HEXBEAT vs PLICATA
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HEXBEAT
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Make music like a pro — right from your iPhone or iPad. HEXBEAT is a fully-featured iOS synthesizer and beat machine for musicians, producers, and beatmakers who want studio-quality sound in their pocket. No samples, no imports — every sound is generated in real time using advanced audio synthesis. STEP SEQUENCER Build rhythmic patterns with a 16-step grid sequencer and 8 programmable drum tracks including kick, snare, hi-hat, clap, 808 bass, tom, and cymbal. Fine-tune your groove with BPM control from 60–200 and swing up to 100%. Save up to 64 patterns across 8 banks and 8 slots each. SYNTH PAD Play melodies with a responsive XY touch pad. Choose from 8 musical scales including Major, Minor, Dorian, Pentatonic, and more. Slide your finger to control filter brightness and pitch simultaneously — up to 5 simultaneous notes for expressive, real-time performance. POWERFUL SOUND SYNTHESIS Shape your sound with 6 oscillator types (Sine, Square, Sawtooth, Triangle, Noise, Super Saw), full ADSR envelopes for amplitude and filter, a resonant low-pass biquad filter, and a 4-waveform LFO with destinations including pitch, cutoff, volume, pan, and PWM. 8-CHANNEL MIXER Mix your tracks withper-channel volume faders, pan control, mute/solo buttons, reverb and delay sends, and real-time peak meters. A master channel with limiter keeps your mix clean and loud. BUILT-IN FX RACK Add depth and character with Reverb (5 room presets from Small Room to Cathedral), Delay with tempo sync, multi-preset Distortion, and a 10-band parametric EQ. BUILT FOR LOW LATENCY HEXBEAT runs at 44.1kHz with 32-bit internal processing and configurable buffer sizes down to 128 samples — delivering under 10ms latency for live performance feel. Whether you're sketching beats on the subway, performing live on stage, or producing tracks at home, HEXBEAT gives you the tools to create. Compatible with iPhone and iPad.
PLICATA
This is a compact monophonic synthesizer for hands-on sound design and performance. It features a morphing oscillator, wavefolding, a resonant filter, and a flexible VCA contour, with an independent SUB oscillator for added depth. A 28-socket patch system allows for extensive audio, CV, and event routing.
- Morphing oscillator with wavefolding
- Independent SUB oscillator
- 28-socket patch system
- Microtonal XY keyboard
- 32-step arpeggiator
- Performance macros
- AUv3 support
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PLICATA is a compact patchable monophonic instrument for hands-on sound design and performance. A morphing oscillator feeds wavefolding, a resonant filter and flexible VCA contour, while an independent SUB oscillator adds octave, interval and eight waveform modes. PATCH IT The 28-socket patch system opens audio, CV and event routing. Modulate FOLD without replacing the oscillator path, reset the LFO externally, replace the internal SUB source, control SUB level by CV, distribute modulation through MULT, or build feedback and audio-rate networks. Patch cables are recalled with your sounds. MICROTONAL XY PERFORMANCE The 13-key XY keyboard spans C4–C5. Tune every key independently by ±100 cents or start from 12-TET, Just Intonation, Pythagorean and quarter-tone templates. Horizontal movement adds pitch expression up to ±24 semitones; vertical movement can map each key to as many as eight sound parameters or performance macros. PERFORMANCE VIEW + 32-STEP ARPEGGIATOR Tap PERF for an expanded keyboard-focused surface. The arpeggiator follows INTERNAL, HOST or MIDI clock and offers UP, DOWN, UP/DOWN, AS PLAYED, RANDOM, WALK, CONVERGE, DIVERGE and CHORD styles across up to four octaves. Build patterns from 1 to 32 steps with independent pitch, octave, velocity, gate, probability and ratchet lanes. HOLD captures the note pool; FILL creates a momentary variation. Adjust swing, gate, velocity behavior, probability and ratchets live. Rotate patterns, create temporary MUTATE variations, FREEZE the result, and recall seven ARP scenes with optional MIDI keyswitch control. MACROS, MIDI AND SYNC Six bounded performance macros shape tone, motion, fold, envelope, drive and level. IGNITE is editable: choose multiple targets, ranges and response curves, then store the mapping independently from sound presets. The keyboard can output 12-TET MIDI or preserve microtonal tuning through pitch bend with ±1, ±2, ±12 and ±24 semitone ranges. PLICATA also supports MIDI/MPE input, host sync and externally reset or free-running LFO operation. COMPLETE SOUND STATES PLICATA ships with 20 factory sounds and a full user-preset system. User sounds recall synthesis, patch cables and performance configuration together. Search, organize, favorite, duplicate and tag sounds, or use GEN to create a complete new musical state without overwriting your library. STANDALONE + AUv3 Use PLICATA standalone or as an AUv3 instrument inside compatible Apple music hosts. FEATURES • Morphing oscillator, wavefolding and pulse-width shaping • Independent SUB oscillator with interval and eight waveform modes • Resonant filter, ADSR articulation and drive • 28-socket audio, CV and event patch system • 13-key microtonal XY keyboard with independent tuning • Dedicated PERFORMANCE view with expanded keyboard • 32-step arpeggiator with nine styles and three clock modes • Per-step pitch, octave, velocity, gate, probability and ratchet • HOLD, FILL, rotate, MUTATE/FREEZE and seven ARP scenes • Six performance macros plus editable IGNITE • MIDI/MPE input and microtonal MIDI output • Factory and user presets with complete-state recall • Complete-state generation with GEN • Standalone and AUv3 operation Support, bug reports and feature requests: support@alessandroguardascione.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: HEXBEAT at Free against PLICATA's $7.99. PLICATA's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and device support. On 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
HEXBEAT is free to download; PLICATA costs $7.99 up front. HEXBEAT sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PLICATA asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | HEXBEAT | PLICATA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | — | 3.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 days |
| Ads | — | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | — | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 71 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gregory Hogan | Alessandro Guardascione |
In-app purchases
HEXBEAT
- HEXBEATOTP$7.99
PLICATA
No in-app purchases









