Comparison

WhoSampled vs Koala Sampler

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

Head to head
About

WhoSampled

Explore the connections within music by discovering samples, covers, and remixes. Scan music playing around you or your library to uncover the DNA of your favorite tracks and artists. Access a vast database of musical knowledge and delve deeper into the music you love.

Highlights
  • Scan music to find samples, covers, and remixes
  • Connect to Spotify and Apple Music libraries
  • Access a large database of music DNA
  • Compare songs and listen to full tracks
  • Detailed sample information
  • Music charts and recommendations
  • Save favorites
Features
Read full description

What is the sample in this song? Who covered my favorite artists? What remixes were made for this track? WhoSampled knows! Discover the DNA of the music you love. Scan the music playing around you, or your Spotify or Apple Music library, to uncover samples, covers, and remixes - and explore WhoSampled's vast universe of musical knowledge. Awards include: - Selected by Apple as APP STORE BEST OF YEAR - The Telegraph - BEST MUSIC APP OF THE YEAR - Music Ally Digital Music Awards - BEST MUSIC APP - Named one of the world's best apps by The Next Web, The Sunday Times, The Independent, and more Explore the Music Behind the Music WhoSampled is the music DNA discovery app that reveals how songs are connected. Explore the world's largest database of sample-based music, cover songs and remixes, and discover how your favorite artists influence, and are influenced by, others. Whether you're into Hip-Hop, Electronic/Dance, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Reggae, Classical, or beyond, WhoSampled is an essential music discovery experience. Key Features - Discover music through your own collection. Scan your Spotify or Apple Music library to uncover amazing connections for the songs you love. - Identify music playing around you and instantly see its samples, covers and remixes. - Access the world’s largest and richest database of music DNA, with over 1,280,000 tracks, 398,000 artists, and continuous daily additions. Search for any artist or track even if it's not in your music library. - Beautiful, ad-free, clean interface. Simple and intuitive navigation makes exploration effortless. - Compare songs side-by-side and listen to full‐length tracks via YouTube (where available), Spotify (Premium required), or Apple Music (subscription required). Note: your iPhone must not be on silent/vibrate mode for audio playback. - "Now Playing" feature – switch from Spotify or Apple Music to the WhoSampled app to instantly see the musical DNA of the song you’re listening to. - Highly detailed information on any sample (sample timing, sample type, part sampled) lets you pinpoint exactly where and how samples were used. - Share your discoveries with your Facebook friends and X followers. - Deep and unique music charts that show you trending and top-rated music as well as the all-time most influential artists and tracks. - A host of other features and functionality including the ability to save favorites and contextual recommendations from every sample, cover and remix. Dig deeper into the music you love. Dig into the WhoSampled app! In-App Subscription Terms Payment will be charged to iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.whosampled.com/html/terms_of_use.html Privacy Policy: https://www.whosampled.com/html/privacy_policy.html

About

Koala Sampler

This app allows you to record sounds with your phone's microphone, transform them with effects, and create beats and tracks. Its intuitive interface focuses on a fast and fun music-making process.

Highlights
  • Record up to 64 samples with mic
  • Apply 16 built-in effects
  • Load and use own samples
  • Create beats with high-resolution sequencer
  • Export loops and tracks as WAV
  • AI sample separation
  • AUv3 and MIDI compatibility
Features
Read full description

Koala is the ultimate pocket-sized sampler. Record anything with your phone's mic or load your own sounds. Use Koala to create beats with those samples, add effects and create a track! Koala's super intuitive interface helps you make a track in a flash - there is no brake pedal. You can also resample the output of the app back into the input, through the effects, so the sonic possibilities are endless. Koala's design focuses totally on making the music-making process instant, keeping you in the flow and keeping it fun, not getting bogged down by pages of parameters and micro-editing. "Been putting that $4 koala sampler to good use lately. Undeniably great tool that puts some of these expensive beat boxes to shame. A must cop." -- flying lotus, twitter * Record up to 64 different samples with your mic * Transform your voice or any other sound with 16 superb built-in fx * Load your own samples * Choose from one of 250 built-in sounds * Resample the output of the app back into a new sample * Export loops or entire tracks as professional quality WAV files * Direct export to Ableton Live Set * Copy/paste or merge sequences just by dragging them * Create beats with the high-resolution sequencer * Import samples from the Files app or even from videos * Keyboard mode lets you play chromatically or one of 9 scales * Quantize, add swing to get the right feel * Normal/One-shot/Loop/Reverse playback of samples * 6 Choke groups * Attack, release and tone adjustable on each sample * Mute/Solo controls and note repeat * Add any (or all) of the 16 effects to the entire mix * AUv3 compatible - use in GarageBand, Logic, Cubasis etc etc * MIDI controllable - play your samples on a keyboard, map the effects to knobs * Jam with others over WiFi with Ableton Link * Free copy of Ableton Live Lite included * AudioShare compatible * Use AI to separate samples into individual instruments (drums, bass, vocals and other) * Set your own background image and choose from a growing list of background visual FX 8 Built-in Microphone FX: * More Bass * More Treble * Fuzz * Robot * Reverb * Octave up * Octave down * Synthesizer 16 Built-in DJ Mix FX: * Bit-crusher * Pitch-shift * Comb filter * Ring modulator * Reverb * Stutter * Gate * Resonant High/Low Pass Filters * Cutter * Reverse * Dub * Tempo Delay * Talkbox * VibroFlange * Dirty * Compressor Features included in SAMURAI In-App Purchase * Pro-quality Timestretch (5 modes: Modern, Retro, Beats, Re-pitch and Cyclic) * Piano roll editor * Auto-chop (auto, equal, and lazy chop) * 3 Band EQ * Pocket operator sync out * Quokka Synth - powerhouse polyphonic synthesizer * MIDI Out - control external MIDI hardware with Koala's sequencer * Chopper - multimodal sample chopping instrument Features included in MIXER In-App Purchase * Mix your beats professionally with a 4 channel mixer + main bus * Route any sample to any channel * Mute/solo, faders and accurate metering on every channel * 5 effect slots per channel * 29 high-quality effects - compressors, filters, phasers and more, with new effects to come * Host AUv3 plugins - both audio effects and instruments

Screenshots

WhoSampled4 screens
Koala Sampler4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: WhoSampled at Free against Koala Sampler's $4.99. WhoSampled also leads on ratings volume (8.5K vs 1.4K). Koala Sampler's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (88% vs 62%). On rating, 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

WhoSampled is free to download; Koala Sampler costs $4.99 up front. WhoSampled sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year and Koala Sampler sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for WhoSampled against 4.8 for Koala Sampler. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WhoSampled has 8.5K ratings behind it against 1.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of WhoSampled's written reviews are positive against 88% of Koala Sampler's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WhoSampled ships an update every 4 months, Koala Sampler every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
WhoSampled versus Koala Sampler: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhoSampledKoala Sampler
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.9 (8.5K ratings) — better4.8 (1.4K ratings)
Positive reviews61.9% of reviews88.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.5K — better1.4K
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#8 — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB59 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperWhoSampledMazbox Limited

Customer experience

WhoSampled

All ratings8,458 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral1.0%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews236 reviews
Positive61.9%
Neutral8.1%
Negative30.1%

Koala Sampler

All ratings1,396 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews592 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral4.4%
Negative7.4%

User reviews

WhoSampled

From 8.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Incredible resource for music lovers
  • 🔍 Helps discover new music through samples
  • 📚 Extensive database of samples and covers
  • 🎶 Useful for DJs and producers
  • 🔗 Good integration with music streaming services

Room to improve

  • 💰 Misleading pricing with hidden subscription fees
  • 🤖 Outdated and clunky user interface
  • 🔍 Incomplete database, missing some music
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes, especially with Spotify integration
  • 🚫 Restricted functionality without subscription

Koala Sampler

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🚀 Smooth workflow and fast performance
  • 💡 Powerful sampling and sequencing capabilities
  • 🔥 Excellent value for the price
  • 🎨 Creative and inspiring sound design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 🔇 Limited effects and sound manipulation options
  • 📁 Difficulty managing and organizing samples/projects
  • 🎚️ Lack of advanced MIDI mapping and control options
  • 🔍 Unclear or confusing UI elements in certain areas

Bugs and requests

WhoSampled

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Network errors when scanning Spotify
  • Audio not working on sample videos
  • Login issues with Spotify and other accounts

Requested features

5 requests
  • iPad app optimization
  • More advanced search and filtering options
  • Ability to submit new samples and covers
  • Smoother transitions between songs and samples
  • Background music playback while browsing

Koala Sampler

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Samples not loading or disappearing after app updates
  • Sequencer timing and quantization issues
  • Crashes when using certain features or with large projects

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to record and edit MIDI sequences
  • More comprehensive effects and sound processing tools
  • Improved sample management and organization features
  • Support for external MIDI controllers and hardware integration
  • Customizable color schemes and UI themes

In-app purchases

1 purchases

WhoSampled

Subscriptions1
  • Unlimited Track ID$9.991 Year
8 purchases

Koala Sampler

One-time8
  • Koala AUv3 Plugin$1.99
  • Ese-O's Sample Pack$2.99
  • Solar Studies Samplepack$2.99
Show 5 more
  • Soon Come Dub Sample Pack$2.99
  • Analog Astronaut Samplepack$2.99
  • Cirrus Cuts Sample Pack$2.99
  • Samurai Edition$3.99
  • Mixer$4.99

Questions

Is WhoSampled free?
WhoSampled is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Koala Sampler free?
Koala Sampler costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, WhoSampled or Koala Sampler?
WhoSampled is rated higher. WhoSampled averages 4.9 out of 5 from 8.5K ratings, while Koala Sampler averages 4.8 from 1.4K ratings.
Do WhoSampled or Koala Sampler have ads?
Neither WhoSampled nor Koala Sampler shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WhoSampled or Koala Sampler?
WhoSampled ships an update every 4 months, and Koala Sampler every 3 weeks. Most recently, WhoSampled was updated on September 24, 2026 and Koala Sampler on September 22, 2026.

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