Comparison

DNB / Loops / Synth vs Groovebox

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

Head to head
About

DNB / Loops / Synth

Create drum and bass music on the go with this app. It features a synthesizer with multiple octaves and filters, plus a collection of loops and a mixer for sound manipulation. Ideal for quickly capturing musical ideas.

Highlights
  • Synthesizer with 5 octaves
  • Low pass and high pass filters
  • 12 included loops
  • Mixer functionality
  • Delay effect
Features
Read full description

Instantly start make Drum and bass with DNB / Loops / Synth Make drum and bass anywhere. DNB Includes 12 loops (6 fantastic drum loops, pads and sound effects) and a synthesizer with a range of 5 octaves, a low pass and high pass filter. Great for getting ideas out. Features – 12 loops – Synthesizer – 2 low pass and high pass filters for loops and synth – Mixer – Delay Get it now

About

Groovebox

Create electronic music with this mobile studio app. Features inspiring synths, drum machines, and world-class instruments. Easily build beats, melodies, and arrange tracks for production.

Highlights
  • Beat and synth music studio
  • Touchable instruments for melodies and beats
  • Five powerful instruments: Drumbox, Horizon, MiniMon, RetroBass, Poly-8
  • Arrange tracks with sections
  • Record synth parameters as automation
  • Ableton Link and Ableton Export for collaboration
  • Expandable instruments and sound packs
Features
Read full description

If you love making electronic music, you’ll love Groovebox. Enter an inspiring world of music production on your iPhone & iPad. Groovebox is a free, beautifully designed music studio app packed with inspiring synths and drum machines. In minutes you’ll be making beats, melodies, and playing with world-class instruments. Expand your own collection with more sounds and instruments available in the store. From the creators of Launchpad, Groovebox helps you produce music on iPhone & iPad. • A BEATS & SYNTH MUSIC STUDIO Play with touchable instruments to quickly create your own beats and melodies, or draw in notes. Need inspiration? Groovebox has hundreds of patterns and sounds to get you started. Four powerful synthesisers, designed in partnership with Novation, deliver deep retro basslines and analogue harmonic melodies. The modern drum machine, with expanding drumkit library, will turn Groovebox into your go-to beat production studio. • SYNTHS DESIGNED WITH NOVATION Designed in partnership with Novation, legendary synth pioneers, Groovebox packs a world-class sound. Each instrument uses a new powerful synth engine capable of recreating classic warm analogue sounds and rich modern harmonics. • EASY TO START, DEEP ENOUGH TO MASTER Groovebox is designed to kick-start ideas, but it has serious features for artists and producers too. The advanced synth parameters* let you sculpt your own sounds. Automate the parameters over time to create a vibrant dynamics. Control your sound with the multi-channel mixer (iPad only), note sequencer, key and scale modes. Build your arrangements into songs with sections. Export your sounds easily to a laptop for further production. Sync to other apps or a laptop with Ableton Link. Connect using Audiobus, Inter-App Audio and even Export to Ableton Live seamlessly.   FEATURES • Discover and build ideas - Quickly explore sounds with hundreds of melody and rhythm patterns • Play touchable instruments - Create your own melodies and beats • Five powerful instruments - Drumbox, Horizon, MiniMon, RetroBass and Poly-8 • Build beats - Play drum pads or keys, sequence notes or use patterns • Arrange your tracks - Simple song-building using sections • Create dynamic changes - Record synth parameters as automation • Sound innovation - Instruments developed in partnership with synth pioneers Novation • Expand your sounds - Regular, fresh-content drumpacks, presets and patterns* • Production-ready sounds - Crafted by world-class sound designers and artists • Extendable Instruments - Expose more tweakable synth controls • Sequence your music - Draw notes and build patterns instead of playing them • Stay in time and key - Choose from any tempo, key or musical scale • Share your music - Easily create a mix of your music to share with others *Requires In-App Purchase ADVANCED FEATURES • Jam with others - Audiobus, Inter-App Audio, Ableton Link and Ableton Export • Swing - Instantly add swing to your session. • Ableton Export - Easily send your project to Ableton Live • Full scale support - All keys and major, minor and modes supported • Project management - Rename, duplicate and delete • iPad Pro support - Optimised to use the entire iPad Pro screen • Send your ideas to a laptop - Batch export your pads as a .zip file, or use Ableton Export • Bluetooth speaker supported

Screenshots

DNB / Loops / Synth4 screens
Groovebox4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Groovebox at 79% against DNB / Loops / Synth's 0%. Groovebox also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (4.7 vs 1.5). DNB / Loops / Synth's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (6.1 vs 15.0). On ads 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

Groovebox is free to download; DNB / Loops / Synth costs $0.99 up front. Groovebox sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. DNB / Loops / Synth asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Groovebox holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Groovebox has 4.8K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of DNB / Loops / Synth's written reviews are positive against 79% of Groovebox's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DNB / Loops / Synth ships an update every 6 months, Groovebox every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
DNB / Loops / Synth versus Groovebox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDNB / Loops / SynthGroovebox
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating1.5 (2 ratings)4.7 (4.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews79.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS6.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPaul BetowskiFocusrite Audio Engineering

Customer experience

DNB / Loops / Synth

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative87.5%

Groovebox

All ratings4,735 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews654 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral10.4%
Negative10.4%

Bugs and requests

DNB / Loops / Synth

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Groovebox

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when exporting projects
  • Playback issues with certain patterns
  • Disappearing UI elements when scrolling
  • Inconsistent behavior when changing sections

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add song mode and ability to chain sections
  • Improve piano roll and note editing
  • Implement MIDI support and mapping
  • Add more export options like MIDI and multi-track
  • Implement iCloud sync and cloud backup
Show 1 more
  • Add panning and more advanced mixing features

In-app purchases

None

DNB / Loops / Synth

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Groovebox

One-time10
  • Trap BassFree
  • Sequential ArpsFree
  • Ambient Hip HopFree
Show 7 more
  • Dirty 909Free
  • Hip Hop OrbitFree
  • Hypnotic BassFree
  • Golden Era Bass$0.99
  • Neuro Leads$0.99
  • Composed Melodics$0.99
  • Drum Booster$1.99

Questions

Is DNB / Loops / Synth free?
DNB / Loops / Synth costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Groovebox free?
Groovebox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DNB / Loops / Synth or Groovebox?
Groovebox is rated higher. DNB / Loops / Synth averages 1.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Groovebox averages 4.7 from 4.8K ratings.
Do DNB / Loops / Synth or Groovebox have ads?
Neither DNB / Loops / Synth nor Groovebox shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DNB / Loops / Synth or Groovebox?
DNB / Loops / Synth ships an update every 6 months, and Groovebox every 6 weeks. Most recently, DNB / Loops / Synth was updated on October 7, 2026 and Groovebox on October 22, 2026.

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