Comparison

Echo Beach vs Pulseq

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

Head to head
About

Echo Beach

This app transforms your iPhone into a powerful sampler and sequencer, allowing you to capture, chop, and arrange audio with a modern workflow. Easily export your creations as stems, MIDI, or a full mix to any Digital Audio Workstation.

Highlights
  • 8-Pad Sampler
  • Smart Slice Detection
  • Built-In Step Sequencer
  • Groove Engine
  • Studio FX Suite
  • DAW Export (Stems, MIDI)
  • Offline Operation
Read full description

Sample anything. Sequence anything. Play anywhere. Echo Beach turns your iPhone into a professional-grade sampler and AUv3 Instrument plugin. Inspired by the tactile workflow of classic hardware like the SP-1200 and MPC, Echo Beach lets you capture, chop, and sequence ideas in seconds as a standalone or directly inside your favorite DAW. AUV3 PLUGIN POWER Echo Beach is now a full AUv3 Instrument. Host it inside Logic Pro, Ableton, Cubasis, or GarageBand. - Seamless Integration: Follows host transport, BPM, and timeline. - Deep Automation: Every knob, fader, and effect is exposed as an AUParameter for smooth DAW automation. - Shared Library: Samples recorded in standalone are instantly available in the plugin via a shared App Group. CORE FEATURES - 8-Pad Sampler: Load, trim, loop, and play with high-fidelity, low-latency performance. - Smart Slice Detection: Auto-chop audio based on transients or edit markers manually. - Built-In Step Sequencer: Program complex rhythms instantly with per-step velocity. - Custom Effects Engine: - Inserts: Reverse, 5-Band EQ, Oberheim inspired Tone filter, Transient Shaper, 2 pitch modes, 5 Distortion models, Stutter, Grain, Room reverb, and Duck. - Sends: Juno-106 inspired Chorus, Stereo Widener, 4 Custom Delay, Plate Reverb, and Lo-Fi. - Master: 5 Distortion models, 2 compressor models (Fet and Opto), Limiter, Master Out fader. - Groove Engine: Interpolate between 8 groove templates, from perfect quantization to human, Dilla-esque swing. - Professional Factory Bank: High-quality sample library included to start making beats immediately. - DAW Export: Send stems, full mix, and MIDI with embedded BPM and time-signature metadata. - MIDI Learn: Full MIDI controller support with a dedicated Map mode to customize your hardware setup. WORKFLOW Record → Slice → Sequence → Automate - Import audio from your library, Files, or even Video files with the new synchronized preview. - Tap the waveform to slice audio or drag slices to any pad. - Sequence your pattern and use P-Locks (Parameter Locking) to automate effects per-step. - Host the plugin in your DAW to add the Echo Beach sound to your full production. WHY ECHO BEACH? Most samplers make you choose: simple or powerful. Echo Beach is both. It breaks the trade-off with features that work like you think: - Musical Timing: Slices become MIDI notes and grooves apply musically, not mechanically. - Real-Time Safety: Hardened for live performance and high-pressure studio sessions. - No Friction: Slices and sequences move with you from standalone sketching to final DAW mixing. TECH SPECS - Supports WAV, AIFF, MP3, M4A, CAF. - Export stems, full mix, and MIDI. - Professional-grade DSP with near-zero latency. - Fully offline operation. Stop scrolling YouTube for 'how to make beats.' Start making them with Echo Beach.

About

Pulseq

This multi-stage MIDI sequencer is designed for electronic music production, allowing users to create complex patterns for external synths and AUv3 plugins. It offers extensive control over notes, velocity, gate behavior, and rhythm, with features for arranging scenes into full tracks.

Highlights
  • Multi-stage sequencing (1-16 stages)
  • Pitch and scale control with 17 scales
  • Flexible gate modes and rhythm shaping
  • Multiple play and split modes
  • Up to eight CC modulation lanes
  • Scene chaining for full track arrangements
  • Standalone and AUv3 plugin support
Features
Read full description

Pulseq is a multi-stage MIDI sequencer built for techno, acid, and experimental electronic music. It drives your external synths and AUv3 plugins over MIDI. Made up of 1-16 "stages", each stage carries its own note, velocity, gate behavior, and length. Chain scenes together into full arrangements. Use Pulseq as a standalone app or as an Audio Unit MIDI effect inside your host. SEQUENCING Build patterns from 1 to 16 stages. Each stage sets its own note, velocity, gate mode, and length in pulses. Let a stages hold for two or three pulses, and hear the loop come alive. PITCH & SCALES Pitch comes from each stage's note, guided by root and scale. Seventeen scales are available. Snap Notes to Scale keeps emitted notes in key; turn it off and stored notes play exactly as entered. GATE MODES & RHYTHM Gate mode is the character of each stage: Off, Single (one trigger per stage), Multi (retriggers every pulse, or every 2nd, 3rd, or 4th), Prob (fires by chance), Long (holds to the end), and Prog (a pattern you draw across up to 16 steps). Add Swing from 0 to 100%, shape Gate Length from tight and clipped to legato, and turn on per-stage Glide with global Portamento. PLAY & SPLIT MODES Play mode sets direction: Forward, Ping-Pong, Random, and Fixed. Split mode changes form: run a single lane, alternate lanes A and B by repeat counts (Serial, to build AAAB patterns), or run both lanes at once on two MIDI channels (Parallel) with an independent B clock multiplier. CC MODULATION Up to eight CC lanes drive filter cutoffs, mod wheels, or any destination that accepts MIDI CC. Lane values are per-stage, and every new lane starts with Don't Send so adding one can never surprise attached hardware. CLOCK & TRANSPORT When hosted, Pulseq follows the host transport and clock. Standalone, an internal tempo from 20 to 300 BPM drives playback, with clock divisions from 1/1 down to 1/32 plus triplet and dotted options. Apply Changes controls when live edits take effect: Immediate, Next Pulse, or Next Bar, for deterministic performance. SCENES & CHAIN Sixteen scene slots capture the full musical setup: stages, root, scale, tempo, split, and CC lanes, while leaving your user configuration intact. String scenes into a complete track with the Chain editor: set per-step lengths, loop the whole chain, and hand scene changes to the timeline. STANDALONE & AUV3 Use Pulseq as a standalone app or as an AUv3 MIDI effect. It runs in AUv3 hosts such as AUM, Drambo, Logic, and Cubasis.

Screenshots

Echo Beach4 screens
Pulseq4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pulseq at 5.0 against Echo Beach's 3.8. Pulseq also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and price ($3.99 vs $9.99). Echo Beach's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (12 vs 1). On ads, monetization model, device support and iOS requirement 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

Echo Beach costs $9.99 and Pulseq $3.99 up front. Echo Beach sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pulseq asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pulseq holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Echo Beach has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Echo Beach ships an update every 5 days, Pulseq every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Echo Beach versus Pulseq: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEcho BeachPulseq
Price$9.99$3.99 — better
Rating3.8 (12 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeremiah KleinJoe Topjian

Customer experience

Echo Beach

All ratings12 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral9.1%
Negative36.4%

Pulseq

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

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Echo Beach

One-time1
  • Echo Beach Pro$9.99
None

Pulseq

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Echo Beach free?
Echo Beach costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Pulseq free?
Pulseq costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Echo Beach or Pulseq?
Pulseq is rated higher. Echo Beach averages 3.8 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Pulseq averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Echo Beach or Pulseq have ads?
Neither Echo Beach nor Pulseq shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Echo Beach or Pulseq?
Echo Beach ships an update every 5 days, and Pulseq every 2 weeks. Most recently, Echo Beach was updated on October 7, 2026 and Pulseq on October 2, 2026.

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