# SampleTank vs VinylCrate

The clearest difference is price: VinylCrate at Free against SampleTank's $24.99. VinylCrate also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). SampleTank's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

VinylCrate is free to download; SampleTank costs $24.99 up front. SampleTank sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and VinylCrate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

SampleTank ships an update every 2 months, VinylCrate every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SampleTank | VinylCrate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $24.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[2.7 (109 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sampletank/id464783893/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **109** | — |
| Positive reviews | 29.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 1.5 GB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [IK Multimedia US, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/323694278) | [InnovaLabWorks](https://appshunter.io/developer/1888514726) |

## What reviewers say

### SampleTank

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sampletank/id464783893)

This professional mobile workstation offers a vast collection of world-class instruments, sounds, and patterns for live performance and composition. Layer or split instruments across 8 multitimbral slots, with an expandable library and a powerful new sound engine.

**Highlights:** 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, New sound engine, Zones feature for splits & layers

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Organ | $4.99 | one-time |
| Strings | $4.99 | one-time |
| Brass | $4.99 | one-time |
| Synth Pads | $4.99 | one-time |
| Synth Leads | $4.99 | one-time |
| Electric Piano | $7.99 | one-time |
| The Grid | $14.99 | one-time |
| Miroslav Philharmonik - Mobile Edition | $24.99 | one-time |
| Sample Moog - Mobile Edition | $24.99 | one-time |
| Sonik Synth - Mobile Edition | $24.99 | one-time |
| All Sounds | $64.99 | one-time |
| SampleTank PRO - All Sounds Pack | $64.99 | one-time |
| Miroslav Philarmonik 2 - All Sounds Pack | $64.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great sounding app
- 👍 Lots of instrument options
- 🚀 Useful for live performance
- 👍 Decent sound quality
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with iOS updates
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔒 Lack of user manual access
- 🔒 Aggressive advertising for other products

**Reported bugs**

- Freezes when adjusting parameters
- Crashes on launch for some users
- Incompatible with certain iOS versions
- Issues with downloading and restoring in-app purchases

**Requested features**

- Add support for Audio Unit (AUv3)
- Improve MIDI integration and control
- Implement a more robust sequencer
- Allow user-defined pitch bend range
- Add ability to back up and restore custom presets


### VinylCrate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vinylcrate-record-shelf/id6790007357)

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| VinylCrate Lifetime | $12.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SampleTank free?

SampleTank costs $24.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is VinylCrate free?

VinylCrate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do SampleTank or VinylCrate have ads?

Neither SampleTank nor VinylCrate shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SampleTank or VinylCrate?

SampleTank ships an update every 2 months, and VinylCrate every 3 weeks. Most recently, SampleTank was updated on October 21, 2026 and VinylCrate on October 13, 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.*