Comparison

PixelWave vs WaveCloud

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

Head to head
About

PixelWave

Create unique sounds with an experimental wavetable synthesizer featuring a retro pixel interface. Draw custom waveforms, choose from presets, and adjust octaves. Export your creations and integrate with other music apps.

Highlights
  • Draw custom waveforms
  • Export to WAV
  • Nine predefined waveforms
  • Changeable octaves (2-6)
  • MIDI keyboard support
  • Audiobus and IAA support
Features
Read full description

PixelWave is an experimental wavetable synth with old school pixel interface. Key features: • it is possible to draw waveform and play it at the same time; • export to WAV; • nine predefined waveforms; • changeable number of octaves (from 2 to 6); • MIDI keyboard support; • Audiobus and IAA support.

About

WaveCloud

This app offers advanced tools for manipulating audio samples into unique sounds. It allows for precise control over tiny audio fragments, enabling the creation of diverse textures, effects, and soundscapes. Features include a morphing oscillator, LFOs, filters, and unique movement modules.

Highlights
  • Granular synthesis engine
  • Morphing oscillator
  • Orbit and WaveGlide modules
  • MPE support
  • Built-in effects suite
  • Audio editor and managers
  • 200+ presets
Features
Read full description

WaveCloud is an innovative granular synthesizer that offers powerful tools for manipulating and playing sounds. Granular synthesis divides an audio sample into tiny fragments, called grains, each typically a few milliseconds in length. These grains are then manipulated independently in terms of pitch, duration, position in time, and amplitude. Unlike traditional synthesis, the capability to manipulate tiny grains of audio offers enormous precision of sound control, transformation, and compositional possibilities. WaveCloud offers a wide range of tools for experimentation – oscillator, LFOs, filters, envelopes, routing matrix, innovative WaveGlide and Orbit modules for grain movement, effects, MPE support, extensive waveform editing, customizable themes, MIDI CC control, aftertouch, audio pool manager, and 200+ presets to get you started. Granular synthesis is extremely versatile and can produce a vast range of sounds and textures, from subtle, atmospheric sounds to complex, dynamic ones. WaveCloud offers dozens of parameters, enabling you to sculpt the sound grains in any way you wish – textural pads and atmospheres, time-stretched effects, glitchy and stutter effects, vocal and instrumental manipulations, granular synthesis percussive sounds, experimental effects, as well as microtonal and harmonic soundscapes. WaveCloud features a drag and drop system for importing and exporting of audio files and presets. It has its own built-in Preset and Audio Managers to help keep everything in order. WaveCloud even features a fully-fledged zoomable audio editor along with a suite of tools to crop, fade, cut, copy, paste, and normalise your samples. We include a morphing 3-state Oscillator to support the granular engine. The granular engine allows up to 50 grains per second per note, with grain lengths up to a second in length. Grains can be sculpted with our morphing envelope generator, manipulated with our LFOs, FEGs and VCFs, and passed through lots of randomisation to keep things continually evolving. WaveCloud also features two unique features for adding movement to audio grains. Orbit mode allows you to play sweeping patterns tied to the physical host tempo of your DAW, and WaveGlide is a sequencer with glides and fades from one location to another. To top it all off, we include 7 built-in effects, delay, reverb, chorus, overdrive, phaser, resonator, and 8-band EQ. The resonator controls per-note feedback and dispersion for amazing MPE effects. WaveCloud is not only a deep and powerful granular synth but also a fun way to create many incredible sounds. Features • Over 200 presets • 3-state morphing oscillator (sine, square, saw) • Morphing grain shapes • 2 low-frequency morphing oscillators • 4 multistep envelope generators • 2 visual filters (series and parallel modes) • Per-channel feedback resonators with dispersion • MPE Support (per-channel pitch bend, aftertouch, and CC74) • Orbit mode • WaveGlide sequencing • Fully Featured Mod-Matrix • Direct record and playback of samples • Built-in sample editor with editing tools • 7 built-in effects • Built-in Audio Manager with drag and drop support • Preset Manager with easy import/export, drag and drop • Colour scheme editor

Screenshots

PixelWave1 screens
WaveCloud4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PixelWave at $0.99 against WaveCloud's $14.99. PixelWave also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 69%). WaveCloud's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

PixelWave costs $0.99 and WaveCloud $14.99 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 — 4.8 for PixelWave against 4.9 for WaveCloud. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 26 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of PixelWave's written reviews are positive against 69% of WaveCloud's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PixelWave ships an update every 4 months, WaveCloud every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PixelWave versus WaveCloud: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixelWaveWaveCloud
Price$0.99 — better$14.99
Rating4.8 (19 ratings)4.9 (26 ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.3% of reviews — better69.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1926 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB286 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander ZolotovLimelight Software

Customer experience

PixelWave

All ratings19 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive89.3%
Neutral5.4%
Negative5.4%

WaveCloud

All ratings26 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral15.4%
Negative15.4%

In-app purchases

None

PixelWave

No in-app purchases

None

WaveCloud

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PixelWave free?
PixelWave costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is WaveCloud free?
WaveCloud costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PixelWave or WaveCloud?
WaveCloud is rated higher. PixelWave averages 4.8 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while WaveCloud averages 4.9 from 26 ratings.
Do PixelWave or WaveCloud have ads?
Neither PixelWave nor WaveCloud shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PixelWave or WaveCloud?
PixelWave ships an update every 4 months, and WaveCloud every 3 weeks. Most recently, PixelWave was updated on October 6, 2026 and WaveCloud on October 12, 2026.

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