Handstrudel vs Octal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Handstrudel
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HandStrudel turns your hands into a musical instrument. Using your iPhone's camera and real-time hand tracking, every gesture becomes sound. PLAY THREE WAYS • Melodic Mode — wave your hands to control pitch, filter, reverb, and more • Grid Mode — pinch to play notes on a visual grid, hold to sustain, slide between notes • Drum Mode — pinch to trigger drums across 6 lanes: kick, snare, hi-hat, crash, ride, tom MUSIC THEORY BUILT IN • Pick any key (C through B) and scale (Major, Minor, Dorian, Pentatonic, Blues) • Chord mode plays full triads • Circle of fifths navigation with hand position SOUND DESIGN • 4 waveforms: saw, square, triangle, sine • Dual drum tracks with independent BPM • XY pad controls drum intensity and complexity • Lock any parameter to manual control RECORD & SHARE • 7-second screen recording with one tap • Share directly to Instagram Stories or Reels • Camera filters: Warm, Cool, Vivid, Noir, Vintage, Neon, and more • Motion trails show your hand paths in neon glow BUILD COMPOSITIONS • Record loops in grid or drum mode • Layer multiple loops on top of each other • Loops auto-play and repeat • Export audio as M4A JAM WITH FRIENDS • SharePlay support — jam together on FaceTime • Everyone hears each other's notes in real-time 4 FREE PRESETS • Dreamy — floaty reverb & delay • Gritty — crunchy distortion • Bouncy — playful filter bounce • Chill — slow & spacious Plus premium presets, drum kits, and filters available as in-app purchases. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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.
- Eight-button chord/note interface
- Loop recording and editing
- Song arrangement
- Diverse sound library
- Undo/history functionality
- Audio file sharing
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Handstrudel at 16.0 against Octal's 26.0. On price, 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
Both are free to download. Handstrudel sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Octal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Handstrudel | Octal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Daily |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Khalil Hughes | RYAN JAMES,GALANG ELLIS |
In-app purchases
Handstrudel
- HandStrudel+$2.991 Month
- HandStrudel+ (Annual)$19.991 Year
- 808 Drum Kit$0.99
- Electronic Drum Kit$0.99
- Party Pack$1.99
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- Studio Preset Pack$1.99
- Pro Upgrade$4.99
Octal
- Octal, the full version$9.99









