Comparison

PaulaSynth vs Degenson

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

Head to head
About

PaulaSynth

Create music on the go with a portable synthesizer. Explore six distinct sounds and eleven scales to craft melodies and chords. Enjoy versatile sound options from 8-bit solos to deep bass tones.

Highlights
  • Six synthesizer sounds
  • Eleven built-in scales
  • Fast melody creation
  • Polyphony for chords
  • Versatile sound tuning
Features
Read full description

PaulaSynth is a simple synthesizer in your pocket. With six synthesizer sounds and and eleven scales built in, make music any time, anywhere. Play super fast melodies, or turn on polyphony to play chords. Play a screaming 8-bit solo or tune the instrument way down to play growling bass.

About

Degenson

Create distorted percussion, hypnotic sequences, and aggressive sounds with this raw virtual analog drum machine. It offers six voices, dual LFOs, and fast hands-on control for electronic music production.

Highlights
  • Virtual analog drum machine
  • Distorted percussion
  • Hypnotic sequences
  • Aggressive sound design
  • Six voices
  • Dual LFOs
  • Hands-on control
Features
Read full description

Degenson is a raw virtual analog drum machine built for distorted percussion, hypnotic sequences and aggressive sound design. Six voices, dual LFOs and fast hands-on control for techno, EBM and experimental production. Now it's also an AUv3 plugin: run Degenson inside your favorite iOS host — GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, Drambo and more — perfectly in sync with your project tempo. • Six punchy virtual-analog voices with analogue-style decay — percussive across most of the knob, opening into an infinite drone at the top • Full MIDI: notes trigger the voices, every knob responds to a fixed MIDI CC, and the sequencer can be bypassed to play live from any controller • Melodic mode: each octave maps the six voices and transposes them, so you can play the drums tuned across the keyboard • Fast, tactile step sequencer with per-step control and dual LFOs for evolving, hypnotic patterns • Crunch Verb: a gritty master reverb with Mix, Decay and Crunch — the tail degrades as it fades Free to play. The optional Pro upgrade unlocks the AUv3 plugin for use in your DAW and WAV export for bouncing your patterns.

Screenshots

PaulaSynth2 screens
Degenson3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Degenson at 5.0 against PaulaSynth's 4.5. Degenson also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 23 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 82%). PaulaSynth's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, ads 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

Both are free to download. Degenson sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PaulaSynth asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Degenson holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of PaulaSynth's written reviews are positive against 100% of Degenson's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PaulaSynth ships an update every 23 months, Degenson every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PaulaSynth versus Degenson: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaulaSynthDegenson
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (4 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings48 — better
Update frequencyEvery 23 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGrant DamronFabrizio Alviti

Customer experience

PaulaSynth

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral18.2%
Negative0.0%

Degenson

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PaulaSynth

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Degenson

One-time1
  • Degenson Pro Upgrade$7.99

Questions

Is PaulaSynth free?
PaulaSynth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Degenson free?
Degenson is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PaulaSynth or Degenson?
Degenson is rated higher. PaulaSynth averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Degenson averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do PaulaSynth or Degenson have ads?
Neither PaulaSynth nor Degenson shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PaulaSynth or Degenson?
PaulaSynth ships an update every 23 months, and Degenson every 2 weeks. Most recently, PaulaSynth was updated on October 16, 2026 and Degenson on October 24, 2026.

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