Comparison

Loop vs Octal

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 and drum patterns on a simple grid. Explore free samples or build your own sounds with various synthesis options. Save your creations and make music offline.

Highlights
  • Tap grid to create melodies
  • Build drum patterns
  • Multiple synthesis options
  • Shape sound with effects
  • Save and export loops
  • Offline music creation
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

Octal

This app transforms your phone into a musical instrument with eight intuitive buttons that always create harmonious chords or notes. Easily record loops, layer beats, and arrange them into full songs. Explore a variety of sounds and share your creations.

Highlights
  • Eight-button chord/note interface
  • Loop recording and editing
  • Song arrangement
  • Diverse sound library
  • Undo/history functionality
  • Audio file sharing
Features
Read full description

Octal turns your phone into an instrument. The eight buttons play chords or notes that always go together, so whatever you press sounds like music. The bead under your other thumb changes their mood or behavior as you play. MAKE A LOOP Press record and play a few bars. Open the wheel, pick drums or a bass, and play over the top. Swipe over to the Loop Deck to see your loop and change it bar by bar. TURN LOOPS INTO A SONG Pinch the Loop Deck and chain your loops into a song. SOUNDS Synths, keys, drum kits, textures and acoustic instruments, a tap away on the wheel. NEVER LOSE AN EDIT Every edit is kept. The history tool lets you wind back to any of them. SHARE IT Send the mix as an audio file, or send the loop or song itself to a friend who has Octal. Making music in Octal is free, with four saved loops and one song. THE FULL VERSION One purchase, no subscription. MIDI and stems to finish your song in a DAW, MIDI out to play other synths, the bead lab to make and keep sounds of your own, and as many loops and songs as you like. PRIVACY Octal collects no data. The microphone is only on while you record a sound or play a Vocoder.

Screenshots

Loop4 screens
Octal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Octal at 5.0 against Loop's 3.0. Octal also leads on update cadence (daily vs fortnightly) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). Loop's advantage is iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Loop sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Octal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Octal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Loop's written reviews are positive against 100% of Octal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Loop ships an update fortnightly, Octal daily. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Loop versus Octal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLoopOctal
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperANCREATIVE INC.RYAN JAMES,GALANG ELLIS

Customer experience

Loop

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

Octal

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Loop

Subscriptions1
  • Loop Monthly$1.991 Month
One-time1
  • Loop Premium Lifetime$9.99
1 purchases

Octal

One-time1
  • Octal, the full version$9.99

Questions

Is Loop free?
Loop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Octal free?
Octal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Loop or Octal?
Octal is rated higher. Loop averages 3.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Octal averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Loop or Octal have ads?
Neither Loop nor Octal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Loop or Octal?
Loop ships an update fortnightly, and Octal daily. Most recently, Loop was updated on November 5, 2026 and Octal on October 31, 2026.

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