Borderlands Granular vs tardigrain
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Borderlands Granular
Explore and transform sounds by layering tiny audio fragments. Sculpt evolving timbres and textures using touch, gravity, or by loading your own audio files. Save and recall complex soundscapes for live performance or studio work.
- Granular synthesis engine
- Touch and accelerometer control
- Load and export custom audio
- Audiobus and Audioshare integration
- Real-time input and re-sampling
- Preset and scene saving
- Looping and automation recording
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Touch, transform, and explore sound with granular synthesis, a technique involving the superposition of tiny fragments of sound, or “grains," to create complex, evolving timbres and textures. “The best app for exploring sound just got better... This is 'go out and buy an iPad to run it' good stuff.“ -Peter Kirn, Create Digital Music “Borderlands has floored us. It is very rare that we find an app that is not only fun to use, but extremely useful. It is truly inspiring. The interface is stunning, the sounds are so evocative: they're a film composer's dream.” Paul Hepker and Mark Kilian, Film Composers (Tsotsi, Rendition, Eye in the Sky) “It’s beautiful, it’s absolutely great. It goes in a completely new direction. I wish software companies would make more [programs] like that for the computer and not only for the iPad.” Christian Fennesz, Experimental Musician. Interview from Tiny Mix Tapes, May 2014 “When I first saw the demo video for Borderlands Granular in 2012, my jaw hit the floor. My first thought was ‘THIS is what making music on an iPad should be.’” Sean Garland, iOSMars.com About ------------ Create, drag, and throw pulsing clouds of grains over a landscape of audio files, or use the built-in accelerometer to sculpt sound with gravity. Borderlands comes ready to play with default sample content included, but you can also load and export your own sounds via Audiobus, Audioshare, and real time input from the mic or external audio interfaces. Re-sample recordings made within the app on-the-fly for layers-upon-layers of granulation. You can also improvise alongside the app - touches and parameters may be recorded, looped, stored, and duplicated. Entire configurations of clouds, sounds, and automation can be saved into presets, or “scenes,” that may be recalled at a later time, allowing Borderlands to seamlessly transition between the studio and the stage. More information is available at www.borderlands-granular.com Instagram: borderlands_granular Twitter: @BorderlandsiPad Facebook: BorderlandsGranular
tardigrain
Create unique sounds by breaking down samples into small fragments and playing them back non-linearly. Explore granular synthesis with adjustable grain size, direction, and step size. Enhance your audio with built-in effects, filters, and modulation options.
- Granular synthesis engine
- Adjustable grain parameters
- Built-in effects (reverb, wave shaper, crush)
- Resonant filter
- MIDI and MPE modulation
- Sequencer/arpeggiator
- LFO modulation
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Tardigrain is a granular synthesiser for iOS that runs standalone or as an AU plugin. Sounds are created by taking smaller fragments of a sample and playing them back in a non linear fashion, with settings for grain size, direction, step size and more. Process the sound further through effects like reverb, wave shaper and sample crush. Tardigrain supports connections with AudioCopy, AudioBus, Inter App Audio and AUv3. Plus all audio parameters can be modulated by MIDI, as AU parameters and by aftertouch on the build in keyboard. Now also a selected set of parameters can be modulated by LFOs och notes triggered by a new sequencer/arpeggiator. +++ Record your own samples or import using AudioCopy/drag'n drop +++ Chromatic granualar playpack +++ Effects (Wave shaper, Reverb, Sample crusher, Pitch and stereo spread) +++ Resonant filter (low, band and high pass) +++ Keyboard and MPE modulation of any audio parameters +++ Note trigger sequencer/arpeggiator +++ 4 LFO sources for modulating a selected set of parameters +++ Multiple factory presets to get you started +++ Save and load your own settings and samples +++ Inter App Audio, AudioBus and AUv3 +++ Core MIDI, Inter App Audio MIDI and AUv3 MIDI
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: tardigrain at $5.99 against Borderlands Granular's $19.99. tardigrain also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 16 months) and chart position (#125 vs unranked). Borderlands Granular's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 11.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Borderlands Granular costs $19.99 and tardigrain $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Borderlands Granular holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 128 and 96 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Borderlands Granular's written reviews are positive against 76% of tardigrain's.
Borderlands Granular ships an update every 16 months, tardigrain every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Borderlands Granular | tardigrain |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | $5.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (128 ratings) — better | 4.6 (96 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.8% of reviews — better | 75.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 128 — better | 96 |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #125 — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 119 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chris Carlson | Erik Sigth |
Customer experience
Borderlands Granular
tardigrain
In-app purchases
Borderlands Granular
No in-app purchases
tardigrain
No in-app purchases






