Comparison

MIDI Scribe vs PocketDAW

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

Head to head
About

MIDI Scribe

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MIDI Scribe is a free productivity app for capturing and organizing practice takes from your MIDI-capable musical instrument. Run it while you practice, and it will automatically start new takes after every session break, with a configurable auto-take idle time, as well as support for specific MIDI commands (such as a middle or left piano pedal press) to manually start and end takes. A piano roll is provided to review and scrub individual takes. Star the takes that you want to keep indefinitely, while unstarred takes are cleaned up over time based on a configurable retention policy. All takes can be exported as MIDI files for use in other programs. MIDI Scribe is completely private. Connect your instrument, capture your takes, and keep everything securely on your device . No ads, no analytics, no snooping on your usage, and nothing ever leaves your device unless you export it. MIDI Scribe is completely free and open source for you to enjoy.

About

PocketDAW

Features
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PocketDAW brings vocal recording, arrangement, mixing, lyric writing, and export into one local-first workspace for iPhone and iPad. BUILD A VOCAL SESSION Import a beat into project-owned storage, record vocals while existing tracks play, and arrange up to 32 audio tracks. Keep the playhead centered while clips move behind it, zoom or fit the timeline, and choose a comfortable track height. Tap tracks and clips for contextual controls. Move, duplicate, precisely trim, split, fade, and crossfade clips. Shape tracks with gain, pan, mute, and solo, with project Undo and Redo. MIX WITH CONTROL Use built-in Studio EQ and Vocal Compressor, adjustable sends, Aux returns, delay, subgroup routing, Master EQ and compression, peak limiting, and peak, RMS, LUFS, and true-peak metering. Preview evidence-backed local gain and mix recommendations before applying or rejecting them. WRITE BESIDE YOUR MUSIC Create lyric documents and sections with offline exact, slant, internal, compound, and multisyllabic rhyme cues. Explore deterministic suggestions, syllable and stress facts, an offline dictionary and thesaurus, project pronunciations, search, custom themes, draft history, timeline links, and a transport-aware teleprompter. DELIVER YOUR WORK Export a 24-bit Mix WAV, choose from three loudness and true-peak-aware Mastered WAV profiles, or create aligned dry, wet, Aux, and subgroup stem packages with reconstruction metadata. LOCAL-FIRST BY DEFAULT Projects and core analysis stay on your device. PocketDAW has no account, ads, analytics, or social feed. Optional Studio Assistant chat connects to a server you choose and control on a reachable local or private network. Before Send, the app shows the destination, model, and shared context. Names, saved lyrics, and conversation history require separate sharing choices; any text you enter in a message is part of that message. Raw audio and file paths are never sent. Supported project edits require review and Apply, and local chat history can be cleared.

Screenshots

MIDI Scribe4 screens
PocketDAW4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PocketDAW at every 2 days against MIDI Scribe's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIDI Scribe ships an update every 3 weeks, PocketDAW every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 4, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
MIDI Scribe versus PocketDAW: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDI ScribePocketDAW
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.618.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size39 MB47 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperJames RansonMICHAEL DWAYNE WILLIAMS

In-app purchases

None

MIDI Scribe

No in-app purchases

None

PocketDAW

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIDI Scribe free?
MIDI Scribe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PocketDAW free?
PocketDAW is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MIDI Scribe or PocketDAW have ads?
Neither MIDI Scribe nor PocketDAW shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIDI Scribe or PocketDAW?
MIDI Scribe ships an update every 3 weeks, and PocketDAW every 2 days. Most recently, MIDI Scribe was updated on October 4, 2026 and PocketDAW on October 4, 2026.

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