Cantoria vs ShowMIDI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cantoria
This app is a virtual pipe organ that uses physical modeling and additive synthesis to emulate a Baroque-style instrument. It offers a dynamic sound range, expression pedal control, and built-in effects, functioning as both a standalone application and an audio plugin.
- Physical modeling engine (no samples)
- Full polyphony (61 notes, 776 pipes)
- 9 organ stops
- 3 couplers
- Tremulant motor
- Swell pedal
- Built-in stereo reverb
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GSi Cantoria is a physical modeling emulation of a Baroque-style Pipe Organ. INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND A pipe organ is not something you see every day, there are thousands of different pipe organs that differ by the number of stops, the number of manuals, the number and the type of pipes, their size, their position, etc. Cantoria is a Baroque-style organ based on a single manual and 9 stops plus 3 couplers and the classic "tremulant" effect. This type of organ has "only" 776 pipes, which Cantoria simulates one by one. It doesn't sound "massive" like bigger organs, but is very dynamic and can vary from a soft delicate flute sound to a loud and majestic. vibrant full organ. This synth engine works as an hybrid synthesizer, uses additive synthesis and physical modeling together, there are no samples involved. The expression pedal responds naturally and varies the amount of air that passes through the pipes. About the name: the name we chose for this plugin "CANTORIA" is the italian name of the place, inside a Church, where the organ and the choir are located. Main features: - Physical Modeling engine (no samples) - Full Polyphony (61 notes, 776 pipes) - 9 Organ Stops - 3 Couplers - Tremulant Motor - Swell Pedal - Built-in Stereo Reverb effect - Built-in programmer with unlimited Programs - Embedded user's manual - Available as Stand-alone application and audio plugin - Very low CPU and RAM usage Works as AUv3 plugin.
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 update cadence: Cantoria at every 4 days against ShowMIDI's every 2 months. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Cantoria against 4.8 for ShowMIDI. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 23 and 18 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Cantoria's written reviews are positive against 88% of ShowMIDI's.
Cantoria ships an update every 4 days, ShowMIDI every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 26, 2026 and September 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cantoria | ShowMIDI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (23 ratings) | 4.8 (18 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 93.8% of reviews — better | 87.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 23 — better | 18 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Genuine Soundware | Uwyn, LLC |
Customer experience
Cantoria
ShowMIDI
In-app purchases
Cantoria
No in-app purchases
ShowMIDI
No in-app purchases







