Comparison

BEATSURFING Performer vs T.APE

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

Head to head
About

BEATSURFING Performer

This app acts as a performance interface for compatible music plugins, allowing users to play virtual instruments like drum kits directly. It brings the interactive music-making experience from other acclaimed applications into your digital audio workstation.

Highlights
  • Perform virtual drum kits
  • Connects to BEATSURFING plugins
  • Integrates with DAWs
  • Interactive music-making experience
  • Companion app for plugins
Features
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A companion app for playing BEATSURFING plugins, starting with DRUW, the drum kit generator. Once connected to your plugin, the app lets you perform your drums instead of programming them. Bringing the music-making experience of the acclaimed Playground and Beatsurfing 2 apps into your DAW.

About

T.APE

This app offers a retro-inspired multitrack recorder that mimics the feel of working with tape. It allows musicians to record up to four stereo tracks, layer ideas, and export projects with a vintage aesthetic and modern flexibility.

Highlights
  • 4-track stereo recording
  • Per-track volume, pan, solo & mute
  • Real-time tape-style playback
  • Drag-to-scrub functionality
  • Project title and notes
  • Timeline view with waveform editor
  • Loop-friendly layering
Features
Read full description

T.APE – A Retro-Inspired Multitrack Recorder with a Modern Soul Step into the world of T.APE: a multitrack recording app that feels like working with tape—but in your pocket. Built for musicians, producers, and sound explorers, T.APE combines the warmth and immediacy of vintage cassette workflows with the flexibility of modern digital tools. Record up to four stereo tracks, layer your ideas, trim and bounce your takes, and take notes of your new project. Whether you're sketching demos, building experimental textures, or capturing spontaneous moments, T.APE gives you a fast and tactile way to create—without distractions. Key Features: - 4-track stereo recording with offline bounce - Per-track volume, pan, solo & mute - Real-time tape-style playback with drag-to-scrub - Give your project a title and save your notes too - Timeline view with waveform editor - Loop-friendly and made for layering ideas - Project export and import with all track settings - Vintage tape aesthetic with modern reliability T.APE doesn’t try to replace your DAW—it complements it. Perfect for quick takes, sound journaling, or lo-fi experiments on the go. For first-time users: T.APE lets you record multitrack audio just like an old-school tape recorder. To record over existing tracks in real time, you’ll need to use headphones. We recommend using original Apple wired headphones for the best results. Before you start, it’s also a good idea to fine-tune the app’s internal latency. To access the latency settings, tap the spinning reel icon at the top (it rotates during playback, like a tape spindle). Then swipe vertically to adjust the latency. On an iPhone 14 Pro, a value around 220 ms is usually ideal. Note: the system-calculated value doesn’t include your device’s final output latency. We’re working on a more advanced latency calibration system for future updates. To record at a specific point in your project, simply scrub forward or backward, press pause, arm the track, and start recording. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to reach out!

Screenshots

BEATSURFING Performer4 screens
T.APE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: BEATSURFING Performer at Free against T.APE's $3.99. BEATSURFING Performer also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 16 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.2). T.APE's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5). 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

BEATSURFING Performer is free to download; T.APE costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

T.APE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BEATSURFING Performer ships an update weekly, T.APE every 16 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
BEATSURFING Performer versus T.APE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBEATSURFING PerformerT.APE
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.5 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 16 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDRUW AudioPaolo Giorgi

Customer experience

BEATSURFING Performer

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

T.APE

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

BEATSURFING Performer

No in-app purchases

None

T.APE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BEATSURFING Performer free?
BEATSURFING Performer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is T.APE free?
T.APE costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BEATSURFING Performer or T.APE?
T.APE is rated higher. BEATSURFING Performer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while T.APE averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do BEATSURFING Performer or T.APE have ads?
Neither BEATSURFING Performer nor T.APE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BEATSURFING Performer or T.APE?
BEATSURFING Performer ships an update weekly, and T.APE every 16 months. Most recently, BEATSURFING Performer was updated on November 6, 2026 and T.APE on October 30, 2026.

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