Comparison

ostinata vs GrimoHex

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

Head to head
About

ostinata

Features
Read full description

ostinata lets you map the actual paths you take through music. ever gone from radiohead to aphex twin because kid a changed how you think about electronic music? from miles davis to j dilla because someone sampled a love supreme? ostinata turns those invisible threads into visual, shareable directed graphs. — how it works — create a journey by adding nodes — artists, albums, genres, emotions, or concepts. connect them with directed edges that show which discovery led to which. add reasoning text to explain the connection. the result is a map of your taste that others can explore, fork, and build on. — search & discover — search for artists and albums via musicbrainz, the open music encyclopedia. album nodes display cover art. long-press any node to open its musicbrainz page for deeper exploration. — fork & remix — see a journey that resonates? fork it. you get a copy of the entire graph — all nodes, edges, and reasoning — that you can extend, rearrange, or take in a completely different direction. — bounties — post discovery challenges for the community. set a topic like "find the link: kraftwerk to detroit techno," define seed nodes as starting points, and offer resonance as a reward. other users form guilds of five to tackle the challenge together. — your data, your cloud — everything syncs privately via icloud. we store nothing on our servers. your journeys, your data, your control. — design — black canvas. white lines. ibm plex mono. all lowercase. album art in grayscale. ostinata is built for people who care about how things look as much as how they sound. ostinata — discovery through human curation.

About

GrimoHex

Create beats quickly with a tactile, hardware-inspired sampler and step sequencer. Record, shape, and sequence sounds for fast music production on your iPhone. Ideal for producers and beat makers on the go.

Highlights
  • Hardware-style pad workflow
  • 128-step sequencing
  • Sample recording and playback
  • Sample editing tools
  • Real-time sound shaping
  • MIDI-focused sequencing
  • Pattern-based music creation
Features
Read full description

GrimoHex is a modern sampler and step sequencer built for fast, tactile beat creation on iPhone. Designed for producers, electronic musicians, and mobile beat makers, GrimoHex gives you a focused hardware-inspired workflow without the clutter of a full DAW. Record sounds, shape samples, build patterns, and perform ideas quickly from a compact pad-based interface. At its core, GrimoHex combines a hands-on sampler, drum machine, and step sequencer into one streamlined music production app. It is made for sketching beats, building loops, sequencing drums, triggering samples, and creating patterns wherever inspiration hits. Key features: • Hardware-style pad workflow for fast beat making • 128-step sequencing for detailed pattern creation • Sample recording and playback • Trim, zoom, and sample editing tools • Real-time sound shaping controls • MIDI-focused sequencing workflow • Pattern-based music creation • Clean interface designed for speed and focus • Built for mobile producers, beat makers, and electronic artists GrimoHex is ideal for making drum patterns, sample-based beats, loops, sketches, and performance-ready ideas on the go. Whether you are building rhythms from recorded samples, sequencing external gear, or creating patterns directly on your phone, GrimoHex keeps the process fast and musical. A focused sampler. A tactile sequencer. A compact groovebox for iPhone.

Screenshots

ostinata3 screens
GrimoHex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ostinata at Free against GrimoHex's $12.99. 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

ostinata is free to download; GrimoHex costs $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ostinata ships an update every 9 days, GrimoHex every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
ostinata versus GrimoHex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterostinataGrimoHex
PriceFree — better$12.99
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoachim GroegerJames Draper

In-app purchases

None

ostinata

No in-app purchases

None

GrimoHex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ostinata free?
ostinata is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GrimoHex free?
GrimoHex costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ostinata or GrimoHex have ads?
Neither ostinata nor GrimoHex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ostinata or GrimoHex?
ostinata ships an update every 9 days, and GrimoHex every 5 days. Most recently, ostinata was updated on October 2, 2026 and GrimoHex on September 21, 2026.

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