Comparison

lo vs PulseKey Tuner

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

Head to head
About

lo

This app offers a versatile toolkit for manipulating audio with a variety of lo-fi effects. Explore historical audio degradation, modern digital artifacts, and analog warmth to transform your sound.

Highlights
  • Convolution reverb with unique impulse responses
  • Spectral processing for MP3 simulation and pitch shifting
  • Digital section with bitcrusher and CD stutter
  • Analog section with tape saturation and noise generation
  • Rearrangeable processing sections
  • Dozens of presets for sound warping
Features
Read full description

"LO‑FI‑AF is a very capable lo‑fi toolkit capable of surgically targeted destruction and it could easily find applications in just about any musical genre" -SoundOnSound Unfiltered Audio's lo-fi-af is now available on iOS as a Standalone app or AUv3 plugin! lo-fi-af takes your sound on a journey of artifacts and noise throughout recorded history, from tape warbles and vinyl noise to MP3 chirps and cell phone speaker chatter. lo-fi-af's many sections and versatile algorithms can place your sound in a different decade, or give it a thoroughly modern spin through compound processing. The first section is a convolution reverb preloaded with impulse responses from broken microphones, toy speakers, cell phones, and more. With this section alone, you can place your sound into an entirely different space. The Spectral section then splits your sound into thousands of frequencies before reconstructing it with a twist. Here you can reproduce the sound of a pirated MP3 or pitch shift your signal with clean perfection. Your signal then takes a trip through the digital section. All sorts of hazards are present here, from a skipping CD stutter effect to a multimode bitcrusher. Finally, the rich, colorful analog section adds that vibe that you crave. A maximizer, a tape saturator, a noise generator, an analog-style filter, a pitch warbler, and a radio demodulator all work together in harmony to toss your sound into the past. But wait! That's only one possible signal chain. The Convolution, Spectral, Digital, and Analog sections can be completely rearranged in any order. Dozens of presets will get your started on your sound warping adventure. As an AUv3 plugin, lo-fi-af has been tested to work perfectly with Garageband, Drambo, AUM, Cubasis, Beatmaker, Nanostudio, apeMatrix, Loopy Pro, and more! Additionally, with its clear layout and smart resizing, lo-fi-af can be used on tablets and phones with ease. (Note for Drambo users: Drambo does not yet have automatic Plugin Delay Compensation for managing plugins with latency. As a result, tracks with lo-fi-af will not line up properly with other tracks. An upcoming patch for Drambo will add this feature in.)

About

PulseKey Tuner

Features
Read full description

Get in tune. Find the key. Keep making music. PulseKey puts an always-listening instrument tuner and a song key finder on your iPhone. Open Tuner and play a note, or tap Listen in Key finder to estimate the musical key of the sound around you. Audio analysis happens on your device. START FREE - Chromatic tuner for single notes. - Standard guitar and ukulele presets. - Live note, frequency and cents readings. - Automatic string targeting or manual note lock. - Keep the screen awake while you play. - Five successful microphone analyses in Key finder, with an estimated key, harmonic profile, relative key and Camelot notation. Failed or canceled key measurements do not use your five included analyses. The allowance is five successful analyses in total, not five per day. PULSEKEY PRO: ONE PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION Unlock Pro once for lifetime access to: - Unlimited Key finder analyses. - Alternate guitar tunings, four- and five-string bass, low-G ukulele, violin and mandolin presets. - Custom tunings for your own instruments. - Pitch trace, adjustable A4 reference and a reference tone. - Audio-file import, selected-region analysis and loop playback. - Estimated keys across sections of an imported recording. - Saved measurements with titles and notes. - Scale notes, diatonic chords, Open Key notation and compatible mixing keys. - Experimental drum resonance and lug-comparison tools. ALREADY BOUGHT PULSEKEY? If you purchased the paid app before this free-with-Pro update, lifetime Pro is included at no extra charge. Use the same Apple Account, and choose Restore Purchases in Settings if needed. MADE FOR YOUR NEXT SESSION Move quickly between Key finder and Tuner. PulseKey remembers your last mode, so you can pick up where you left off. No account, advertising or developer analytics. Microphone audio and imported files are not uploaded by PulseKey. A NOTE ABOUT MEASUREMENTS Key and pitch readings are estimates and depend on the instrument, room noise and microphone. For tuning, play one clear note at a time. Complex music can have more than one plausible key. Experimental drum readings may follow an overtone rather than the fundamental. Pro is an optional one-time in-app purchase. Restore Purchases is available in Settings and on the Pro screen.

Screenshots

lo4 screens
PulseKey Tuner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PulseKey Tuner at Free against lo's $9.99. lo's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

PulseKey Tuner is free to download; lo costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

lo ships an update fortnightly, PulseKey Tuner every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
lo versus PulseKey Tuner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterloPulseKey Tuner
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (29 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings29 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS11.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUnfiltered AudioErkan Erdogan

In-app purchases

None

lo

No in-app purchases

None

PulseKey Tuner

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is lo free?
lo costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PulseKey Tuner free?
PulseKey Tuner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do lo or PulseKey Tuner have ads?
Neither lo nor PulseKey Tuner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, lo or PulseKey Tuner?
lo ships an update fortnightly, and PulseKey Tuner every 2 months. Most recently, lo was updated on October 6, 2026 and PulseKey Tuner on October 20, 2026.

Other comparisons