Comparison

BFM vs Latch Tuner

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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.

About

Latch Tuner

Features
Read full description

Know the note. Get the numbers. Back to the beat. Ordinary tuners are built for long, sustained notes. Play a one-shot through one and the needle jumps around during the attack, then goes blank before you can read it. Latch Tuner is built for how producers actually work: it skips the attack, measures the body of the sound, and holds the answer on screen after the sample has ended. How it works. You chopped a bass note from an old record and it's fighting your track. Insert Latch Tuner on the channel, trigger the pad once, and it reads: E3 −26.5 ¢ · 324.6 Hz · MIDI 64 Set TARGET to the note you actually want — say C3 — and it does the conversion for you: SEMI −4 · FINE +27 Those are the two numbers your sampler's pitch controls take. Type them in, retrigger, done. No looping the sample into a phone tuner, no guessing against a piano. Two modes. • LATCH — for one-shots, chops, plucks, vocal stabs and 808s. Transient-aware capture holds the reading until you clear it. Capture history keeps your last few results on screen, so you can work through a whole kit without writing anything down. • LIVE — stop switching apps to tune. A straightforward in-line tuner for guitar, synth and voice, docked in a corner of your session. It tells you when it isn't sure. A gliding 808 or a reading that wobbles between octaves is flagged instead of shown as a plain answer. Built for single notes: a chord reads as one of its notes, usually the root. Noise and washed-out chops report no clear pitch, because there isn't one. Tap PLAY to hear a reference tone against the sample and decide with your ears — below ~80 Hz the tone adds an octave-up partial so you can hear it on a device speaker. Speaks sampler. Note name, cents, frequency and MIDI note number, plus the SEMI/FINE correction to your chosen target. Samplers disagree about octave numbers, so the readout shows its convention next to every answer — and a C3/C4 toggle matches it to yours. It can't silently put you an octave off. Adjustable reference pitch (440, 432, 442…). Runs where you work. An AUv3 audio effect — use it in AUM, Koala, GarageBand, or any other AUv3 host. Plus a standalone app that listens through the mic. Audio passes through untouched. One-time purchase. No subscription, no ads, no account. Everything is analyzed on-device; nothing is recorded or uploaded.

Screenshots

BFM4 screens
Latch Tuner2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Latch Tuner at monthly against BFM's every 5 months. BFM's advantage is chart position (#163 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

BFM costs $4.99 and Latch Tuner $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BFM ships an update every 5 months, Latch Tuner monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
BFM versus Latch Tuner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBFMLatch Tuner
Price$4.99$4.99
Rating4.6 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#163 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size158 MB2 MB
Age rating9++4
DeveloperOSC AudioBruno Santos Marinho

In-app purchases

None

BFM

No in-app purchases

None

Latch Tuner

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BFM free?
BFM costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Latch Tuner free?
Latch Tuner costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do BFM or Latch Tuner have ads?
Neither BFM nor Latch Tuner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BFM or Latch Tuner?
BFM ships an update every 5 months, and Latch Tuner monthly. Most recently, BFM was updated on November 7, 2026 and Latch Tuner on November 5, 2026.

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