iMIDIPatchbay vs ShowMIDI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iMIDIPatchbay
Organize your entire MIDI setup from a central point. Easily create split and layer configurations, send program changes, and filter controller data for external sound devices. Store and recall configurations as songs, and manage setlists for performances.
- Create split and layer configurations
- Send Program Changes and control changes
- Transpose sounds and rig
- Filter controller data
- Store and recall configurations as songs
- Create setlists for performances
- Link PDF documents to songs
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iMIDIPatchbay lets you organize your whole MIDI setup from one central point. Do you often divide your keyboards into zones to assign different sounds which might come from external sound expanders? Do you need to send Program Changes to your MIDI equipment? Do you want to integrate your music making apps into your live gear? Well, then iMIDIPatchbay is definitely the right tool for you! LIST OF FEATURES - Create split and layer configurations very easily - Support for up to 4 master keyboards (In-App Purchase) - Send volume and other control changes (reverb, chorus, pan) to your sound devices - Send Program Changes to your sound devices - Transpose sounds in octave steps - Transpose the hole rig in half-tone steps - Filter controller data (sustain, pitch-bend, modulation, expression, aftertouch) - Store configurations as songs for later recall - Switch song of iMIDIPatchbay from another app or MIDI device via Program Changes - Switch songs while holding down keys or holding e.g. the sustain pedal without getting stuck notes - Play all your sounds even if you don't have all your master keyboards with you: "master switches" allow you to make another master act as a substitute for it (advanced feature!) - Create setlists to arrange songs for your performances (In-App Purchase) - Link multiple PDF documents (e.g. sheet music or notes) from Dropbox to each song (In-App Purchase) - Backup settings to Dropbox - UI which is optimized for live usage WHAT EXACTLY CAN I DO WITH iMIDIPatchbay? As a keyboard player, you most probably know about splitting and layering sounds. While this can be done relatively easy on professional keyboards, it becomes more complex if your gear consists of multiple keyboards and sound expanders. iMIDIPatchbay makes building such configurations a lot easier than it has ever been before. After connecting your keyboards and other MIDI devices to the iPad, you can easily create split zones and assign sounds of your MIDI devices to them. It's also possible to route the MIDI data to other apps if they have a virtual MIDI port. Furthermore, you can filter out controllers which is great if you want e.g. pitch bend or sustain to affect only a subset of the active sounds. WHAT DO I NEED TO GET STARTED? You need a CoreMIDI interface to connect your keyboards and sound expanders to the iPad. WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE? Go to iMIDIPatchbay's website in order to find a more detailed description of the app. If you encounter problems, please let me help you (you find the mail address on the website and on the info screen within the app). Please note that there is no way to respond to you if you post a review on the App Store instead. Always email me first! If you like the app, let others know by submitting a good review on the App Store. And feel free to send me suggestions for further releases.
ShowMIDI
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.
- Real-time MIDI visualization
- Auto-hides irrelevant messages
- Pause and snapshot data
- Standalone application
- AUv3 plugin support
- Supports MPE configuration
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ShowMIDI is an open-source multi-platform GUI application to effortlessly visualize MIDI activity. Instead of wading through logs of MIDI messages to correlate relevant ones and identify what is happening, ShowMIDI visualizes the current activity and auto-hides what you don't care about anymore. It provides you with a real-time glanceable view of all MIDI activity on your computer. ShowMIDI is designed to be always on, using the spacebar or play/pause button you can pause the flow and focus on a data snapshot with the latest state of any MIDI entity. ShowMIDI can be ran as a standalone application that automatically detects all your MIDI devices, or as an AUv3 plugin in your DAW or host to visualize MIDI data in your sessions. ShowMIDI visualizes: * MIDI ports * channels * program change * note on/off * channel pressure * polyphonic pressure * continuous control change * pitchbend * RPN and NRPN * MPE configuration and channel modes ShowMIDI supports: * themes * standalone operation * AUv3 operation
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ShowMIDI at Free against iMIDIPatchbay's $14.99. ShowMIDI also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and device support 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
ShowMIDI is free to download; iMIDIPatchbay costs $14.99 up front. iMIDIPatchbay sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. ShowMIDI asks for nothing beyond the download.
ShowMIDI holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 18 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of iMIDIPatchbay'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 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iMIDIPatchbay | ShowMIDI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (18 ratings) | 4.8 (18 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 67.2% of reviews | 87.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 18 | 18 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Johannes Doerr | Uwyn, LLC |
Customer experience
iMIDIPatchbay
ShowMIDI
In-app purchases
iMIDIPatchbay
- Multiple masters$9.99
- Setlists$9.99
ShowMIDI
No in-app purchases









