Comparison

PocketChop vs Rithmatic

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

Head to head
About

PocketChop

Features
Read full description

PocketChop allows you to catch sounds and turn them into loops. Load a song (or record a sound), slice it into chops, and play them instantly on a 16-pad grid. Record patterns with a built-in sequencer, shape every pad with attack, release, filter and level, and add delay, reverb and pitch — all in a fast, focused interface designed for the way you actually make beats. Features: • Waveform chopping — drag to slice, pinch to zoom, up to 16 chops per sample • 24 velocity-fast pads with per-pad ADSR, low-pass filter, level, delay, reverb and pitch • Record your full mix to M4A, or capture raw audio with the built-in field recorder • Sessions — save your chops, patterns and settings and pick up where you left off • MIDI & Bluetooth connectivity: use your physical MIDI device to play • Scenes: save multiple sequences and chops from the same sample, choose the best • Export individual chops as audio files • Dark and light themes • Built natively for iPhone and iPad No account. No subscription. Audio stays on device.

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. Built for iPhone Duo: half open, it stands like a keyboard synth, the waves above the fold and long keys on the flat half. 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. 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. 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, TX7, TX802, the original Volca FM or the M-VAVE FM-1 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 of Yamaha Corporation, M-VAVE of its owner. Rithmatic is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

Screenshots

PocketChop4 screens
Rithmatic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PocketChop at none against Rithmatic's 4. Rithmatic's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 10 days) and device support (4 vs 2). On price 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. Rithmatic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. PocketChop asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketChop ships an update every 10 days, Rithmatic every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PocketChop versus Rithmatic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketChopRithmatic
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.6 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—9 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFabio AntonucciMADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLC

In-app purchases

None

PocketChop

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Rithmatic

One-time4
  • Comrade!$4.99
  • Major Supporter$9.99
  • Supporting Member$19.99
Show 1 more
  • Underwriter$49.99

Questions

Is PocketChop free?
PocketChop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rithmatic free?
Rithmatic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PocketChop or Rithmatic have ads?
Neither PocketChop nor Rithmatic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketChop or Rithmatic?
PocketChop ships an update every 10 days, and Rithmatic every 2 days. Most recently, PocketChop was updated on October 9, 2026 and Rithmatic on October 24, 2026.

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