Comparison

Grip vs drop

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

Head to head
About

Grip

Control Ableton Live remotely from your iOS device. Manage transport, recording, track settings, and clips wirelessly. Includes a built-in MIDI keyboard for on-the-go note input.

Highlights
  • Wireless Ableton Live control
  • Voice control for transport and recording
  • Track arming, soloing, and muting
  • Clip launching and scene navigation
  • Built-in MIDI keyboard
  • Project saving and volume control
Features
Read full description

Grip is the missing app for Ableton Live. This app requires Grip Desktop to be running on the same computer as Ableton Live. Download that app first at www.gripforlive.com. Stay in creative flow with Grip: Remote control Ableton from anywhere in your studio, bedroom, or battlestation—at your synth, in the vocal booth, or from the couch. Grip connects to your computer over Wi-Fi as a native Live control surface. No MIDI mapping required. Stop running from your mic to the computer, or having to play guitar near your computer. With Grip, you can literally use your voice to say "record" and play directly into Ableton Live. Keep Grip with you at whatever instrument you're playing, to play, record, undo, redo, and even save from your phone or tablet. TRANSPORT & RECORDING • Control Live with your voice • Play, stop, record, and overdub • Undo and redo • Preview and record into scenes • Quickly loop between sections of your song in arrangement • Pre-roll recording before your locators • Toggle metronome • Save your project from your phone • Change volume • Arm, solo, and mute tracks MIXER & NAVIGATION • Record & launch clips, move and copy them between tracks and scenes on the session view • Jump to locators • Launch scenes • Scrub through your arrangement with your finger • Switch between session and arrangement view • Mixer controls for volume, sends, pan, and arm/solo • Insert, duplicate, or delete tracks or scenes • Rename locators and scenes MIDI PIANO & DRUM PAD • Built-in piano for playing notes into Live • Push-like drum pad for playing notes or drum kits • Requires the Mac version of Grip. (Windows support for MIDI forthcoming.)

About

drop

Capture musical ideas instantly on your iPhone and seamlessly transfer them to your Mac's DAW. This app offers a straightforward recording and syncing process, with options for unlimited recordings via a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Instant recording
  • Automatic iCloud sync
  • Drag-and-drop to DAW
  • Stereo recording with USB mics
  • Low-latency monitoring
  • Lossless ALAC audio
  • CarPlay playback
Features
Read full description

Record song ideas, rehearsals, interviews and voiceovers on your iPhone. Sync them to your Mac and drag them straight into your DAW or video editor. No separate account to create. No subscription. Keep up to 25 recordings free, recorded here or imported. Unlock unlimited recordings with a one-time drop Pro purchase. WHAT'S FREE, WHAT'S PRO • Free: up to 25 recordings, including audio file import, stereo capture and WAV, AAC and MP3 export • drop Pro: unlimited recordings • One payment, no trials that auto-charge, no surprises RECORD WITH YOUR GEAR • Plug in a compatible USB microphone or audio interface. Stereo depends on what the input offers • Adjust the recording level for external inputs and hear the change through live monitoring • Live waveform and input meters while you record • 48 kHz, 24-bit, lossless ALAC GET IT INTO YOUR EDITOR • Export any recording as WAV, AAC or MP3, free, right from your iPhone • Record lossless ALAC when quality matters, or AAC for smaller files • Find your synced takes in the Mac menu bar and drag them into Logic, Ableton, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere or Final Cut • No Mac needed to share. Send a take to anyone straight from the app TRANSCRIBE ON DEVICE • Turn any recording into text, free, with no account • Transcription runs on your iPhone. Your audio is not sent to a transcription service • Transcribe a take whenever you want, or switch on automatic transcription so new takes become text while Drop is open • Good for interviews, voice notes, podcast takes and lyric ideas • Requires iOS 26 and a supported transcription language FREE UP SPACE. KEEP YOUR LIBRARY. • Remove a recording from this device when you need the space. It stays in your library and in your iCloud • Download it again whenever you want to play it • Your other devices are unaffected FIND ANY TAKE • Browse your folders and search every recording by name • Move recordings between folders, rename them, and act on several at once • Play a folder back to back WHAT PEOPLE RECORD WITH IT • Song ideas, jams and riffs before they vanish, plus band practice and rehearsals • Scratch voiceover and narration, dragged straight into DaVinci Resolve, Premiere or Final Cut • Interviews, voice notes and podcast takes • Field recording, sound design and motion work YOUR MAC COMPANION • Lives in your menu bar, always one click away • Browse, play and preview all your recordings • Drag single or multiple files into any app CARPLAY READY • Play recordings back from your dashboard and review ideas on the drive home PRIVACY FIRST • Your recordings sync between your devices through your own iCloud, and nowhere else • We don't see or touch your recordings. Your iCloud is yours • No ad trackers and no analytics SDKs. Only anonymous crash diagnostics, stored in the EU Built in Catalonia by Lluis and Regina (WasabiNoise and RGBCN). Fifteen years shipping apps for other companies, now shipping one for creators. If something bugs you, write. We read every email. For more information see our privacy policy: https://drop.wasabi.cat/privacy/ and terms of use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Grip4 screens
drop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Grip at none against drop's 4. Grip also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 83%) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). drop's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (23 vs 2). On price, rating, ads 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

Both are free to download. drop sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Grip asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Grip against 4.9 for drop. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: drop has 23 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Grip's written reviews are positive against 83% of drop's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grip ships an update every 3 weeks, drop every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Grip versus drop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGripdrop
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.9 (23 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings223 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdam BakerLluis Gerard Lopez Ferrer

Customer experience

Grip

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

drop

All ratings22 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

Grip

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

drop

One-time4
  • Tip — Coffee$1.99
  • Tip — Guitar strings$4.99
  • Drop Pro$7.99
Show 1 more
  • Tip — Studio session$9.99

Questions

Is Grip free?
Grip is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is drop free?
drop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Grip or drop?
Grip is rated higher. Grip averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while drop averages 4.9 from 23 ratings.
Do Grip or drop have ads?
Neither Grip nor drop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grip or drop?
Grip ships an update every 3 weeks, and drop every 8 days. Most recently, Grip was updated on October 31, 2026 and drop on November 9, 2026.

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