Comparison

SONA Handpan Platform vs PanStrobe

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

Head to head
About

SONA Handpan Platform

Features
Read full description

sona began with the handpan. Now it reaches wellness healers around the world โ€” tune your instrument, play anywhere, sit down for a session, and stay close to the community. โ–  Meet healers from around the world From yoga and mindfulness to sound healing, breathwork, and beyond. Choose the healer you feel drawn to, pick an open hour, and meet one to one over live video. If you guide others, open your sessions here โ€” that time becomes your income. โ–  sonaTune โ€” A Harmonics Tuner Built by a Handpan Maker Each note sings in three voices โ€” tonic, octave, and compound fifth. Read all three, and shape the sound with your own hands. Save a tuning report and hand it over when you buy or sell. โ–  sonaPan โ€” Over a Hundred Scales in Your Hand Pick the scale that suits the day and play. Lay a drum groove underneath, add some ambience, and a whole piece comes together. Record it and share it with the world. โ–  sonaMall โ€” The Handpan Marketplace Compare handpans from around the world, measured the same way, side by side. Check out with Stripe and follow your order all the way to the door. For makers, it is a new route to players everywhere. โ–  Community Share moments from your handpan life, follow the players you love, and keep the conversation going. See who's live at a glance. Tune it. Play it. Share it. And on the days you want someone beside you, a healer is one session away. - Terms of Use: https://goingtosona.com/termsofservice - Privacy Policy: https://goingtosona.com/privacypolicy

About

PanStrobe

Features
Read full description

PanStrobe is a harmonic strobe tuner built for handpan makers, tuners and players. A handpan note is not one frequency โ€” it is a fundamental with an octave and a compound fifth tuned above it. PanStrobe shows all of them at once as true strobe motion: each ring is one partial, position is phase, and drift speed is exactly how far off you are. When a ring stands still, that partial is in tune. TUNE BY SIGHT โ€ข Half-circle strobe disc or horizontal strobe rows โ€” one band per partial โ€ข True strobe physics: left = flat, right = sharp, stillness = in tune โ€ข Live cents readouts with glitch rejection โ€” and no averaging: the wobble you see is real signal โ€ข Strobe divisors (รท2, รท3, รท5) slow the pattern for far-off notes HEAR THE WHOLE NOTE โ€ข Real-time spectrum with a piano-key axis and labelled peaks โ€ข Waterfall view: watch each strike's harmonics evolve over time โ€ข Automatic note detection, or lock to the note you are working on BUILT FOR THE WORKSHOP โ€ข Chromatic notes with octave control, adjustable A4 reference, global cents offset โ€ข Band editor with multi-partial templates (1:2:3 and more) โ€ข Pitch pipe on every band โ€” double-tap a strobe for a reference tone โ€ข Dark, glare-free UI designed for metal shops โ€ข Works fully offline โ€” audio never leaves your device, no account, no tracking FREE TRIAL, FAIR PRICING Every install starts with a full-featured 8-day trial. After that, the free tier stays a single-band chromatic strobe tuner. PanStrobe Pro adds what the app is really for โ€” every partial of a note at once, the spectrum analyser, the band editor and the pitch pipe โ€” monthly, or yearly at about 20% less. Made by Panlab โ€” we build and tune handpans in Hong Kong. This is the tuner we use ourselves. Privacy Policy: https://panstrobe.app/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

SONA Handpan Platform4 screens
PanStrobe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PanStrobe at none against SONA Handpan Platform's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. SONA Handpan Platform sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.00 per 7 days and PanStrobe sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
SONA Handpan Platform versus PanStrobe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSONA Handpan PlatformPanStrobe
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size241 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopersonaAiPanlab Limited

In-app purchases

6 purchases

SONA Handpan Platform

Subscriptions3
  • sona Pro Weekly3 Days trial$9.007 Days
  • sona Pro Monthly3 Days trial$19.001 Month
  • sona Pro Annual3 Days trial$99.001 Year
One-time3
  • sona$9.99
  • sona$29.99
  • sona$49.99
2 purchases

PanStrobe

Subscriptions2
  • PanStrobe Pro7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • PanStrobe Pro Yearly$76.991 Year

Questions

Is SONA Handpan Platform free?
SONA Handpan Platform is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PanStrobe free?
PanStrobe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SONA Handpan Platform or PanStrobe have ads?
SONA Handpan Platform shows ads; PanStrobe does not.
Which is updated more often, SONA Handpan Platform or PanStrobe?
SONA Handpan Platform ships an update weekly, and PanStrobe weekly. Most recently, SONA Handpan Platform was updated on September 17, 2026 and PanStrobe on September 28, 2026.

Other comparisons