer music sounds, and avoid it if you just want diatonic melodies and piano sounds!

About

Retro Synth

Create authentic retro music with this vintage-inspired synthesizer app. Explore sound design with tone controls and vibrato, or upgrade for premium waveforms and studio effects. Designed for instant musical creativity, it offers a portable music-making experience.

Highlights
  • Authentic vintage sound recreation
  • Tone control for sound shaping
  • Vibrato effect for musical expression
  • Zero latency real-time response
  • Premium waveforms (Sine, Sawtooth, Triangle)
  • Studio effects (Reverb, Delay)
  • MIDI export
Features
Read full description

Play a real pocket stylophone — then plug it straight into GarageBand. Retro Synth · Syntophone turns your device into a vintage touch-keyboard synthesizer, and now works as an AUv3 instrument inside GarageBand, Logic Pro, and AUM. Slide your finger across the keys and a warm, authentic square-wave synth comes to life. Learn built-in songs with light-up "follow the key" tutorials, record your ideas, and drop the instrument into your favorite music app — all from one tiny synth. Like the original, it plays one note at a time: one stylus, one note. Curious about Pro? Tap any locked sound and hear it free for 30 seconds. FREE FEATURES (Included at no cost): • Authentic Vintage Sound: faithfully recreates that iconic square-wave tone with modern precision. • Song Mode: learn songs with light-up "follow the key" tutorials, hold-to-repeat for repeated notes, and a star rating when you finish (2 songs free). • My Recordings: a full library to play back, rename, share, and delete your takes. • Metronome: a sample-accurate click with adjustable BPM and an accented downbeat to keep you in time. • AUv3 Instrument: use Syntophone as a plug-in inside GarageBand, Logic Pro, AUM and other AUv3 hosts. • Sound Controls: shape your tone from thin and bright to thick and warm, and add expression with vibrato. • Real-time Response: instant, zero-latency audio as you play. • Clean, minimalist design inspired by vintage hardware. SYNTOPHONE PRO (subscription): Upgrade to unlock the full studio: • Premium Waveforms: Sine, Sawtooth, and Triangle. • Studio Effects: high-quality Reverb and Delay. • Pro Sound Panel: a second detuned oscillator for a fatter analog tone, hands-on delay time & feedback controls, and live MIDI output — play GarageBand and other synth apps as a virtual MIDI keyboard. • 12 more built-in songs to learn. • MIDI Export: save and share your recordings as .mid files. WHY SYNTOPHONE? No setup, no menus to fight — open the app and make music immediately. Then, when you're ready, it becomes a plug-in in your studio. Note: The app includes an auto-renewable subscription (Syntophone Pro) for premium features. For Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

RISCy1 screens
Retro Synth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RISCy at none against Retro Synth's 3. RISCy also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). Retro Synth's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 39 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Retro Synth sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. RISCy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RISCy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 5 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RISCy ships an update every 39 months, Retro Synth every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
RISCy versus Retro Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRISCyRetro Synth
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3 ratings) — better4.2 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings35 — better
Update frequencyEvery 39 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoshua ParmenterKerem ERSU

Customer experience

RISCy

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.9%

Retro Synth

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

None

RISCy

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Retro Synth

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove ads$2.99

Questions

Is RISCy free?
RISCy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Retro Synth free?
Retro Synth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RISCy or Retro Synth?
RISCy is rated higher. RISCy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Retro Synth averages 4.2 from 5 ratings.
Do RISCy or Retro Synth have ads?
Neither RISCy nor Retro Synth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RISCy or Retro Synth?
RISCy ships an update every 39 months, and Retro Synth every 2 months. Most recently, RISCy was updated on November 1, 2026 and Retro Synth on October 30, 2026.

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