Comparison

Gravity Machine vs NotePulse

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

Head to head
About

Gravity Machine

Create music by manipulating a miniature solar system. Fling orbs that bounce off walls, generating notes based on physics and chosen scales. Customize worlds, sounds, and tunings for unique generative compositions.

Highlights
  • Generative music creation
  • Physics-based orb interactions
  • Customizable scales and tunings
  • Multiple world shapes
  • AUv3 and standalone modes
  • MIDI output
Features
Read full description

A tiny solar system that plays piano. Four orbs, a gravity well, and walls that ring like bells. Fling an orb and it falls, ricochets, and plays notes. Where it hits a wall decides what it plays; the physics decide when. You don't write the music. You build a small world and curate what it sings. Gravity is a touch instrument first. Grab an orb and it follows your finger; let go and the throw becomes its velocity. Drag the gravity well and every orbit in the room bends. Set Pulse and the well breathes in time with the tempo, so chaos starts keeping a schedule. EVERYTHING LANDS IN KEY Every impact point along the boundary maps to a note of the current scale, low at one end, high at the other. Pick from 16 scales and 11 tuning systems (12-TET, just intonation, maqam, shruti and more). The scale strip along the bottom is a key-change timeline: tap a segment, change the key, and the whole world modulates on the bar. EIGHT WORLDS TO BOUNCE IN Rectangle, circle, triangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, diamond, star. Sharp corners ricochet hard and play jagged. Round shapes glide and play smooth. SOUND A 16-voice pluck engine through a double-bass body and reverb. Octave, key range, quantize from 1/32 to 1/2, orb-to-orb collisions on or off. Presets to start from, themes for the visuals. AUv3 AND STANDALONE Use Gravity full-screen as a standalone instrument, or load it as an AUv3 in GarageBand, AUM, Logic Pro, Cubasis, Loopy Pro and any other Audio Unit host. Each orb has its own MIDI channel, so Gravity can drive other instruments in your host. ONE PRICE No account, no ads, no in-app purchases, no data collected. Buy it once and it's yours. The same engine ships as a VST3 and AU plugin for Windows and macOS at touchmachines.com.

About

NotePulse

Features
Read full description

NotePulse transforms MIDI files into an interactive visual learning experience, helping you connect the music you hear with piano keys and traditional musical notation. Watch notes approach a full 88-key piano keyboard in the synchronized Notes view, or switch to the Live Grand Staff to follow the performance as written music. Keyboard and Score modes help you understand where each note belongs on both the staff and the instrument. Features include: • Synchronized MIDI playback, animated notes, piano keyboard, and grand staff • Live Grand Staff with Keyboard and Score viewing modes • Multi-track playback using SoundFont instruments • General MIDI instrument playback and per-track instrument selection • Adjustable playback speed for focused practice • A–B looping for repeating difficult sections • Track controls for mute, solo, volume, pan, transpose, color, and instrument selection • Left- and right-hand guidance • Score quantization and adjustable staff presentation • Support for user-selected MIDI and compatible SoundFont files • Online MIDI catalog with downloadable songs for offline use • Downloadable NotePulse Sound Library • Session import and export • Adaptive layouts for iPhone and iPad • Built-in starter music for getting started immediately NotePulse is designed for musicians, students, educators, and anyone interested in exploring how MIDI performances translate into piano movement and traditional musical notation. Import your own MIDI files through the Files app, explore downloadable music from the NotePulse catalog, or use the included starter collection. NotePulse remembers your practice settings, track configuration, visualization preferences, instrument selections, loops, and playback position for individual MIDI files. Your imported MIDI, SoundFont, and session files are processed locally on your device. Online catalog content and the NotePulse Sound Library are downloaded only when needed. No account is required. See the Music. Feel the Pulse.

Screenshots

Gravity Machine1 screens
NotePulse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NotePulse at $0.99 against Gravity Machine's $9.99. Gravity Machine's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

Gravity Machine costs $9.99 and NotePulse $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gravity Machine ships an update weekly, NotePulse every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 7, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Gravity Machine versus NotePulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGravity MachineNotePulse
Price$9.99$0.99 — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouchmachinesNoorcon Inc.

In-app purchases

None

Gravity Machine

No in-app purchases

None

NotePulse

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gravity Machine free?
Gravity Machine costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NotePulse free?
NotePulse costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Gravity Machine or NotePulse have ads?
Neither Gravity Machine nor NotePulse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Gravity Machine or NotePulse?
Gravity Machine ships an update weekly, and NotePulse every 10 days. Most recently, Gravity Machine was updated on October 7, 2026 and NotePulse on October 7, 2026.

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