Comparison

16 Drones vs Vagabond Synth

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

Head to head
About

16 Drones

Create evolving soundscapes and harmonic textures with a powerful ambient drone synthesizer. Shape layered drones using custom wavetables and envelopes, then perform expressively in key. Offers deep timbral control and flexible MIDI integration.

Highlights
  • 16 drone voices for layered textures
  • Custom wavetable synthesis
  • Per-voice drone envelopes
  • Subtractive synthesis layer
  • Expressive in-key performance voice
  • Support for musical scales
  • Standalone and AUv3 operation
  • MIDI input and learn
Features
Read full description

16 Drones is an ambient drone synthesizer built for evolving textures, harmonic soundscapes, and expressive in-key performance. Shape layered drones with a custom wavetable engine, per-voice controls, per-voice custom drone envelopes, and an additional subtractive layer. Then perform on top with a dedicated Play voice that stays in the same scale. Designed to be deep but immediate, 16 Drones gives you rich timbral control, musical scale exploration, expressive performance options, flexible MIDI workflow, and both standalone and AUv3 operation. Features: 16 drone voices for layered evolving textures Custom wavetable synthesis with per-voice control Per-voice custom drone envelopes for motion and character An additional subtractive layer for extra depth and weight A dedicated Play voice for expressive in-key performance Rich musical and exotic scales Standalone app and AUv3 instrument support MIDI input support for performance and control MIDI Learn for fast hardware mapping Aftertouch expression support, including polyphonic aftertouch Factory presets for fast inspiration

About

Vagabond Synth

This is a free wavetable synthesizer app that can be used standalone or as an AUv3 instrument. It offers 16 voice polyphony, multiple oscillators, a switchable filter, modulation, and effects. It also includes a MIDI processor for generating musical sequences.

Highlights
  • Standalone or AUv3 instrument
  • 16 voice polyphony
  • Multiple oscillators per voice
  • Switchable filter
  • Modulation and effects
  • Generative MIDI processor
Features
Read full description

Vagabond is an idiosyncratic wavetable synthesiser, running standalone or as an AUv3 instrument in compatible hosts such as GarageBand, AUM, Loopy Pro or Cubasis. It features 16 voice polyphony, 4 unison oscillators per voice plus a sub-oscillator, switchable filter, a bit of modulation and some effects. Also built in is a MIDI processor plugin, Twelve, a generative music toy that creates 12-bar blues sequences. Vagabond uses this for demo purposes, but you can load it in other hosts if you like. It's kind of a one trick pony, but one trick is better than none. As always, Vagabond is 100% free, no IAPs, no subs, no spyware, no nag screens. We don't want your money and we don't want your data.

Screenshots

16 Drones4 screens
Vagabond Synth3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Vagabond Synth at 100% against 16 Drones's 50%. Vagabond Synth also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). 16 Drones's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ratings volume, 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. 16 Drones sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Vagabond Synth asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Vagabond Synth holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of 16 Drones's written reviews are positive against 100% of Vagabond Synth's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

16 Drones ships an update every 2 weeks, Vagabond Synth every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
16 Drones versus Vagabond Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter16 DronesVagabond Synth
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (12 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRuben Terron RodriguezMatthew Caldwell

Customer experience

16 Drones

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Vagabond Synth

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

16 Drones

One-time1
  • 16 Drones Pro$11.99
None

Vagabond Synth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 16 Drones free?
16 Drones is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vagabond Synth free?
Vagabond Synth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, 16 Drones or Vagabond Synth?
Vagabond Synth is rated higher. 16 Drones averages 4.7 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Vagabond Synth averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do 16 Drones or Vagabond Synth have ads?
Neither 16 Drones nor Vagabond Synth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 16 Drones or Vagabond Synth?
16 Drones ships an update every 2 weeks, and Vagabond Synth every 3 months. Most recently, 16 Drones was updated on October 9, 2026 and Vagabond Synth on October 5, 2026.

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