Comparison

Loop vs Rithmatic

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Rithmatic

This app is an FM synthesizer featuring a vast library of classic voices. It allows users to explore, learn, build, and blend sounds using an intuitive interface and an AUv3 plugin for DAWs. It offers a comprehensive synthesis engine and various playback options.

Highlights
  • 36,118 classic DX7 voices included
  • AUv3 plugin for DAWs
  • Patch Builder to learn FM synthesis
  • Sound blending feature
  • On-screen and MIDI keyboard support
  • Arpeggiator and latch function
  • WAV export
Features
Read full description

Rithmatic is an FM synthesizer with 36,118 classic DX7 voices built in, and an AUv3 plugin for GarageBand on iPad and your DAW on the Mac. Browse them by family and by character, learn how FM works by watching it shape each one, build and blend your own, and play them from the on-screen keys or a MIDI keyboard. No account, no ads, nothing locked. IN YOUR DAW • Put it on a track in GarageBand on iPad, or in an Audio Unit host on the Mac such as Ableton Live. • Its window is the app's own Patches screen and Patch Builder, with your library. • Your bank appears as the plugin's presets, and Brightness, Attack, Decay, Release and Feedback can be automated. The patch is saved with your project. A LIBRARY THAT SHIPS FULL • 36,118 unique DX7 voices come with the app: no download, no account, no network. • Start with Essentials: the famous sounds and the songs they're on. • Browse by family, or by character: percussive, plucked, metallic, bright, sustained, swell, evolving, mellow. Or search by name. • Patch of the day: one classic voice each day, in the app and in a widget for iPhone, iPad and Mac. • Every voice is credited to the archive it came from, and to its designer where a bank names one. PLAY IT • A DX7-compatible synthesis engine runs inside the app, so every patch plays with nothing plugged in. • Play from the on-screen keys, your Mac's keyboard, or any MIDI keyboard you connect. • Pitch bend, mod wheel, breath, sustain and aftertouch, with aftertouch set to vibrato, tremolo or swell. • Velocity from a MIDI keyboard, or turn it off and choose how hard every note plays. • An arpeggiator (up, down, up and down, random or as played, over up to three octaves) and a latch that holds each key. • Record what you play and share it as a WAV. • Five tunings: equal, just, and Wendy Carlos's Alpha, Beta and Gamma scales. • Light or dark, as your device is set or as you choose. Drag the keys taller or shorter. • Keys, shortcuts and every synth term, explained under Help. SEE THE SOUND The waveform follows what you play: each operator's envelope, how hard you hit, the pitch, the LFO's wobble, and a chord as one layer per note. Resize it, go full screen, or watch the output itself in the Scope look. PATCH BUILDER: LEARN HOW FM WORKS FM is famous for being hard to program. The Patch Builder shows you why a sound sounds the way it does. • All six operators on a graph, each cable carrying its wave: see a modulator reshape its carrier as you drag. • Draw a cable and the builder snaps to the nearest of the 32 algorithms, so you learn routing by doing it. • Plain words beside the jargon. Edit each operator's ratio, level, envelope and tuning, the LFO and pitch envelope, or use FEEL: thickness, touch and brightness. BLEND Pick two patches and Rithmatic blends them into eight new ones. Play each, and keep the ones you like. YOUR BANK AND FILES • Gather patches from anywhere into your bank, then drag pads to swap or reorder them. • Export the bank as standard DX7 .syx files. Open .syx banks, or a .zip of them, from Files, Mail, AirDrop or the Finder. • Share a sound as a short clip of it playing, with a card and a code that brings the patch into anyone's Rithmatic. WITH A SYNTH, IF YOU HAVE ONE Hardware is optional. Choose your synth in Settings: • Korg Volca FM2 (firmware 1.10 or later, over MIDI): read its current patch, write to any of its 64 memory slots, back up and restore all 16 sequencer patterns, and capture the whole instrument to a snapshot. • DX7 family: send patches and 32-voice banks to a DX7 (mkI/II), TX7, TX802 or the original Volca FM over standard Yamaha voice dumps. FREE AND PRIVATE Every feature is free; tips are optional and unlock nothing. Rithmatic works offline and collects no personal data: no account, no analytics, no ads. KORG and volca are trademarks of Korg Inc. DX7 and TX are trademarks of Yamaha Corporation. Rithmatic is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.

Screenshots

Loop4 screens
Rithmatic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Rithmatic at 4.0 against Loop's 3.5. Rithmatic also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 11 days). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Loop sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Rithmatic asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rithmatic holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 50% and 50% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Loop ships an update every 11 days, Rithmatic every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Loop versus Rithmatic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLoopRithmatic
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (2 ratings)4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings24 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperANCREATIVE INC.MADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLC

Customer experience

Loop

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Rithmatic

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Loop

One-time1
  • Unlock Premium (Lifetime)$4.99
None

Rithmatic

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Loop free?
Loop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rithmatic free?
Rithmatic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Loop or Rithmatic?
Rithmatic is rated higher. Loop averages 3.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Rithmatic averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Loop or Rithmatic have ads?
Neither Loop nor Rithmatic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Loop or Rithmatic?
Loop ships an update every 11 days, and Rithmatic every 2 days. Most recently, Loop was updated on October 11, 2026 and Rithmatic on October 13, 2026.

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