Comparison

SampleTank CS vs Audio Evolution Mobile Studio

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

Head to head
About

SampleTank CS

This professional mobile sound and groove workstation brings desktop-level virtual instrument power to your iPhone and iPad. It offers a vast array of world-class instruments and patterns for live performance and composition, with expandable sound libraries available for purchase.

Highlights
  • 23 free instruments in 16 categories
  • 8-part multitimbral sound module
  • Expandable sound library with 2300+ instruments
  • Over 1,200 melodic and rhythmic patterns
  • 8-track MIDI recorder with audio export
  • Intuitive interface and new sound engine
  • Song and Live environments
Read full description

SampleTank 2 for iOS is a professional, fully featured mobile sound and groove workstation that brings the sound, power and features of desktop virtual instruments to your iPad and iPhone — without compromise. It is designed for professional live performance, song composition and puts a comprehensive array of world-class instruments, sounds and patterns right at your fingertips. SampleTank CS provides all the functionality of the full app, with 23 instruments in 16 categories, so you can try out this powerful workstation for free. Additional sounds are available a la cart via in-app purchase. SampleTank gives you 8 multitimbral instrument slots that you can easily layer or split. Choose from a comprehensive, expandable sound collection that covers virtually every acoustic and electronic sound imaginable. Plus, each instrument category includes instrument riffs and grooves so you can start composing and playing in no time. The included instruments and the new sound engine are derived from the desktop version of SampleTank, IK's flagship workstation, offering you unmatched realism, variety of sound and audio performance. For the first time on iOS, thousands of professional sample-based sounds and patterns can be easily accessed, layered and used for playing live or in the studio. What’s more, SampleTank offers an ever-growing library of sounds and are available via in-app purchase: • Elektronika - a series of electronica and EDM-oriented groove libraries and sound collections that make it easy to create hits in today’s most popular styles • Miroslav Philharmonik — the legendary orchestral libraries, now available on your mobile device! Stunningly realistic and expressive samples of a wide range of orchestra and percussion instruments. • SampleTank PRO - the latest and most high-end sounds and grooves available, letting you create professional-grade compositions on your mobile device • Plus additional libraries covering cinematic sounds, the finest pianos, drum libraries from iconic drummers and much more! SampleTank for iOS offers over 2,300 instruments and over 1,200 MIDI patterns — the largest collection of sounds available for any virtual instrument for iOS. Features: • 23 sounds in 16 categories included free • 8-part multitimbral professional quality sound and groove module • Expandable sound library with 2300+ instrument • Over 1,200 melodic and rhythmic patterns • 8-track MIDI recorder with audio export • Totally redesigned intuitive interface • New sound engine derived from SampleTank 3 for Mac/PC • Zones feature lets you easily create splits & layers on your controller • Song and Live environments for composing and playing • Built-in insert effects and master reverb • MIDI learn feature makes programming external controllers easy • Plug-and-play compatibility with iRig interfaces and controllers • Polyphony: up to 64 voices on new Apple devices

About

Audio Evolution Mobile Studio

This app is a portable multitrack audio and MIDI recording studio. It offers virtual instruments, pitch and time editing, real-time effects, and automation for creating music productions on the go.

Highlights
  • Multitrack audio recording and playback
  • MIDI sequencing with piano roll editor
  • Virtual instruments and Soundfont support
  • Real-time effects and flexible routing
  • Pitch and time editing for vocals
  • Non-linear editing with undo/redo
  • Export tracks as separate audio files
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Record your ideas on the go or create entire music productions from scratch, we'll leave it up to you! This app is a portable multitrack audio and MIDI recording studio featuring virtual instruments, pitch and time editing of vocals (*), unlimited undo/redo, mixing, real-time effects, automation and much more! Features: • Multitrack audio recording / playback • MIDI sequencing with piano roll editor and MPE support • Drum pattern editor (including triplets, use your own samples and effects chain per drum sound) • Automatically or manually tune your vocals with Vocal Tune Studio (*) : an editor to correct pitch and time of vocal recordings and the timing of any audio material. It features retune time, retune amount, volume and formant correction per note as well as vibrato controls. • Add tempo and time signature changes including gradual tempo change • Real-time effects including: chorus, compressor, delay, dual delay, reverse delay, reverb, flanger, noise gate and many more! • Flexible effect routing: an unlimited number of effects can be placed on a grid, featuring parallel effect paths. • Assign LFO's to effect parameters or lock parameters to tempo • Sidechain on the compressor effects • Inter-app audio effects and instruments • AudioBus support (including AudioBus remote) • Audio Unit instruments, effects and AU MIDI • Multi-output support for Audio Unit instruments • Virtual analog synthesizer 'Evolution One' featuring morphing oscillators, FM, Sub Osc, Noise, Portamento, 2 LFO's that can be routed to 12 targets, Moog type filtering, effects, ARP, sequencer and more! • Soundfont (sf2/sf3/sfz) support: free GS/GM Soundfont included, add more from the Soundfont shop or from your own collection • Non-linear editing with move, trim, split, cut/copy/paste, remove, cross-fade, time-stretching etc. with full undo/redo • Virtual instruments (comes with free instruments and more instrument packs to download) • Track freezing to save CPU usage • Clip volume and fade points • Loop playback • Automation of mixer and effect parameters • Mix-down to WAV, AIFF and ALAC • Metronome • Ghost track display on the piano roll • MIDI clock sync • MIDI remote control • Punch in/out • Unlimited number of tracks and groups • Offline effects: fade in/out, normalize, reverse, pitch shift, time stretching • Several grid options for aligning your samples (with tempo and time signature settings) • Export to other DAW's by rendering all tracks to separate audio files (stems) • Media server to access your files easily from a desktop computer • Multi-core support • AudioShare support • Trackpad support • Cloud sync using Google Drive and Dropbox In short: a complete portable multitrack music studio that will replace your fourtrack recorder or tape machine! (*) The following in-app purchases are available to expand your studio: • ToneBoosters effect pack 1 (Barricade, DeEsser, Gate, Reverb) • ToneBoosters EQ with frequency analyzer • ToneBoosters Compressor • ToneBoosters Ferox • ToneBoosters V4 Barricade • ToneBoosters V4 BitJuggler • ToneBoosters V4 Compressor • ToneBoosters V4 Enhancer • ToneBoosters V4 EQ • ToneBoosters V4 MBC (multi-band compressor) • ToneBoosters V4 ReelBus • ToneBoosters V4 Reverb • ToneBoosters V4 Sibilance • ToneBoosters V4 Voice Pitcher • Vocal Tune with two-voice harmonizer and Vocal Tune PRO, both real-time vocal pitch correction effects • Vocal Tune Studio: auto tune your vocals, pitch and time correction • Soundfont instrument packs • Loop packs from Function Loops The 'PRO' in-app purchase is only for people who downloaded version 1.x in the past and is not applicable to version 2.0 or higher. If you have any suggestions, questions or want to report a bug, please contact us! We'll gladly solve any problem! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AudioEvolutionMobile Forum: https://www.extreamsd.com/forum

Screenshots

SampleTank CS4 screens
Audio Evolution Mobile Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SampleTank CS at Free against Audio Evolution Mobile Studio's $11.99. Audio Evolution Mobile Studio's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.1) and review sentiment (66% vs 29%). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

SampleTank CS is free to download; Audio Evolution Mobile Studio costs $11.99 up front. SampleTank CS sells 15 one-off in-app purchases and Audio Evolution Mobile Studio sells 19 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Audio Evolution Mobile Studio holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 144 and 170 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of SampleTank CS's written reviews are positive against 66% of Audio Evolution Mobile Studio's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SampleTank CS ships an update every 2 months, Audio Evolution Mobile Studio every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
SampleTank CS versus Audio Evolution Mobile Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSampleTank CSAudio Evolution Mobile Studio
PriceFree — better$11.99
Rating3.1 (144 ratings)4.2 (170 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.9% of reviews65.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings144170 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#30 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.5 GB181 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIK Multimedia US, LLCDavy Wentzler

Customer experience

SampleTank CS

All ratings144 ratings
Positive52.1%
Neutral8.3%
Negative39.6%
Written reviews298 reviews
Positive28.9%
Neutral10.4%
Negative60.7%

Audio Evolution Mobile Studio

All ratings170 ratings
Positive79.4%
Neutral7.1%
Negative13.5%
Written reviews169 reviews
Positive65.7%
Neutral10.1%
Negative24.3%

User reviews

SampleTank CS

From 144 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great sound quality
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Excellent for live performances

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔒 Issues with in-app purchases and restoring purchases
  • 🔋 High memory usage
  • 👎 Lack of updates and support

Audio Evolution Mobile Studio

From 170 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient and easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient workflow
  • 💡 Powerful features for the price
  • 🎨 Great sound quality
  • 👍 Responsive developer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 🔒 Confusing trial/purchase model
  • 👎 Unintuitive user interface
  • 🔋 High resource usage on older devices
  • 👎 Missing key features compared to competitors

Bugs and requests

SampleTank CS

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incompatible with latest iOS versions
  • MIDI issues and lack of device detection
  • Purchased content not properly restored

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add AU/AUv3 support for better DAW integration
  • Improve MIDI functionality and mapping
  • Allow importing custom samples
  • Enhance performance controls (e.g., pitch bend, modulation)

Audio Evolution Mobile Studio

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Undo function causes freezing
  • MIDI files not importing correctly
  • Audio sync issues when using external interfaces
  • AU plugins not integrating smoothly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add a global swing/groove track
  • Improve MIDI editing capabilities
  • Implement a more intuitive mixer layout
  • Add support for MP3 export
  • Integrate better with other iOS apps

In-app purchases

15 purchases

SampleTank CS

One-time15
  • Organ$4.99
  • Strings$4.99
  • Brass$4.99
Show 12 more
  • Synth Leads$4.99
  • Synth Pads$4.99
  • Woodwinds$4.99
  • Acoustic Drums$4.99
  • Electric Piano$7.99
  • The Grid$14.99
  • Upgrade to SampleTank$24.99
  • Miroslav Philharmonik - Mobile Edition$24.99
  • Sample Moog - Mobile Edition$24.99
  • Sonik Synth - Mobile Edition$24.99
  • All Sounds$64.99
  • SampleTank PRO - All Sounds Pack$64.99
19 purchases

Audio Evolution Mobile Studio

One-time19
  • Summer Trance sample pack$0.99
  • FX pack 1$1.99
  • FX pack 2 (Graphic EQ)$1.99
Show 16 more
  • ToneBoosters Compressor$1.99
  • ToneBoosters EQ$1.99
  • ToneBoosters Ferox$1.99
  • Classic Keyboards$2.99
  • Steinway Grand Piano$2.99
  • Ultra Trap sample pack$3.99
  • Toneboosters Reverb V4$4.99
  • Toneboosters Compressor V4$4.99
  • Vocal Tune$4.99
  • ToneBoosters FX pack 1$4.99
  • Toneboosters EQ V4$4.99
  • PRO (very old versions only)$6.99
  • Synth pack 1$9.99
  • Synth pack 2$9.99
  • Drum kit pack$10.99
  • Vocal Tune Studio$12.99

Questions

Is SampleTank CS free?
SampleTank CS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Audio Evolution Mobile Studio free?
Audio Evolution Mobile Studio costs $11.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SampleTank CS or Audio Evolution Mobile Studio?
Audio Evolution Mobile Studio is rated higher. SampleTank CS averages 3.1 out of 5 from 144 ratings, while Audio Evolution Mobile Studio averages 4.2 from 170 ratings.
Do SampleTank CS or Audio Evolution Mobile Studio have ads?
Neither SampleTank CS nor Audio Evolution Mobile Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SampleTank CS or Audio Evolution Mobile Studio?
SampleTank CS ships an update every 2 months, and Audio Evolution Mobile Studio every 2 weeks. Most recently, SampleTank CS was updated on September 24, 2026 and Audio Evolution Mobile Studio on September 21, 2026.

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