# SessionBand Original vs ShowMIDI

The clearest difference is price: ShowMIDI at Free against SessionBand Original's $8.99. ShowMIDI also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.8) and review sentiment (88% vs 52%). SessionBand Original's advantage is ratings volume (87 vs 18). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

ShowMIDI is free to download; SessionBand Original costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ShowMIDI holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 18 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of SessionBand Original's written reviews are positive against 88% of ShowMIDI's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SessionBand Original | ShowMIDI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $8.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.8 (87 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sessionband-original/id580135085/reviews) | **[4.8 (18 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/showmidi/id6472608850/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **87** | 18 |
| Positive reviews | 51.7% of reviews | **87.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 1000 MB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [UK Music Apps Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/579320222) | [Uwyn, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/597132109) |

## What reviewers say

### SessionBand Original

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sessionband-original/id580135085)

Create professional-quality music in minutes with this chord-based loop app. It converts selected chords into studio-quality audio across 71 genres, even if you have no musical experience. Build, mix, and share royalty-free tracks on the go.

**Highlights:** Chord-based audio loops, 71 music styles, Instant style flipping, Track builder, Auto-transpose, Mix and record tracks, Royalty-free music creation

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎵 High-quality professional audio recordings
- 🎸 Wide variety of musical styles and genres
- 💡 Excellent tool for songwriting and composition
- ⚡ Quick and easy chord progression creation
- 🎼 Great for jamming and practicing with backing tracks

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 📱 Poor user interface design and unintuitive controls
- ⚠️ Limited chord variations available
- 📥 Extremely tedious download process for additional styles
- 🔌 WiFi-only downloads, no cellular support

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when saving chord progressions
- App crashes when editing chords
- App crashes when adding more than one chord
- App crashes after importing files
- App crashes on iPhone X when returning to app

**Requested features**

- Audiobus compatibility
- MIDI file export functionality
- Pause/play button in edit mode
- Real-time MIDI keyboard input support
- Zoomed-out preview for full page view during performance


### ShowMIDI

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/showmidi/id6472608850)

This application provides a real-time, glanceable view of all MIDI activity on your computer. It visualizes various MIDI messages and allows you to pause the flow for a data snapshot. It can be used as a standalone tool or an AUv3 plugin within your DAW.

**Highlights:** Real-time MIDI visualization, Auto-hides irrelevant messages, Pause and snapshot data, Standalone application, AUv3 plugin support, Supports MPE configuration

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SessionBand Original free?

SessionBand Original costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ShowMIDI free?

ShowMIDI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, SessionBand Original or ShowMIDI?

ShowMIDI is rated higher. SessionBand Original averages 3.8 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while ShowMIDI averages 4.8 from 18 ratings.

### Do SessionBand Original or ShowMIDI have ads?

Neither SessionBand Original nor ShowMIDI shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SessionBand Original or ShowMIDI?

SessionBand Original ships an update every 2 months, and ShowMIDI every 2 months. Most recently, SessionBand Original was updated on October 26, 2026 and ShowMIDI on October 24, 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.*