Loop vs PocketTone
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Loop
Create melodies easily with a minimalist digital audio workstation. Explore various synthesis options and effects to shape your sound. Save and export your musical ideas as high-quality WAV files for sharing or further use.
- Minimalist DAW interface
- Multiple synthesis types (AM, FM, wavetable)
- Adjustable tempo and octave
- Sound sculpting with envelopes
- Reverb and other effects
- Save and export loops as WAV
- Fully offline functionality
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Turn taps into melodies and beats. Loop is your handheld music studio for sketching ideas, building drum patterns, and creating original loops on a simple grid. Start with five free sample loops or make something of your own. CREATE WITH A TAP • Tap the grid to add notes and hear your melody take shape. • Add kick, snare, and hi-hat patterns. • Build longer phrases across multiple pages. • Follow your music with a moving playback highlight. • Give each loop its own name and color. EXPLORE FIVE FREE SAMPLES From mellow grooves to bright arpeggios, each sample combines a distinct melody, rhythm, and sound. Play them for inspiration, view their sound settings, and restore deleted samples from Settings. Samples do not count toward your free saved-loop limit. SHAPE YOUR SOUND WITH PREMIUM • Explore FM, AM, wavetable, subtractive, and membrane synthesis. • Choose sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth waveforms. • Adjust tempo, octave, and musical scale. • Shape notes with attack, decay, sustain, and release controls. • Add reverb, delay, tremolo, vibrato, and distortion. • Edit sample loops to make them your own. SAVE AND SHARE Create and save one personal loop for free, alongside the five sample loops. Premium unlocks unlimited saved loops and WAV export for sharing, other music apps, or creating a custom ringtone. MAKE MUSIC OFFLINE No account. No ads. No tracking. Your loops stay on your device, so you can make music whenever inspiration strikes. Premium is available through an optional monthly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
PocketTone
This app recreates the experience of a hand-drawn, retro pocket synthesizer. It features a vintage LCD display, slide switches, and chunky buttons, allowing users to play various retro voices, program custom sounds, and jam along to built-in rhythms. Users can also record and share their musical creations.
- Five retro voices (Piano, Flute, Violin, Fantasy, Guitar)
- Program custom synth voices
- Ten built-in rhythms
- Sound shaping controls (octave, volume, balance)
- Tape-style Delay and lo-fi Crush effects
- Record and share audio
- Melody memory (Auto-Play, One-Key play)
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PocketTone is a hand-drawn, retro pocket synthesizer you can play anywhere. Tap the keys and a tiny lo-fi synth comes to life — complete with a green LCD, slide switches and chunky buttons, all lovingly hand-drawn. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Play five retro voices — Piano, Flute, Violin, Fantasy and Guitar. • Program your own voice the way the original did it — an eight-digit code typed on the calculator keys: waveform, envelope, vibrato, tremolo. • Jam over ten built-in rhythms — March, Rock, Bossa, Samba and more. • Shape the sound with octave, volume and a melody/rhythm balance. • Add tape-style Delay and lo-fi Crush effects. • Record what you play and share the audio with anyone. • Use the melody memory — Auto-Play, One-Key play and a built-in demo tune. • Flip to calculator mode… then play the keypad as a melody. The classic pocket-toy party trick, faithfully recreated. POCKETTONE PRO A single one-time purchase unlocks everything: all voices, all rhythms, recording & sharing, the melody memory, and the effects. No subscription — yours forever. Made as a love letter to the pocket musical toys of the 80s.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Loop at 50% against PocketTone's 0%. Loop also leads on rating (3.5 vs 2.0) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Loop sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PocketTone sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Loop holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Loop's written reviews are positive against 0% of PocketTone's.
Loop ships an update every 11 days, PocketTone every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Loop | PocketTone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (2 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ANCREATIVE INC. | Chih Han Lin |
Customer experience
Loop
PocketTone
In-app purchases
Loop
- Unlock Premium (Lifetime)$4.99
PocketTone
- PocketTone Pro$3.99








