Recodec vs Drift
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Recodec
Transform clean audio signals into rich, textured tones with a suite of powerful effects. Experiment quickly with a classic interface, save custom presets, and gain hands-on control via MIDI and host learning. Includes a companion app for routing and a user manual.
- Bit-depth and sample-rate reduction
- Harmonic drive and tone shaping
- Dry/Wet blend and limiter
- 35 factory presets
- User preset saving
- MIDI and Host Learn
- Mono/stereo operation
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Recodec is an AUv3 audio effect for turning clean signal into textured, character-rich tone. Use Crusher for bit-depth style reduction, Reducer for sample-rate style degradation, Refine for smoother oversampled processing, Drive for added harmonic color, and Bass and Treble to rebalance the result. Then place the effect exactly where it belongs with Dry / Wet and the always-on Limiter. Recodec is built for fast experimentation. The classic interface keeps the core controls close, supports mono and stereo operation, includes factory presets across multiple categories, and lets you save your own user presets for quick recall. Recodec also includes MIDI Learn, Host Learn, CC assignment, and optional CC broadcast feedback for hands-on control workflows. Features: - Crusher for digital bit-depth style reduction - Reducer for sample-rate style degradation - Refine oversampling control - Drive, Bass, and Treble tone shaping - Dry / Wet blend and always-on Limiter - 35 factory presets across multiple categories - User preset save and recall - MIDI Learn, Host Learn, CC assignment, and CC broadcast - Mono and stereo operation Great for: - drums and percussion - vocals - synths and keys - bass and guitar - loops and transitions - creative sound design
Drift
This audio plugin offers dynamic saturation with a continuously shifting distortion curve. Achieve warm, musical tones or gritty, unpredictable textures. It's designed for musicians and producers seeking unique sonic character.
- Dynamic saturation with shifting distortion
- Adjustable drive for warmth to clipping
- Drift parameter for continuous curve changes
- Depth and Spread for stereo variation
- React for transient-following distortion
- Post-saturation tone shaping
- AUv3 plugin support
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DRIFT is a saturation plugin with a wandering soul. The distortion curve doesn't sit still — it shifts continuously, driven by the Drift parameter, so your signal is never processed the same way twice. Warm and musical at low settings. Gritty and unpredictable pushed hard. Everything in between. — DRIVE — Pushes the signal into saturation. From gentle warmth to hard clipping. — DRIFT — The wandering parameter. Steers the saturation curve continuously over time — the higher it goes, the more the character shifts. — DEPTH — Controls how far the curve travels from its center position. More depth, more variation. — SPREAD — Widens the drift behavior between left and right channels for stereo movement. — REACT — How quickly the curve responds to transients. Low React for smooth, gradual drift. High React for transient-following distortion. — TONE — Post-saturation tonal shaping. Roll off highs or open up the top end after the drive. — MIX — Dry/wet blend for parallel saturation. — OUTPUT — Final output level after saturation and tone shaping. — AUv3 PLUGIN — Run DRIFT inside AUM, ApeMatrix, Audiobus, or any AUv3 host. Multiple instances, each with independent settings. — WORKS ON — iPhone and iPad, all modern screen sizes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Drift at $1.99 against Recodec's $14.99. Drift also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 5 weeks) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
Recodec costs $14.99 and Drift $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Recodec against 5.0 for Drift. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Recodec ships an update every 5 weeks, Drift daily. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Recodec | Drift |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christian Thompson | Stephan Bolch |
Customer experience
Recodec
Drift
In-app purchases
Recodec
No in-app purchases
Drift
No in-app purchases








