Liquid Piano vs PlayStems
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Liquid Piano
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Turn your screen into a flowing canvas of color and sound. Liquid Piano transforms touch into music through beautiful fluid visuals that react to every note you play. No musical experience needed. Every sound you create is harmonious, letting you relax and play freely. Tap anywhere on screen and watch colors bloom and swirl like watercolor in motion. Each touch plays a note, with notes mapped across the screen like a simplified piano. The result is part instrument, part meditation, part interactive art. Features: - Fluid simulation that responds to your touch and music in real time - Multiple atmospheres, unique visual themes paired with distinct instruments, from Forest to Oceans and more - Share your creations. Export as audio, video, or MIDI - Chill Mode. Tap freely while a gentle melody plays along with your strokes - Pentatonic scale ensures everything sounds beautiful together - Small learning curve. Just open and play - Calming, screen-free-of-clutter design Coming very soon: - Rhythm Mode. Follow visual cues and tap in time to create beautiful melodies - Creations Hub. Explore creations from other users and add your own layers on top Whether you want a moment of calm, a creative outlet, or a gentle way to explore music, Liquid Piano invites you to slow down and play.
PlayStems
This app allows musicians to isolate and manipulate individual instrument tracks from stereo songs or multi-track stems. Practice complex sections, learn by ear, or create backing tracks with on-device AI processing for complete privacy.
- On-device AI stem splitting
- Multi-track mixer
- Variable tempo and pitch control
- Loopable practice markers
- Offline audio processing
- Per-stem volume and pan adjustment
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PlayStems is an on-device multi-track stem player and AI audio splitter for musicians, vocalists, and bands to practice, rehearse, and perform with complete mix control. Import multi-track stems or split any stereo song directly on your device into independent vocal, drum, bass, and instrument tracks. Rehearse complex sections, isolate parts to learn by ear, or create backing tracks for live performance—all with zero audio uploaded to the cloud. MULTI-TRACK MIXER & REHEARSAL TOOLS • Synchronized multi-track playback with rock-solid transport stability • Per-stem mixer: adjust volume, solo individual parts, mute tracks, and tweak stereo pan • Variable tempo & pitch: slow down fast passages without changing pitch, or transpose keys • Precise waveform scrubbing and loopable marker ranges for repetitive practice • Master level control and clean library organization by title and artist ON-DEVICE AI STEM SPLITTING • Separate stereo tracks into vocals, bass, drums, and other instruments • 100% private: audio processing runs locally using your device's Neural Engine • No cloud servers, no account required, and no internet connection needed to split • Requires Apple Silicon or recent hardware: iPhone 13 or newer, iPad Pro (2018+), iPad Air (2022+), or Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) INCLUDED IN THE FREE VERSION Start practicing immediately with full core playback capabilities: • Full mixer, tempo adjustment, pitch shifting, markers, and range looping • 1 song in your library (up to 5 songs if you choose to enable anonymous usage analytics) • Up to 10 successful lifetime on-device stem splits • Standard stem-splitting quality models FULL VERSION (ONE-TIME PURCHASE) A single one-time unlock removes all library and processing caps with no subscriptions: • Unlimited song library capacity • Unlimited lifetime on-device stem splits • Access to downloadable High-Quality (HQ) neural stem-splitting models • Supports Family Sharing across your Apple devices Restore Purchases is available at any time in Help & Settings. Purchases are tied permanently to your Apple ID.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Liquid Piano at weekly against PlayStems's every 3 weeks. Liquid Piano also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Liquid Piano sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PlayStems sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Liquid Piano ships an update weekly, PlayStems every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Liquid Piano | PlayStems |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 1.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 175 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Luis Carrasco | Matthias Santer |
In-app purchases
Liquid Piano
- Get Full Access$3.99
PlayStems
- Full version$4.99









