# Ripple Tank Lite vs Epicycles

The clearest difference is rating: Epicycles at 5.0 against Ripple Tank Lite's 3.6. Epicycles also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 7 months). Ripple Tank Lite's advantage is ratings volume (11 vs 2) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Epicycles holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ripple Tank Lite has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Ripple Tank Lite ships an update every 7 months, Epicycles every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ripple Tank Lite | Epicycles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.6 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ripple-tank-lite/id453342553/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/epicycles/id6450433959/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **11** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 2 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **7.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Falstad.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/453338632) | [Limit Point Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/377981570) |

## What reviewers say

### Ripple Tank Lite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ripple-tank-lite/id453342553)

Simulate wave phenomena like interference, diffraction, and refraction using a digital ripple tank. Create waves with your finger and observe various wave behaviors, including resonance and the Doppler effect.

**Highlights:** Wave simulation, Finger wave creation, Interference observation, Diffraction examples, Refraction simulation, Resonance and Doppler effect

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Epicycles

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/epicycles/id6450433959)

Explore the visualization of complex Fourier series through interactive epicycles. Create and analyze approximations of parametric curves and complex functions. Save animations and export custom terms for later use.

**Highlights:** Visualize Fourier series of 2D functions, Create epicycles from drawn curves, Save custom terms to documents, Export animations as GIFs, Adjust time and number of terms, Interactive graphic elements

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ripple Tank Lite free?

Ripple Tank Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Epicycles free?

Epicycles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Ripple Tank Lite or Epicycles?

Epicycles is rated higher. Ripple Tank Lite averages 3.6 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Epicycles averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Ripple Tank Lite or Epicycles have ads?

Neither Ripple Tank Lite nor Epicycles shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Ripple Tank Lite or Epicycles?

Ripple Tank Lite ships an update every 7 months, and Epicycles every 5 days. Most recently, Ripple Tank Lite was updated on November 1, 2026 and Epicycles on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*