Comparison

ToneShaper vs spectwhirl

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

Head to head
About

ToneShaper

Design unique audio tones by graphically plotting frequency over time. Add points to define shapes, adjust frequency ranges and duration, and export your creations as WAV files. Explore a library of sample tone shapes to begin experimenting.

Highlights
  • Graphical frequency plotting
  • Add and drag points to shape tones
  • Adjust frequency range
  • Set cycle duration
  • Export audio to WAV
  • Library of sample tone shapes
Read full description

Create cycles with tone shapes of smoothly varying frequency by plotting frequency at specific times. Tap the library button to pick from a selection of sample tone shapes to get started. Tap in the plot view to add points with coordinates (frequency, time). Drag to move points, but limited by the neighbors time. Alternatively, drag in the draw tab to add points, then apply them to set the points in the plot view. Adjust the frequency range slider to limit the bandwidth. Adjust the duration slider to specify the cycle period. Finally, in the export view you can save the audio to a WAV file with a chosen number of cycles. The duration of the audio is limited by the maximum duration, which therefore also limits the number of cycles in the audio file.

About

spectwhirl

This audio effect app transforms input sound into new textures and bell-like tones by extracting and manipulating sinewave components. It offers advanced control over delay lines, frequency shifting, and filtering, with gesture recording for parameter automation.

Highlights
  • Sinewave component extraction and grouping
  • Delay lines with feedback
  • Frequency shifter and sample-and-hold effects
  • Configurable filtering
  • Gesture recording for automation
  • Scene saving and management
Features
Read full description

"bells and whistles, literally" spectwhirl is a hybrid spectral audio effect. It can extract and rearrange sinewave components from input signal to make new sound textures and bell-like sounds. * input sound is converted to sinewave components that are divided into 4 groups: harmonic, inharmonic, 12-edo and other * each component is fed into a delay line with feedback * there is a group of frequency shifter and sample-and-hold effects before and after delay lines * each set of sinewave components can be filtered * all the parameters can be instantly automated with gesture recording !!! Please note that this effect consumes much CPU and requires a modern device. ====================== Quick Start: Top row of controls enables different parts of user interface: scenes editor ("scene"), controls switch ("edit") and "zoom" controls When "edit" is switch on, you can show or hide various controls (marked as "ctrl") and switch gesture recording automation for some of them (marked with ">") Main control surface displays sonogram with tracked elements. Colors are set accordingly to the group they are assigned (red-orange-green-blue are for harmonic, inharmonic, 12-edo and others). Each "lane" contains delay time controls. * Triangle facing left is for the start locator, it determines initial delay time * Square moves both start and end locators together * When left locator is first moved you can see the right locator with the same triangle. It shows the end of the selected region, the secondary delay time is determined by the difference between left and right locators * if you drag over the area of the region in a lane, the four-dotted/one circle indicator will change its appearance; this changes the arpeggio mode of the region. If set to leftmost position (one circle) the components go in-sync; if set to maximum value (shown as diagonal line with circles) - components are played sequentially * all settings can be stored as "scene" and multiple scenes can be switched sequentially; there is a set of button to move, add and delete scenes. All scenes will be stored as machine state; it can be exported / imported as a single file or as separate file with current scene in the "setup" view The standalone version always starts with output level set to -70 dB to avoid feedback

Screenshots

ToneShaper4 screens
spectwhirl4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ToneShaper at 100% against spectwhirl's 33%. ToneShaper also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and rating (5.0 vs 4.0). spectwhirl's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). On ratings volume, 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

ToneShaper is free to download; spectwhirl costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ToneShaper holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of ToneShaper's written reviews are positive against 33% of spectwhirl's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ToneShaper ships an update every 6 days, spectwhirl every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ToneShaper versus spectwhirl: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterToneShaperspectwhirl
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better4.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings35 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.412.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLimit Point SoftwareAlexey Nadzharov

Customer experience

ToneShaper

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

spectwhirl

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

ToneShaper

No in-app purchases

None

spectwhirl

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ToneShaper free?
ToneShaper is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is spectwhirl free?
spectwhirl costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ToneShaper or spectwhirl?
ToneShaper is rated higher. ToneShaper averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while spectwhirl averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do ToneShaper or spectwhirl have ads?
Neither ToneShaper nor spectwhirl shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ToneShaper or spectwhirl?
ToneShaper ships an update every 6 days, and spectwhirl every 5 weeks. Most recently, ToneShaper was updated on June 1, 2026 and spectwhirl on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons