BFM vs Apogee Soft Limit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BFM
This audio metering plugin offers a large, highly readable interface for monitoring audio levels across various modes like RMS, LUFS, and Peak. It provides multiple visual representations including text, bars, waveforms, VU meters, and spectrum analysis to help users keep their audio signals under control and avoid clipping.
- Large, readable interface
- Multiple metering modes (RMS, LUFS, Peak)
- Visualizations: Text, Bars, Waves, VU, Spectrum
- Adjustable sensitivity and peak hold
- Stereo image and phase response meters
- Frequency spectrum analysis
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BFM or Big F*ing Meters is a macOS, Windows, and soon to be iOS compatible Metering plug-in designed exactly how the name sounds... really f*ing big. With the main goal of readability we wanted to bring a meter that you can see from across the studio and keep your records clip-free. BFM currently offers 6 Modes with RMS, LUFs, Peak, and Peak Hold values, to give you a variety of views to keep your signal under control. The Text, Bars, Waves, VU Meters, Spectrum, & Time let you decide how you want to keep track of your signal with multiple fonts/formats to view them in. Text gives you a quick look at just the values easy to see from across the room. This view offers the most values with RMS, Peak, Peak Hold, and LUFs (Short Term & Momentary with Maximum values and LUFS range) values available. Controllable sensitivity & peak hold time for all pages. Reset Peak Hold with a click off the value. Bar offers a more traditional meter for seeing the range of values showing RMS, Peak, Peak Hold, and LUFS. Correlation & Balance meters included to set your stereo image and phase response. Peak Hold resets on value click. Sensitivity changes on bar click. LUFS readings select on click. Included reference points for -24 (EBU), -16 (Apple Music), & -7 as a suggested maximum for most genres. Wave view gives you a look at your waveform after your channel effects with the ability to quickly mark in dB where you want to see your signals peak. To freeze click the waveform. To reset Peak Hold click the value. VU Meter Designed for a quick look at your overall levels. Featuring controllable Attack, Release, Minimum, and Maximum value control. Left/Right, Mid/Side, PPM, and LUFS options available. Click VU to enter dark mode. Spectrum is a simplified frequency spectrum view with 3 quality modes. Great for getting an overall look at where your frequencies are when mixing or editing. Tap to freeze and inspect. There is also the PEAK value displayed on this page. To reset Peak Hold click the value.
Apogee Soft Limit
This app emulates analog tape warmth and rounds transients to add harmonic richness without clipping. It provides tools to achieve more headroom in your mixes, offering adjustable controls for threshold, drive, and output.
- Analog tape emulation
- Rounds transients
- Adds harmonic warmth
- Adjustable Soft Limit Threshold
- Auto Makeup
- Drive and Output Trim
- Oversampling
- Input, Output, and Soft Limit Meter
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Soft Limit has been an integral feature of Apogee converters since the AD-500, our first standalone A-D converter released in 1991. And now, for the very first time, this simple but highly effective analog tape emulation is available on iOS devices. Soft Limit was created to help round transients and add harmonic warmth, without clipping the signal and thus helping you achieve more headroom in your mixes. Features: • Adjustable Soft Limit Threshold • Auto Makeup • Drive • Output Trim • Oversampling • Input, Output, and Soft Limit Meter
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Apogee Soft Limit at 5.0 against BFM's 4.6. BFM's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $9.99) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On review sentiment, in-app purchases, monetization model and iOS requirement 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
BFM costs $4.99 and Apogee Soft Limit $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Apogee Soft Limit holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BFM has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
| Parameter | BFM | Apogee Soft Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | — |
| Ads | No | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | — |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 158 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | OSC Audio | Apogee Electronics Corp |
Customer experience
BFM
Apogee Soft Limit
In-app purchases
BFM
No in-app purchases
Apogee Soft Limit
No in-app purchases









