Comparison

WaveFace vs TranceXY

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

Head to head
About

WaveFace

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WaveFace - Interactive Waveform Synthesizer Transform sound into visual art with WaveFace, an innovative synthesizer that brings waveforms to life through an expressive animated character. Features: • 23 unique waveform types - from classic sine and square waves to advanced SuperSaw, FM, and formant synthesis • Interactive character with frequency-responsive animations - watch the mouth shrink with higher pitches • Dual play modes: Individual waveform exploration and chromatic keyboard mode • Visual waveform feedback with real-time frequency scaling • Sustain functionality with intuitive double-tap controls • Smooth, artifact-free audio engine optimized for iOS • Universal app supporting both iPhone and iPad with optimized layouts • Face color dynamically matches selected waveform in keyboard mode Perfect for: • Electronic musicians exploring synthesis techniques • Sound designers creating unique audio textures • Music educators demonstrating waveform characteristics • Anyone curious about the visual nature of sound • Performers seeking expressive touch-based instruments Experience the marriage of visual art and electronic music. See your sound, hear your touch, and discover synthesis through WaveFace's unique interactive approach. Whether you're crafting cutting leads with SuperSaw, or exploring the harmonic complexity of chord synthesis, WaveFace makes every waveform a visual journey.

About

TranceXY

Features
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TranceXY is a trance synthesizer you play with your finger. Hold the pad, sweep across it, and the sound moves with you - the pitch glides without steps, the filter opens, the chords voice, the arpeggio accelerates. It is a theremin built for trance, on a touchscreen. THEREMIN MODE, BY DEFAULT The instrument opens in Theremin mode: one steady voice whose pitch you shape by hand across the pad's Y axis, quantised to the scale you choose or free to glide. Six more performance modes are a tap away - Note, Chord, Arp, Roll, Keys and Keys Chord - and the same finger movement plays leads, stacks chords, drives arpeggios or slides between notes. A FULL TRANCE ENGINE Under the pad: three oscillators with supersaw, a multimode filter, three LFOs, a noise source, sidechain ducking and a rhythmic trance gate, followed by nine effect pedals - distortion, chorus, flanger, phaser, delay, reverb, crush, OTT and gate. Eight performance knobs sit beside the pad for the moves you make while playing: cutoff, resonance, gate, pump, detune, delay, reverb and drive. PLAYS ANYWHERE Run it on its own, or load it as an AUv3 instrument inside GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis or any AUv3 host and record it straight into your track. REC captures your performance to WAV, AIFF or FLAC and shares it anywhere on your device. ALSO A CONTROLLER FOR THE MAC Switch it into controller mode and your iPhone or iPad becomes the XY surface for TranceXY on your Mac, over USB or Wi-Fi, with the pad, gain and all eight knobs mapped for you. FREE TO DOWNLOAD, WITH TRANCEXY PRO The download is free, and the free version is a complete instrument - every performance mode, every knob, every effect pedal, controller mode - together with the Uplifting Trance preset collection. TranceXY Pro is a one-time purchase, with no subscription, that unlocks all 773 presets across nine genres, every FX chain, REC and export, and saving your own presets. One purchase covers Mac, iPhone and iPad (Universal Purchase) and supports Family Sharing. Everyone who bought TranceXY while it was a paid app already has everything. - Theremin performance pad: stepless pitch, filters, chords and arpeggios from one gesture - 7 performance modes: Theremin, Note, Chord, Arp, Roll, Keys, Keys Chord - 3 oscillators with supersaw, multimode filter, 3 LFOs, noise, ducking, trance gate - 9 effect pedals with factory chains - 773 trance presets across 9 genres - Standalone and AUv3 - REC to WAV / AIFF / FLAC - Controller mode for TranceXY on Mac (USB or Wi-Fi)

Screenshots

WaveFace4 screens
TranceXY4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: TranceXY at Free against WaveFace's $4.99. WaveFace's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly). On ads, in-app purchases, 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

TranceXY is free to download; WaveFace costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WaveFace ships an update daily, TranceXY weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
WaveFace versus TranceXY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWaveFaceTranceXY
Price$4.99Free — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohanna QuicenoTomocreate, Inc.

In-app purchases

None

WaveFace

No in-app purchases

None

TranceXY

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WaveFace free?
WaveFace costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is TranceXY free?
TranceXY is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do WaveFace or TranceXY have ads?
Neither WaveFace nor TranceXY shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WaveFace or TranceXY?
WaveFace ships an update daily, and TranceXY weekly. Most recently, WaveFace was updated on October 14, 2026 and TranceXY on October 7, 2026.

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