# Cubasis 2 vs AudioLayer

The clearest difference is price: AudioLayer at $12.99 against Cubasis 2's $23.99. AudioLayer also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.9) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Cubasis 2 costs $23.99 and AudioLayer $12.99 up front. Cubasis 2 sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and AudioLayer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

AudioLayer holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 239 and 179 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Cubasis 2's written reviews are positive against 56% of AudioLayer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Cubasis 2 ships an update every 3 months, AudioLayer fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cubasis 2 | AudioLayer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $23.99 | **$12.99** |
| Rating | [3.9 (239 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cubasis-2/id583976519/reviews) | **[4.4 (179 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiolayer/id1381478666/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **239** | 179 |
| Positive reviews | **58.3% of reviews** | 56.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 1.1 GB | 242 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/316698251) | [Harry Gohs](https://appshunter.io/developer/382428644) |

## What reviewers say

### Cubasis 2

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cubasis-2/id583976519)

This mobile music creation system allows users to record, edit, mix, and share their music. It offers real-time time-stretching, pitch-shifting, a studio-grade channel strip, and a variety of instruments and effects to enhance musical projects.

**Highlights:** Unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, Real-time time-stretching and pitch-shifting, Virtual analog synthesizer and sampler, Studio-grade channel strip with effects, MIDI Editor with CC support, Export to Cubase and cloud services

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Micrologue ARP | $4.99 | one-time |
| Waves Tune Real-Time | $4.99 | one-time |
| FX Pack 1: Reverbs & Delays | $6.99 | one-time |
| FX Pack 2: Vintage FX | $6.99 | one-time |
| Classic Machines | $6.99 | one-time |
| Waves AudioTrack | $7.99 | one-time |
| Waves L1 Ultramaximizer | $7.99 | one-time |
| Waves Q10 Equalizer | $7.99 | one-time |
| Waves Plug-in Bundle | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💯 Excellent DAW for iOS
- 🎨 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🔌 Seamless integration with other apps
- 🔊 High-quality built-in sounds and effects
- 🔍 Powerful MIDI editing capabilities

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 No upgrade path from previous versions
- 💰 Expensive for an iOS app
- 🕰️ Lack of tempo and time signature changes
- 🔇 Limited audio routing and sidechain options
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when loading certain third-party plugins
- MIDI sync issues with external hardware
- Waveform display glitches when zooming
- Incompatibility with older iPad models

**Requested features**

- MIDI control mapping for external controllers
- Tempo and time signature automation
- Improved audio editing tools
- More built-in instruments and sound libraries
- Seamless Cubase project integration


### AudioLayer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/audiolayer/id1381478666)

This app is a powerful mobile multi-sampler for music production, offering advanced features for creating and manipulating complex instruments. It integrates seamlessly with iOS production environments and supports iCloud for easy collaboration and storage.

**Highlights:** Streaming Sample Engine (SSE), Hierarchical Layer and Zone editing, Seamless Instrument Switching (SIS), Integrated audio sample recorder, Auto Sampler for hardware synths, AUv3 AudioUnit integration, iCloud storage and collaboration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SoundFont Import | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎹 Powerful multi-layer sampling capabilities
- 📥 EXS24 and SFZ file import support
- 🎯 Round-robin functionality for realistic instruments
- ⚡ Efficient performance on older devices
- 🎚️ Comprehensive effects rack with quality sound

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes across multiple iOS versions
- ⚠️ Stability issues in AUM and other hosts
- 🔌 High CPU/DSP usage causing performance spikes
- 🔋 Battery drain and device heating
- ❌ Missing undo function

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup (splash screen)
- Reverb and chorus effects cause sound to disappear
- Pitch resets to -24 after stopping Logic Pro playback
- Layer voice polyphony controls not working properly
- SFZ batch import distributes samples incorrectly across layers

**Requested features**

- Time-stretching/pitch-shifting capability
- Program Change MIDI support
- Undo/Redo functionality
- GigaSampler .gig library support
- Soundfont SF2 import (now paid feature)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cubasis 2 free?

Cubasis 2 costs $23.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is AudioLayer free?

AudioLayer costs $12.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Cubasis 2 or AudioLayer?

AudioLayer is rated higher. Cubasis 2 averages 3.9 out of 5 from 239 ratings, while AudioLayer averages 4.4 from 179 ratings.

### Do Cubasis 2 or AudioLayer have ads?

Neither Cubasis 2 nor AudioLayer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Cubasis 2 or AudioLayer?

Cubasis 2 ships an update every 3 months, and AudioLayer fortnightly. Most recently, Cubasis 2 was updated on October 11, 2026 and AudioLayer on October 19, 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.*