Comparison

Pixound vs Hexapad

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

Head to head
About

Pixound

Transform any image into a musical instrument and create unique songs. Explore a deep musical experience with extensive controls, over 127 instruments, and various scales. It's a fun and educational tool for all ages, allowing you to play live video and record your performances.

Highlights
  • Turn any picture into music
  • Play live video as an instrument
  • Record performances with touch playback
  • Over 65 scales and modes
  • 127+ instruments for four voices
  • Save and share creations
  • MIDI export
Features
Read full description

"Pixound Turns Photos into Musical Instruments, and It’s Better Than You Think" — Gizmodo "Pixound is a trippy music app for iOS that allows users to turn any snap into a song." — MTV Hive Enjoyed by top musical artists including: Herbie Hancock, David Byrne (Talking Heads), Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO), Michael Shrieve (Santana) and many more. Have you ever jammed on Saturn's Rings with a whammy bar? Have you ever played the rainbow? What about you're dog's nose? What does it sound like? How about creating your own music just by dancing? With Pixound you can do all this and much more! Pixound is a revolutionary form of musical entertainment! Pixound provides a deep musical experience that lets YOU instantly create music using any picture. It's pure fun to play (at any age) and deep because it can be used to play music like you've never heard before. It's so much fun that artist Peter Max bought an iPhone just to have Pixound! Since there is no limit to what pictures you can play from art and graphics to photos and they can be combined with thousands of different musical settings, there is no limit to the music you can create and enjoy. You owe it to yourself to try Pixound!!! By the way, you will learn a lot about music just playing with Pixound so it's also an educational tool, sometimes referred to as a Deep Toy. Features: • Play any picture from snaps to outer space to art masterpieces • Play Live Video (in-app purchase) so that reality becomes a musical instrument • Record audio or use effects processors via Audiobus 2.1 or Inter-app Audio • Record performances including where you touched in the photo that plays back for others to see. • Play in any key or scale (over 65 scales/modes) • Add Bass and Drums from lots of choices • Tons of musical controls to create a huge variety of great music • Select from many different autoplay styles including device tilt • Add harmony voices • Add Song Progressions from basic to classical and more • Select from over 127 instruments for four voices R, B, G and bass • Import samples using AudioShare™ • Save your own settings to Banks and share with others via community or email • Built-in Reverb • Save MIDI files and go direct out to MIDI synthesizers (in-app purchase) • Access and share your creations with the Pixound Community

About

Hexapad

Create music with a unique hexagonal pad interface. Explore built-in synths for various genres, record your own sounds, and easily switch between beat, melody, and bass modes. Save, layer, and export your creations.

Highlights
  • Hexagonal honeycomb pad interface
  • Built-in synths for multiple genres
  • Mic recording kit for custom sounds
  • Dedicated modes for beat, melody, and bass
  • Kit-specific effects (reverb, echo, flanger)
  • Auto-generate beats, melodies, and basslines
  • Export to WAV format
Features
Read full description

Hexapad is an intuitive beatmaker with hexagonal pads arranged in a honeycomb grid. Tap to play short musical phrases, or slide your fingers across the pads to connect sounds. Build your own music one layer at a time, whether you’re an experienced musician or creating your first track. No extra samples needed. Explore built-in sounds spanning Electronica, Techno, House, Hip-Hop, Ambient, Lo-Fi, Minimal, Alternative, and Contemporary. Phrase pads are organized into BEAT, BASS, CHORDS, MELODY, and ACCENT, making it easy to combine rhythms, basslines, harmonies, and melodies. Each pad displays a waveform so you can see the character of its sound. Capture your performance with REC. Your first pad starts a four-bar recording, which loops as you add more phrases. Undo your latest addition, or use SAVE to name and store the take for use in Song. Shuffle the pads to explore new phrases while keeping the phrases you’ve already recorded. Shape your sound in real time with large FX knobs for reverb, delay, filtering, flanger, and more. Adjust the tempo with BPM, or switch sound kits to hear your recorded phrases with a different palette. Turn your voice and everyday sounds into instruments. Open Sampler from the microphone button, record a sound, and play it from a pad. Trim the waveform, reverse the sample, or adjust its pitch, pan, and volume. In Song, layer saved recordings to build a fuller sound, then carry those layers into the next four-bar section. Use the timeline to see where sounds overlap, and add or remove layers to create changes throughout your track. Preview, rename, and delete your saved recordings from the same screen. Need a starting point? Auto creates a song arrangement from your chosen mood and length. Edit the generated layers and sections to make it your own, add fade-in and fade-out, and export the finished track as a WAV file. Connect a USB or Bluetooth LE MIDI controller to take your performance further. Assign the same phrase pads you see in Play to your controller’s keys or pads, and map knobs or faders to FX controls. The free version includes pad performance, FX, and voice recording. Save up to 10 recording takes and 3 songs, and use Auto Short. Complete a rewarded ad to unlock one WAV export. The monthly Hexapad Pro subscription removes ads and recording/song save limits, unlocks Auto Medium and Long, and lets you export WAV files without watching ads. See the purchase screen for local pricing. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled and can be managed or canceled in your store account settings. Your saved work is kept when Pro ends. Enjoy making music — intuitively, right in the palm of your hand. Privacy Policy https://www.ontrails.jp/app/privacy-policy/hexpad/ Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Pixound4 screens
Hexapad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hexapad at Free against Pixound's $0.99. Hexapad also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (100% vs 72%). Pixound's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.1 vs 3.7). On ratings volume, device support and iOS requirement 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

Hexapad is free to download; Pixound costs $0.99 up front. Pixound sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Hexapad asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pixound holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of Pixound's written reviews are positive against 100% of Hexapad's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixound ships an update monthly, Hexapad every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 2, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pixound versus Hexapad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixoundHexapad
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (8 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8 — better3
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB98 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTechné MediaONTRAILS

Customer experience

Pixound

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative27.8%

Hexapad

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pixound

One-time2
  • Pixound Live Video$1.99
  • Pixound MIDI Features$2.99
None

Hexapad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pixound free?
Pixound costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Hexapad free?
Hexapad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pixound or Hexapad?
Pixound is rated higher. Pixound averages 4.1 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Hexapad averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Pixound or Hexapad have ads?
Hexapad shows ads; Pixound does not.
Which is updated more often, Pixound or Hexapad?
Pixound ships an update monthly, and Hexapad every 5 days. Most recently, Pixound was updated on October 2, 2026 and Hexapad on October 2, 2026.

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