Comparison

Circlo vs VisualSound

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

Head to head
About

Circlo

This app offers a unique ambient audiovisual experience with a pulsating circle display and a dynamic soundtrack that changes intensity throughout the day. Users can customize color schemes and control the music through a simple double-tap interface.

Highlights
  • Ambient audiovisual clock
  • Dynamic soundtrack
  • Pulsating circle display
  • Customizable color schemes
  • Music on/off toggle
  • Intuitive double-tap controls
Features
Read full description

Circlo is an ambient audiovisual clock. The ambient soundtrack by Hannu Kuosmanen changes depending on what time of day it is while the circles on the screen pulsate gently. The music is at its calmest around 1 am/pm, and gets more intense until the clock strikes 1 again. Double-tap anywhere to access the settings screen where you can change the color scheme and turn the music on or off. Design and programming by Johan Halin. Music by Hannu Kuosmanen. --- Johan Halin has also created Kontrol, an experimental techno composition that was shown in 2011 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of the "Talk to Me" exhibition, and Revolve, an ambient reaction game.

About

VisualSound

This app is a modular instrument that synthesizes sound and visuals using a unified patching system. Explore over 140 modules for audio, control, and graphics, and even generate custom effects with AI. It's designed for performance and integrates with your existing studio setup.

Highlights
  • Unified sound and visual patching
  • Over 140 modules (sound, control, visuals, code)
  • AI-powered module creation
  • GPU-native visuals
  • Performance-oriented features
  • AUv3 integration and hosting
  • Cross-device functionality (iPad, Mac, iPhone)
Read full description

---- Launch offer — introductory pricing for a limited time. The price goes up after launch week: now is the moment to patch in --- VisualSound is a modular instrument where sound and image are made of the same material. One canvas, one cable language: patch an oscillator into a filter, then patch the same signal into light, liquid and geometry. Nothing is a visualizer bolted on top — the picture IS the patch. ONE CANVAS, FIVE REALMS More than 140 modules across sound, control, visuals, geometry and code. Drag a cable and anything can play anything: an envelope strikes a fluid simulation, a sequencer bends a shader, a camera feed becomes an oscillator. INSTRUMENTS WITH OPINIONS • VYPER — a snarling acid bassline machine with slides, accents and pattern morphing. • KINETIC — a step-sequenced drum machine built on lovingly recorded classic analog kits. • KEYS — a playable polyphonic keyboard panel; on Mac, your QWERTY becomes the keybed. • SEQ, LFO, ENV, granular engines, a looper, a tape-stop, reels you can scrub like vinyl. LIGHT AS SIGNAL GPU-native visuals: shaders, feedback, bloom, fluid dynamics, sculpted 3D geometry. Point the camera at the world and use it as a texture. OCULUS tracks your hands and face so you can play parameters by moving. WRITE YOUR OWN MODULES — OR JUST ASK GRAIN is VisualSound's per-sample DSP language: code your own audio and visual processors right on the canvas. Tap the wand, describe the effect in plain English — "a dark tape echo that wobbles" — and an AI running entirely ON YOUR DEVICE writes the code, compiles it, and tells you honestly when something isn't possible. No cloud, no account. It works in airplane mode. (The AI brain is a free one-time download.) BUILT TO PERFORM Eight scenes with beat-synced morphing, motion loops, MIDI learn on everything, a timeline that can bend the tempo itself. Record your performance — audio and video — straight out of the app. PLAYS WELL WITH YOUR STUDIO Runs as an AUv3 instrument inside your DAW, and HOSTS your AUv3 synths and effects inside the canvas. MIDI in and out. Background audio. Files in, stems out. YOUR IPHONE IS THE REMOTE Install VisualSound on iPhone and it becomes VS Remote: a wireless control surface for the instrument running on your iPad or Mac, over your local network. No setup, no cloud. ONE PURCHASE, EVERY SCREEN Buy once and VisualSound is yours on iPad, Mac and iPhone. Same patches, same engine — the Mac gets QWERTY keys and plugin hosting depth, the iPad gets ten fingers on glass. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no analytics, no ads. Your patches, recordings and prompts never leave your device. Privacy policy: https://visualsound.app/privacy/ Open the app and you land on Welcome — a living patch, already playing, wired for you to pull apart. That's the whole philosophy: understanding by unscrewing. Sound and light, patched together.

Screenshots

Circlo4 screens
VisualSound2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Circlo at Free against VisualSound's $19.99. Circlo also leads on ratings volume (5 vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.0). VisualSound's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 33 months). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Circlo is free to download; VisualSound costs $19.99 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 — 5.0 for Circlo against 5.0 for VisualSound. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Circlo has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Circlo ships an update every 33 months, VisualSound every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Circlo versus VisualSound: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCircloVisualSound
PriceFree — better$19.99
Rating5.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 33 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS9.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAero DekoMike Gazzaruso

Customer experience

Circlo

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

VisualSound

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Circlo

No in-app purchases

None

VisualSound

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Circlo free?
Circlo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VisualSound free?
VisualSound costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Circlo or VisualSound?
Circlo and VisualSound are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Circlo or VisualSound have ads?
Neither Circlo nor VisualSound shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Circlo or VisualSound?
Circlo ships an update every 33 months, and VisualSound every 2 days. Most recently, Circlo was updated on October 16, 2026 and VisualSound on October 15, 2026.

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