Comparison

Music Spectrograph vs OctaveScope

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

Head to head
About

Music Spectrograph

Visually reverse engineer sound and music in real-time with a live MIDI piano roll displaying pitch and frequency. Slow down or stop audio to analyze musical patterns, aiding in music transcription and learning.

Highlights
  • Real-time MIDI piano roll
  • Pitch and frequency visualization
  • Slow down and stop audio
  • Music transcription aid
  • Adjustable playback speed
  • Color-coded pitch graph
Features
Read full description

Music Spectrograph allows you to visually reverse engineer sound and music, in real-time. See a live MIDI piano roll showing pitch and frequency. When playing music files, you can slow down, and even stop sound in time. Music Spectrograph is being using in college music programs to aid in learning music transcription. The Hotpaw Music Spectrograph presents a high-resolution scrolling spectrogram as you listen, so that you can see these patterns in sound and music, as well as how sound corresponds to notes on a piano keyboard. This piano alignment makes it far easier to spot which frequencies in sounds correspond to which musical notes. Features include: - 12th-octave MIDI-pitch-centered spectrograph (also called a sonogram) - Usable with live audio, tunes from your iOS device's music library, or a file downloaded via a URL (web address) - Records up to a 4 minute spectrograph history you can stop, scroll back and review - Slow Down music files by up to 8X, or speed music up by 3X to skip sections faster - Stop music in time, and still hear the music frequencies present via re-synthesis (scroll back a little in time to bring up the ReSynth switch). - Play tunes in mono, left or right channel only, or with center-panned vocals reduced - Color the pitch graph to see if notes are in-tune or out-of-tune - Color the spectrograph for loudness, or graph in black-and-white or with Pastel colors - Mid-pitch filtering to remove some of the higher overtones Use the Input? button to select a tune from your library (DRM protected iTunes files not supported). Use the Gear button to select among several viewing modes. There's a volume control to manually set the sensitivity threshold. Stop playing or recording to scroll back and review or resynthesize sound. Touch the keyboard during resynthesis to isolate one note. For many musical sounds, this app will show you many overtones and harmonics, not just the fundamental pitch of notes. Some musical experience is required to tell musical notes from their overtones and harmonic frequencies.

About

OctaveScope

Features
Read full description

OctaveScope – Visualize Piano Inharmonicity The OctaveScope Real-Time Audio Analyzer turns your iPhone or iPad into a powerful real-time oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer for music, acoustics, and tuning. Designed for musicians, piano tuners and technicians and the simply curious; it gives you a clear view of sound in both the time and frequency domains. Features • Live Microphone Capture – View incoming audio instantly with low-latency processing. • Waveform Oscilloscope – Inspect raw waveforms and filtered harmonics in real time. • FFT Deconvolution – Analyze fundamental tones and harmonic overtones with precision. • Octave Sizing – Widths from 2:1 to 10:5. • Harmonic Tracking – See multiples of the fundamental frequency (2×, 3×, 4×, etc.) with dedicated filters. • Dark Mode – Clear high-contrast visuals. • Educational & Practical – Great for music practice, instrument tuning, and exploring the science of sound. • Flat-Sharp indicators to visualize intonation. With OctaveScope, you can watch sound unfold — from raw waveforms to harmonic structure — right in your hand. Unlock the beauty of an accurately tuned piano scale with OctaveScope.

Screenshots

Music Spectrograph2 screens
OctaveScope3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Music Spectrograph at $9.99 against OctaveScope's $24.99. Music Spectrograph also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 10 months) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 18.5). On 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

Music Spectrograph costs $9.99 and OctaveScope $24.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Music Spectrograph ships an update every 6 weeks, OctaveScope every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Music Spectrograph versus OctaveScope: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusic SpectrographOctaveScope
Price$9.99 — better$24.99
Rating2.5 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 10 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.4 — better18.5
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHotPaw ProductionsRichard Barber

In-app purchases

None

Music Spectrograph

No in-app purchases

None

OctaveScope

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Music Spectrograph free?
Music Spectrograph costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is OctaveScope free?
OctaveScope costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Music Spectrograph or OctaveScope have ads?
Neither Music Spectrograph nor OctaveScope shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Music Spectrograph or OctaveScope?
Music Spectrograph ships an update every 6 weeks, and OctaveScope every 10 months. Most recently, Music Spectrograph was updated on October 17, 2026 and OctaveScope on October 28, 2026.

Other comparisons