ShowMIDI vs Kalimba Keys
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
Kalimba Keys
This app offers a realistic and expressive Kalimba instrument experience with studio-quality sound. It features detailed sampling, a variety of built-in effects, and cross-platform preset management for seamless creativity.
- Individually-sampled Kalimba notes
- Multiple Kalimba sound variations
- Modulation and Space & Time FX
- Adjustable effects order
- 35 included presets
- Cross-platform preset sharing
- Standalone app and AUv3 compatibility
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Kalimba Keys is your gateway to expressive Kalimba sounds. Experience the richness of Kalimba Keys, the go-to Kalimba instrument app that brings studio-quality sound to your fingertips. Immerse yourself in authenticity with round robin and per-key sampling, allowing for genuine and nuanced playback. Elevate your compositions with essential effects, including tape-style delay, powerful stereo reverb, and versatile modulation FX (Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Tremolo, Auto Pan). Unlock the simplicity of creativity as you save and load configurations with cross-platform presets, ensuring seamless compatibility across sessions. Enjoy the freedom of full automation control, sculpting your ideal sound effortlessly. AUv3 compatible for use with your favorite host apps like Cubasis, GarageBand, AUM, & more! Explore the world of expressive Kalimba Keys – where simplicity meets precision. Features - Individually-sampled Kalimba notes - 4X Kalimba Sounds (Original, Classic, Large, & Small) - Modulation Multi-FX: Multiple FX section with 6 modes including Chorus, Flanger, Phase, Vibrato, Tremolo, Auto Pan - Space & Time FX: Further customize your sounds with natural reverb and tape-style delay effects - Effects Pre/Post Mode: Space & Time and Modulation effects orders can be swapped. - 35 Presets include for instant playability and inspiration - Cross-platform support: presets can be shared between iOS and macOS & Windows - Preset Manager included for saving, editing, and loading different presets - Standalone app and AUv3 included
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ShowMIDI at Free against Kalimba Keys's $4.99. ShowMIDI also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). Kalimba Keys's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). 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
ShowMIDI is free to download; Kalimba Keys costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Kalimba Keys holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of ShowMIDI's written reviews are positive against 100% of Kalimba Keys's.
ShowMIDI ships an update every 2 months, Kalimba Keys every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 5, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShowMIDI | Kalimba Keys |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (18 ratings) | 5.0 (14 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 18 — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 112 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Uwyn, LLC | OSC Audio |
Customer experience
ShowMIDI
Kalimba Keys
In-app purchases
ShowMIDI
No in-app purchases
Kalimba Keys
No in-app purchases









