Comparison

Waca vs SoundShader

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

Head to head
About

Waca

Easily add custom watermarks to your photos as you take them. Adjust transparency and color for personalized branding or identification.

Highlights
  • Add watermarks while taking photos
  • Customize watermark transparency
  • Customize watermark color
  • Quick photo capture
Features
Read full description

A visualized local music player designed for music lovers. 1. An incredibly user-friendly local music player with stunning UI design. 2. Music visualization: 3D particles dance driven by your music, creating an amazing experience. 3. Supports local and NAS music sources, such as Navidrome, SubSonic, Emby, WebDAV, AList, FNOS, etc. 4. Various personalized functions are available in the personalized settings, and you can also customize features with the developer. 5. Multi-platform support: iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc. Official website of Waca: https://likunyu.com/apps/waca/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

SoundShader

Transform sound into dynamic, colorful light displays. Choose from various visual presets or customize your own to match any audio, from live microphone input to your music library. Optimized for stunning visuals on modern displays.

Highlights
  • Live microphone audio input
  • Audio file playback with equalizer
  • Apple Music integration
  • Eight built-in visual presets
  • Customizable color and motion
  • HDR display support
  • 120Hz ProMotion support
Features
Read full description

SoundShader turns sound into moving light. Each band of the music, from the deepest bass to the brightest cymbal, drives its own ribbons of color, so a quiet ballad and a dense electronic track, combined with a variety of visual presets, create wildly different looks. Every feature in SoundShader is totally free. LISTEN TO ANYTHING • Microphone: the visuals are totally live, following what your device hears, as it happens. • Audio files: open a song from Files and the visuals follow it exactly, with a 10-band equalizer to shape how it sounds and looks. • Apple Music: play a song from your library. On iPhone and iPad, it plays through the speaker while SoundShader listens through the microphone. MAKE IT YOURS • Eight built-in looks: Rainbow, Aurora, Violet, Flame, Moss, Embers, Party and Shadow. Save your own as presets. • Color: hue, saturation, brightness, and where the warm colors hand over to the cool ones. • Motion: speed, density and size, each of which can follow the music by itself with Auto Speed, Auto Density and Auto Size. • A flowing backdrop and a live waveform. BUILT FOR GREAT DISPLAYS • Extended Dynamic Range lets the brightest light go past white on HDR displays. • Runs up to your display's full refresh rate, including 120 hz ProMotion. • Performance Mode for less power usage and higher frame rates on older devices. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no ads, no tracking. Everything SoundShader hears is analyzed on your device and never leaves it.

Screenshots

Waca3 screens
SoundShader3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SoundShader at 5.0 against Waca's 3.3. SoundShader also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). Waca's advantage is device support (5 vs 3) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.5). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Waca sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. SoundShader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SoundShader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Waca's written reviews are positive against 100% of SoundShader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Waca ships an update every 3 days, SoundShader every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Waca versus SoundShader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWacaSoundShader
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (3 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings33
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer圣臣 刘Andreas Beyer-Bowden

Customer experience

Waca

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive70.6%
Neutral11.8%
Negative17.6%

SoundShader

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Waca

Subscriptions1
  • Annual VIP$0.991 Year
One-time2
  • Unlock Mac features$0.99
  • Permanent VIP$2.99
None

SoundShader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Waca free?
Waca is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SoundShader free?
SoundShader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Waca or SoundShader?
SoundShader is rated higher. Waca averages 3.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while SoundShader averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Waca or SoundShader have ads?
Neither Waca nor SoundShader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Waca or SoundShader?
Waca ships an update every 3 days, and SoundShader every 4 days. Most recently, Waca was updated on October 12, 2026 and SoundShader on September 29, 2026.

Other comparisons